Aloha, my name is Stanford Mole-Kaaihue, and this is my first time here. I live in Hawaii, more precisely, the Big Island. Recently, my family and I just survived a rather large rainstorm. It was the Kona low storm that tore through our neighborhood. We experienced high winds and heavy rains. Thankfully, my family came through relatively okay, but the same could not be said for my grandparents' greenhouse.

My grandparents, who built the greenhouse 45 years ago, built it with a mission to educate, donate, and reforest our islands. Over the years, my grandparents have grown native Hawaiian plants and made many donations to schools, non-profits, state and county projects, and private individuals who have shown interest in learning about our native plants. For me, this was a place where I gained much of my knowledge and experience in growing and propagating native Hawaiian plants.

We live in a rural neighborhood, and when the storm came through, the high winds tore the plastic that covered the greenhouses and the gutter systems that we use for the water catchment system. Many of our plant racks were destroyed due to the heavy downpour of rain after the high winds had torn the plastic from the greenhouses. And due to the excess rain and wind, we have had our share of fallen trees that have damaged the frames or hoops of the greenhouses.

Due to the extensive damage from the storm, my grandparents have had to close the greenhouses down temporarily until we can fix or rebuild them. Should we be fortunate to attain some funding, the funds would go to the repair of the hoops for the greenhouses, the replacement of the plastic covering over the greenhouses, rebuild of the racks for the plants, and clearing of the debris around and in the greenhouses from the storm.