Grow Good Hawaii is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to urban agroecology to strengthen the community’s food security and restore natural systems. A key Grow Good strategy for accomplishing this is the reinvention of a modern version of the ahupua‘a system for sustainable land and resource stewardship and agricultural production.
Paul Arinaga is Founder and Executive Director of Grow Good Hawaii. He is also founder and manager of the “Go Native: Growing a Native Hawaiian Urban Forest” project which aims to restore nature from mauka to makai by mobilizing Hawai`i residents to grow more native Hawaiian and Polynesian-introduced (“canoe”) plants. As part of the project, Paul co-authored Go Native! Your guide to growing Native Hawaiian and canoe plants wherever you live, work, or play which is available on Amazon.com (https://amzn.to/3zR7CMo) and from local booksellers. Paul also has managed the Symphony of the Hawai`i Forests and Honolulu Zoo Children’s Discovery Forest projects for the Hawai‘i Forest Institute. He co-founded the Genki Ala Wai Project to clean the waters of the Ala Wai Canal using Effective Microorganism technology (bioremediation). Prior to his career in urban agroecology and conservation, Paul was general manager of a farmer’s cooperative and managed the acquisition and operation of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business. He is a graduate of the GoFarm Hawaii farmer training program. Before transitioning to a career in the nonprofit sector, he worked for Microsoft, Philips Medical Systems, and a number of software startups. Paul has an MBA from London Business School and an M.A. in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University.
Hilary Parkinson is Program Director at Grow Good Hawaii. She co-authored Go Native! Your guide to growing Native Hawaiian and canoe plants wherever you live, work, or play, for which she acted as subject matter consultant in developing the detailed content. Hilary is thus intimately familiar with the approach that will be applied in creating the backyard agroforestry systems. She has professional experience in restoration, invasive weed ecology, and community gardens, as well as a strong background in converting technical information into layman’s terms. While working for Montana State University, she wrote or revised over 10 Extension publications, including Weed Seedling Identification Guide for Montana and the Northern Great Plains for farmers. She has direct experience helping diverse populations with limited incomes grow their own food. As the Growing and Giving Coordinator for the Garden Project of the Greater Lansing Food Bank, she helped coordinate over 120 community gardens; managed a resource center that offered seeds, plant starts, tools and educational materials; and developed a growing plan for a refurbished greenhouse to include species in demand by immigrants and refugee populations. Hilary has an M.S. in Land Resources and Environmental Science from Montana State University and a B.S. in Horticulture from Boise State University.
Martín Bañuelos is the Community Coordinator at Grow Good Hawaii. As the son of two Mexican subsistence farmers, Martín has a personal connection to agriculture and the environment. He grew up in Inglewood, CA, which shaped his professional aspirations and community values: Shaping a greener environment with immigrant and BIPOC communities. Before joining Grow Good Hawaii, Martín worked to reduce and eliminate toxic chemicals from consumer products and the environment. As a visitor on ʻŌiwi lands, he is appreciative to be supporting work that gives back to the ʻāina and enriches communities on the island. Martín has a B.S. in Conservation & Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.