In Hawaiʻi we thrive as our ocean thrives. The sea is our sustenance, our home, our respite for keiki, mākua, and kūpuna. We mālama our coastlines, loko iʻa, coral reefs, and ahupuaʻa because these places nurture us. This ethic is deeply rooted in place and reflected in Kānaka Maoli and local lifestyles. The Harold K. […]
Get Outside Hawaiʻi!
If you’ve been in Hawaiʻi long enough, you’ve caught an episode of the popular television show, Outside Hawaiʻi. Delivered straight to your living rooms for over 20 years by host Jen Boneza and the familiar sound of that oh-so-catchy ukulele picking ditty, it remains local cable channel OC16’s highest rated program. Each segment reaches an average of 55,000 […]
E Alu Pu Turns 20: From a Meeting to a Movement
Twenty years ago, I was mired in graduate school at UH Mānoa, trying to figure out a whole lot more in life than just what I’d write for my MA thesis. As luck would have it, I’d stumbled into an internship with The Nature Conservancy’s (then) brand new Marine Program. With TNC, I began supporting the Miloliʻi community—learning […]
Mālama Kahana and Huilua Fishpond
The Huilua fishpond, located in Kahana, is one of a handful of ʻia loko (fishponds) that still exist on ‘Oahu. Hoʻāla ʻĀina Kūpono, led by community members from and of the Kahana ahupua’a, aim to continue stewardship of Huilua fishpond, including the mākāhā in need of restoration. The organization’s leaders are students of both the […]
Mahalo Miloliʻi
Over twenty years ago I was a UH graduate student, interning for the back-then very-new Marine Program for the Nature Conservancy in Hawai‘i. Invited by Uncle (and eventual State Senator) Gil Kahele, Miloliʻi was my first community-based ocean management ‘project.’ Over the course of many late-night talk story sessions, day-long dives, canoe paddles, and […]