WAILUKU — Immediately following the wildfires that impacted Maui this past August, Imua Family Services worked to find meaningful ways to support local children and families.

Within a matter of days, the nonprofit opened a drop-in childcare site in Napili to ensure keiki remained active, engaged and well-cared-for while parents tended to the needs of their families.

Since that time, Imua has been pursuing the ways and means to open a preschool program at the Will Imua Discovery Garden in Wailuku to accommodate children who have been affected by the fires and relocated to Central Maui, or whose parents are commuting to the area.

Plans for an outdoor, nature-based preschool at Imua Discovery Garden had been in the works for some time. While they were previously awaiting permitting and construction, the recent disasters — along with years of experience running Imua Inclusion Preschool, Imua’s accredited licensed preschool in Kahului — encouraged the organization to fast-track its plans to open a second preschool location.

The process is neither quick nor easy, as licensing childcare or educational facilities involves many considerations related to setup, safety and staffing. It is only due to the foresight included in Mayor Richard Bissen’s Emergency Proclamation that Imua is able to temporarily move forward with its outdoor preschool concept while its new preschool building is being completed and made operational.

While the final stages of the temporary preschool permit and staffing are put into place, Imua Family Services encourages families impacted and displaced by the wildfires to initiate the application process. Families applying for a space at Imua’s new preschool location will not be charged an application fee, and the cost of preschool tuition will be supported by grants and community funding that will also enable the agency to provide crisis intervention counseling and support to the children and their families.

For families interested in applying, follow the application process outlined at www.discoverimua.com/preschool. The goal is to open Imua Inclusion Preschool at Imua Discovery Garden by Monday, Jan. 22, 2024.

Qualified and caring early childhood educators interested in working at the new preschool location may apply with Imua Family Services online.

Prior to the wildfires, access to early education and preschool had already been a massive challenge on Maui and across the state. Fewer than half of children across Hawaii attend preschool and early education programs before entering kindergarten.

While some families desire to care for their children at home prior to kindergarten, there are nearly 10,000 children across the state whose families wish to send them to preschool but just aren’t able.

Some challenges stem from affordability, but equally significant challenges include a lack of a sufficient number of preschool programs and qualified early education providers.

Nature-based education has been on the rise across the country. With countless opportunities for discovery, creativity, problem solving and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, the outdoors is a perfect fit for addressing Hawaii’s early childhood educational woes while simultaneously providing opportunities to learn about culture and the environment.

Some states have taken the issue seriously, with Illinois boasting more than 20 nature preschools as of 2020 and the State of Washington leading the pack with over 50, according to the Natural Start Alliance. Washington has also led the way with legislation; in 2021, it became the first state in the nation to permanently license outdoor preschools.

Imua Family Services is encouraged that this model of nature-based learning can be part of Hawaii’s future and a way to increase opportunities for keiki.