If organic taro farmer Mark Paikuli-Stride had his way, Kailua and Kane'ohe students would learn about Hawaiian history through the stewardship of the land, and to that end he has obtained $141,000 in grants to develop curricula for fourth-graders.

The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the First Nation Development Institute have given Aloha 'Aina Health Center, for which Paikuli-Stride is executive director, the money to create E Malama I Na Waiwai of Kailua: Instilling Core Values by Fostering Awareness of the Kailua Ahupua'a.

The Kailua educational program will be specific to learning about Kailua and will include visits to taro fields in Maunawili Valley that Paikuli-Stride and Aloha 'Aina have restored.

Students will learn that ahupua'a is a resource management system that can sustain life, where food can be produced, Paikuli-Stride said.

"It's to create more awareness and involvement, not only from the students but the families that live within the ahupua'a," he said. "We want to show them that this is their backyard."