August 18, 2004 MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GREENWELL ETHNOBOTANICAL GARDEN TO OFFER FREE SEPTEMBER TOUR
HONOLULU –Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, a Bishop Museum facility located in Kona, will offer visitors a free hour-and-a-half tour of its collection of native plants at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 11, at 10 a.m. The Garden displays and interprets plants of importance to traditional Hawaiian culture. Among the koa and sandalwood in the forest zone of the Garden, visitors will see ho’awa, the seeds of which were a favored food of the ‘alala crow. The yellowish wood was also used for gunwales in Hawaiian canoes. A small, attractive tree which grows to 20-30 feet, ho‘awa is a great landscape plant. The Saturday tour is an initiative under the Office of Innovation and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education. Education through Cultural & Historical Organizations, also known as ECHO, provides educational enrichment to Native and non-Native children and lifelong learners. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden is located in South Kona on the Mamalahoa Highway. Admission is a suggested donation of $4 per person and free for Bishop Museum Association members. For more information, visit www.bishopmuseum.org or call (808) 323-3318. ###