There’s a flurry of activity at Washington Place, and it has nothing to do with same-sex marriage or politics as usual.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie and his wife, Nancie Caraway, have been working with middle school students at St. Andrew’s Priory School for Girls in the New Day Garden, comprising a series of raised beds of vegetables, herbs and fruit.

During a recent visit, Abercrombie shared a sprig of fresh mint with Caraway as the girls prepared to plant zucchini and mint starters. Other students pruned and watered, or tended to the plant beds.

Kahala Furukawa, an eighth-grader, said one of her favorite things about working in the garden is getting to sample the fresh produce. "We had a huge harvest of tomatoes," she said.

For eighth-grader Emily Kurth, this is her first experience gardening. "I’m really enjoying it. I don’t like to get dirty, but I like tasting the stuff that we planted," she said. "I had never tried arugula. It’s actually really good."

The New Day Garden was established in 2011 with the help of students from various schools. The girls from St. Andrew’s Priory have been solely handling the upkeep since then. The students work on the garden once a week as part of their curriculum, and the after-school garden club helps about once a week as well.

Strawberries, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, lettuce and garlic are growing in the raised beds along with parsley, rosemary, comfrey, basil and lemon thyme. Breadfruit, lemon, mango and allspice trees also grace the grounds at Washington Place, which was once the home of Queen Liliu­oka­lani and is now the official residence of Hawaii’s governor.

"We really wanted to target urban core schools that don’t have a lot of green space," said Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, the state’s sustainability coordinator. "For the Priory students, the garden’s in their backyard."

Thiel was instrumental in setting up the garden and hopes to bring similar programs to schools statewide. "Students can learn about growing fresh food in a thriving organic garden that serves as a living, outdoor classroom," she said.

During his Oct. 30 visit, Abercrombie said the garden is in its best shape ever and that he’s happy to be "good neighbors" to the school.

"It’s a work in progress but everything’s being handled perfectly. They’ve learned that you don’t just put seeds in the ground and let things take care of themselves," he said.

"Growing our own food and connecting our keiki to the land through hands-on environmental education can plant lifelong lessons that students will carry with them throughout their lives."

Ten girls help in the garden on a regular basis, according to Natalie Hansen, the middle school dean and garden coordinator at St. Andrew’s Priory.

"Our math, science, English and world language teachers all have lessons that connect with gardening," Hansen said.

One of the primary goals of the program is to promote a healthier diet that includes more vegetables. Garden club members learn about nutrition and participate in cooking classes that use ingredients harvested from the garden.

The Priory students plan to expand the effort by designing and constructing raised-bed gardens on campus that are modeled after the New Day Garden.

Seventh-grader Skylin Toka­shiki said the students planted crops that Abercrombie and Caraway — admitted "huge basil fans" — would like to eat. "We’d also like to plant strawberries to snack on," she said.

Eighth-grader Nevaeh LaForge pointed out the garden is another link in her school’s historical connection to Washington Place.

"When Liliuokalani was under house arrest at Washington Place, she would sneak over to have tea with Priory’s nuns," she said.

An avocado tree was plantedin the garden by the governor, Caraway and priory students in honor of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Hoku­le‘a’s upcoming sail around the world. Stops will include visits to peace gardens and schools.

"We are connecting to a worldwide network of schools and organizations that are planting trees," said June Park, an eighth-grader.

From the beginning, the garden has been entirely supported by donations and volunteers from public, private and nonprofit groups, Thiel said.

"It is definitely a feel-good, fabulous collaborative project. It’s the perfect example of how growing food can bring people together."

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