What is ‘ĀinaQuest?

A gameplay that centers around the interaction of plants in ‘āina, cultivating our ahupua’a and mitigating invasive plants.


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picture of Made at Mānoa in RISE building at University of Hawai'i Mānoa

Join our weekly Coffee & Board Games

Come play board games with us! There might be prototypes of our card game to play, too! We are hosting a weekly Coffee & Board Games every Sunday from 12pm-2:30pm at RISE Building in the University of Hawai’i, Mānoa! Free and open to the public. :)

Hawaiʻi is a beautiful and unique place as the most isolated island chain in the world. Hawaiʻi is home to thousands of native and non-native plants, and 40% of the total endangered plant species in the United States. As kanaka and kamaʻāina of this land, we believe it is our duty to preserve the beauty of Hawaiʻi for future generations--and that includes our plants! In order to educate and inspire people to care about native plants, we must meet the community where they are at, and we believe our fun and educational card game will help players cultivate the knowledge needed for environmental stewardship and conservation.

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Featured

April 26, 2024

Hanahau’oli School
Progressive Education

‘ĀinaQuest: Place-Based Gameplay in Education

April is Native Hawaiian Plant Month, and as many still have Earth Day in their hearts and minds, we are happy to feature a local organization that is working to re-develop people's relationships with native plants. ‘ĀinaQuest is a wonderful example of collaboration, innovation, and ‘aina-inspired action for improved education in 21st Century society. – Amber Strong Makaiau

April 02, 2024

Experiment.com
Research Grant

How can we make building pilina (relationships) with native plants fun for the whole family?

Our stories in Hawaiʻi tell of the strong relationships (pilina) our ancestors had with the natural world. However, today many of us are unable to recognize our plant relatives, much less differentiate native and canoe plants from non-natives and invasive plants. Therefore, how can we help people build pilina (relationships) with native plants? How can we increase community interest in plant stewardship? We are proposing ʻĀinaQuest, an educational card game, as a solution.

Our quest feed

Come play games with us! You bring your friends. We bring our friends, and let’s try a new game or play your favorite game. 👾🃏🎲🕹️🀄️ Starting TODAY and every Sunday from 12pm-2:30pm, we will be at RISE Center, 2nd floor (University of Hawa
A fun idea from our Co-Founder @corinnetakara. We used the leaves of the autograph tree, which is an invasive plant, to create name tags! What are other creative ways we can reuse invasive plants once they’ve been removed? 🤔💭 Autograph tre
Update from our earlier post: David’s photo has been added! ✨ ——————————- We are excited to announce ‘ĀinaQuest has secured an Advisory Board consisting of knowledge holders wi
Our team is still in awe at how many community members are interested in building pilina with native plants and played our card game this weekend! Mahalo to everyone who shared space, time, and feedback with us! Hearing our community’s voices i
Our gameplay workshop is next weekend (Aug 3 from 2-4pm in Honolulu) at @nativebookshi! 🌱🖍️🎨🎴 FREE and open to the community. RSVP is not required to attend, but if you do RSVP, you’ll receive event reminders. This workshop is your chance
Are you a plant, science, or cultural knowledge holder? 💡 ‘ĀinaQuest is seeking knowledge holders to join our Board of Advisors and help shape the future of our educational card game and nurture the next generation of locally grown botanists,
This week, we're featuring African Tulip Tree (Spathodea campanulata). With large orange-red flowers, this tree is visually striking. However, it outcompetes native trees and disrupts forest ecosystems. Have you seen African Tulip Tree around your
The native plant of the week: Hāpu'u ferns Hāpuʻu ferns grow in lush rainforests and can reach impressive heights. They provide habitat for various creatures. What sets Hāpuʻu apart from other tree ferns is the upper part of its frond stalks, which
Let's talk about Kikuyu Grass (Pennisetum clandestinum). Although used as a lawn grass, kikuyu grass invades natural areas, forming dense mats that hinder native plant growth. Have you seen Kikuyu Grass around your ahupua'a? We'd love to know in th