Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation plans community green space in Haleiwa Town

Fallow agricultural lands and two adjacent, historic commercial buildings in the heart of Haleiwa town have been acquired by Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation, the nonprofit environmental organization co-founded in 2003 by musician and North Shore native Jack Johnson and his wife, Kim Johnson, a former schoolteacher.

The property comprises 7.5 acres abutting on Kamehameha Highway and Achiu Lane.

The foundation, which supports hands-on environmental learning with such projects as gardens and recycling in Hawaii schools, plans to restore the lands to productivity with a learning farm and to establish other community-based, educational and retail activities that promote local food, waste reduction and environmental stewardship, a spokeswoman said in an email Tuesday.

First steps, planned for this month, include a community meeting and a blessing of the site with the planting of an ulu, or breadfruit, tree.