The Hawaiian Islands Seed Network (HISN) is a web-based tool that allows farmers, gardeners and growers state-wide to share valuable planting material and associated knowledge. Its unique functionality empowers our community to play a decisive role in the future of food security and plant diversity conservation by increasing production and distribution of locally adapted seed. It provides established seed networks with an efficient system to leverage their plant collections and human capital.

Please describe your innovation?

HISN is a user-friendly database accessible via computer and mobile device. It is designed to be community managed; users contribute and access information about plant collections in their care. For example, students and teachers of a school garden program receive several varieties of beans from an island seed bank, and by documenting the results of their cultivation efforts, help to identify and share the varieties that performed best in their locale. It will serve as an online forum for users to share information on valuable plant resources such as island-adapted seed, traditional taro varieties, native plants and other important cultural species. Features of this tool will include quick and easy on- and off-line data entry; an intuitive, user-friendly interface that provides safe and secure storage of all system data; GIS/GPS mapping; photo documentation; plant identification label making and bar code tracking; and a comprehensive tutorial system.

What is the problem or situation that your innovation seeks to address?

Plant diversity is experiencing an unprecedented decline, caused by the combined effects of habitat loss and degradation, climate change, and scarcity of effective management. Worldwide, nearly one third of all plant species are threatened with extinction. Seventy-five percent of our planet’s traditional varieties of food crops have been lost in the last 100 years. A majority of our islands’ farmers rely on seed from overseas, and these sources are not sustainable nor reliable. Developing a rich diversity of locally-adapted seed is the wisest course of action to achieve food security in Hawai`i and beyond. Existing groups and individuals working to collect and preserve plant information and materials currently do not have access to a common forum in which to collaborate. There are many botanical records systems in the marketplace that attempt to address these needs; however, none are designed to be managed by a large community of users connected through the internet.

What effort have you made to test out your new idea?

Collaborative seed and plant development and sharing programs are rapidly gaining momentum across the state of Hawai`i. Efforts include: crop improvement through the University of Hawai`i’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR); seed and plant exchanges on Hawai`i Island; seed & plant exchanges on Kaua`i hosted by RIBG; the creation of the Kaua`i Community Seed Bank in 2008; a Statewide Seed Symposium held in Kailua-Kona (including the first multi-island seed exchange) and the Statewide Seed Working Group (SSWG), representing non-profit, governmental, and private entities. Through this symposium, the SSWG identified the clear need to establish an information sharing network. RIBG introduced the collaborative database concept at the 2006 Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Wuhan, China. The concept was further developed with guidance from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2009.

What is particularly noteworthy or novel about your innovation?

HISN will provide a service that currently does not exist: an online networking tool designed to be maintained and used by our state-wide community of groups and individuals participating in the Hawai`i Public Seed Initiative (http://www.kohalacenter.org/publicseedinitiative/contact.html) and other interested and relevant organizations. Existing online databases that may superficially resemble this type of tool do not have the functionality required for managing complex living collections. HISN will: • Promote and educate the public about ecological agriculture • Decrease loss of plant diversity • Prevent catastrophic loss of a single collection • Increase communication and plant sharing between seed network members • Create a decentralized source of documentation with photos, details, maps, growing conditions, and uses • Improve food security and human health • Document and strengthen cultural knowledge and practices • Keep plant resources in the public domain

What impact do you expect your innovation will have on the problem or situation described in the previous question?

HISN will empower groups and individuals throughout the Hawaiian Islands to achieve advances in crop improvement and preserve threatened plant resources, resulting in ample supplies of exceptional quality seeds and associated knowledge. HISN will provide a unique decentralized conservation tool which will improve access to island adapted seed for food production, ecological restoration, and multicultural activities. It will leverage the tremendous capacity of our communities to cultivate threatened plant species and varieties. Together, we will bring a wider segment of the population into a closer relationship with these precious resources. This will make our islands more resilient to the unavoidable environmental and social changes that we face today. This tool will also allow private businesses such as plant nurseries to participate in propagation-for-donation programs, while benefitting from the features of the database (e.g. label printing and inventory management).

What other community partners will you need if your innovation is to scale beyond your organization?

The project will engage the participation of multiple and diverse organizations and individuals. The Hawai`i State Public Seed Initiative (HPSI)–a consortium of primary stakeholders– is the mechanism through which we will expand our collaborative network . HPSI includes representatives from The Kohala Center, University of Hawai`i CTAHR, RIBG, Hawai`i Organic Farmers Association, The Hawai`i Island School Network, The Hawai`i Native Seed Bank, The University of Hawai`i Seed Conservation Laboratory, Hawai`i Homegrown Food Network, Organic Seed Alliance and Hawai`i Seed. Additionally support for this project has been expressed by GMO Free Kaua`i, Kaua`i Community College Sustainable Agriculture Program, and Heaven on Earth Starts. Looking beyond Hawaii's shores, this tool will have the potential to transform the impact of plant stewardship groups worldwide, including native plant societies, garden clubs, and botanical researchers in a wide variety of institutions.

Why are your organization, partners, and key personnel suited to take on this project?

In the first quarter of 2012, RIBG has substantially strengthened our position by relocating our seed bank and office to a high-profile downtown Polynesian community center facility, and by receiving an HCF OCB Strategic Planning Grant. UH CTAHR brings a century long track record and expertise in crop development, technological innovation, and extension services to farmers across Hawai`i. It will ensure that the HISN has scientific value as a research tool for projects including statewide variety trials, and can help guarantee the longevity of the Network. The Kohala Center chairs the HPSI, and has proven experience administering HCF grant programs. Their guidance on project management will be essential. We will engage the services of a world class custom software development firm to engineer the HISN. Key personnel include P. Massey (Director, RIBG) • N. Redfeather (Coordinator, HPSI, Kohala Center) • Dr. H.Valenzuela (CTAHR crop specialist)