Taking on Super Weed Trees
Image: Alyssa Hughes, summer HYCC (Hawai‘i Youth Conservation Corps) intern with the KWP, demonstrates control of Rauvolfia vomitoria.
About ten years ago, the first Rauvolfia vomitoria trees showed up in the forest lands of North Kohala. Rauvolfia vomitoria is a large, poisonous fruiting tree that is uncommon in its home range in Africa, and is cultivated in both Asia and the Caribbean. In no place else in the world has this plant become a pest, but a unique combination of conditions in North Kohala has somehow triggered this plant to become a “super weed.” These trees are growing at a rate of a foot per month on lands managed by the Kohala Watershed Partnership (KWP). The trees tolerate full sun through full shade, and they have the capacity to invade native forests and overrun prime agricultural lands.
In Hawai‘i, the burden for controlling invasive species such as Rauvolfia vomitoria falls upon the landowners. This summer, KWP partners have stepped up to work on this problem for the benefit of the watershed and the larger community. To date, KWP has treated over 8,000 trees, but the effectiveness of the control will not be seen for several more months and the overall eradication effort will take a minimum of ten years or longer if the tree seeds prove to be long-lived. Read Kohala Watershed Partnership Steps Up to Fight Invasive Species on the back page to learn more about the KWP’s efforts to fight this invasive species.
Building a Local Food System
Image: Data from the 2007 Census of Agriculture.
Hawai‘i Island is home to 64% of the agricultural land in the state. According to the Census of Agriculture sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2007, roughly 12% of the total farmland on the island was devoted to crop production and 71% was pastureland. The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates that about 85% of the food consumed by island residents and visitors is imported from off-island. Hawai‘i Island, like much of the U.S., is heavily reliant on industrial-style food production which depends on an inexpensive supply of fossil fuel for inputs and long-distance transport.
In order to transition to a more sustainable and secure local food production and distribution system, the County of Hawai‘i is in the process of updating its Agriculture Development Plan. The Plan will guide the County in the use of resources to promote the expansion of the island’s agriculture industry. It will include objectives that can be implemented in the short-term—over the next five years—and it will identify specific strategies and strategic partnerships necessary to increase farm output of those commodities which have a high probability of gaining a significant share of our local market, similar to what tomatoes have already done.
Image: Hamakua Springs Farms is a family-owned operation and provides 60 jobs for Hawai‘i Island residents.
The degree to which our island is food self-reliant is a function of the supply of locally produced food and, more importantly, the demand for locally produced food. To be successful in this effort we will have to alter consumer preferences for locally grown food so that they purchase more of it, which in turn signals farmers/ranchers/dairies to produce more of it, which expands our agriculture industry. —Guy Kaulukukui, Hawai‘i Island Food Self-Reliance Program Director
The County of Hawai‘i Department of Research and Development has provided funding to The Kohala Center (TKC) to develop the Agriculture Development Plan. Draft 2 of the plan is now available for public review at TKC’s Web site. In October 2009, TKC will conduct six listening sessions at locations around the island to solicit public input on Draft 3 of the plan. These meetings will be facilitated by Guy Kaulukukui, Hawai‘i Island Food Self-Reliance Program Director. Dates, times, and locations of the public meetings will be posted online in mid-September. Public comments can be recorded online at the TKC Web site during the month of October. The Final Plan will be presented to the Hawai‘i County Research and Development Department and posted online in November.
Seeds of Hope
Photo: Students eating home-grown strawberries at Innovations Public Charter School. Photo by Krista Donaldson, Innovations Garden Teacher.
Everyone is invited to lunch on board the Golden Princess cruise ship when it docks in Hilo on Friday, October 16. In honor of World Food Day, The Kohala Center will host this special luncheon to underscore the importance of food self-reliance and to raise funds for the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN), an alliance of 45 school gardens around the island. The gala luncheon will take place in the ship’s dining room from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include a preview of filmmaker Danny Miller’s documentary “Seeds of Hope,” featuring teachers and students at school gardens around the island. This hour-long film will be aired on Hawai‘i Public Television in winter 2009. Hawai‘i County Mayor Billy Kenoi and State Senators Russell Kokubun and Dwight Takamine will be featured speakers who will share their thoughts on the role of agriculture and food production in island society. Following the luncheon, guests will be invited to tour the ship with the crew.
As an isolated island people, we have become increasingly aware of the need for greater community education and action to build strong and resilient food security systems for Hawai‘i Island. Building school gardens, preparing and nurturing the soil, planting and harvesting food, and preparing and eating healthy foods that grow well on our island all help to prepare our young citizens to create a more sustainable future. Your support is critical at this time as funding for many of our school garden programs has been reduced due to the downturn in the economy followed by reductions in funding for school programs. —Nancy Redfeather, HISGN Coordinator
Tickets for the Seeds of Hope luncheon are $50, and reservations can be made by contacting Molly Hui at The Kohala Center at 808-887-6411, or via e-mail at mhui@kohalacenter.org. The reservation deadline is October 2. Please join us for this celebration of agricultural education, meet and speak with our School Garden Teachers, and lend your support to these growing programs. For a complete list of HISGN participating schools, visit www.kohalacenter.org/HISGN/portfolio.html. Learn more about the Seeds of Hope luncheon at www.kohalacenter.org/seedhope/aboutseed.html.
World Food Day (WFD) is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness and community-based action to alleviate hunger. It is observed each October 16th in recognition of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. 2009 marks the 29th observance of World Food Day. Learn more.
Restoring the Bounty of the Land
Photo: Sam Kama explains the significance of the very special makana (gift) to Senator Daniel K. Inouye and his wife, Irene Hirano Inouye. The ipu (carved gourd) and the coconut leaf base symbolize the restoration of Pelekane Bay Watershed. The ipu was grown in the cool uplands of Waimea, and the coconut weaving is from a palm near the coast. Together they represent the link from mauka (upland) to makai (coastland) which sustains the ahupua‘a (watershed). The illustrations on the ipu depict bountiful times on the land and sea, which is the vision of the Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project.
The Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project was officially launched on August 17 at a blessing ceremony that included remarks by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye. Earlier in the month the Kohala Watershed Partnership (KWP) received $2.69 million in federal funds through a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coastal restoration grant associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Fifteen new employees were hired to serve as field crew and technicians to implement this 18-month ecosystem restoration project. “We will provide jobs and in the process save the bay. If you don’t fix the whole watershed, you lose the bay,” Senator Inouye said. “It’s a win-win.” The Senator also mentioned that although the grant amount is small in relation to the total federal stimulus package, the spirit of the Pelekane Bay project is massive.
Pelekane Bay, south of Kawaihae Harbor on the leeward coast of Kohala Mountain, was traditionally a sheltered place for young fish to grow and mature. The Pelekane watershed served as productive farmlands for Hawaiians and before that forests covered the slopes of Kohala Mountain. Abundant sea life in the bay provided food for the people of Kawaihae. With the introduction of exotic plants and animals, the mauka watershed deteriorated. Now, with every heavy rainfall, sediments are dumped into the bay. This project will work to restore the coral reef habitat of Pelekane Bay by rehabilitating the mauka watershed through erosion control and by planting native vegetation to reduce the amount of sediment being carried into the bay.
We are excited about the start of the Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project. It is a monumental undertaking, and we are putting full energies into making sure we can accomplish what we have set out to do. We feel confident in the capacity of our new crew—they are strong, willing to learn, and eager to do good work for the ʻāina (land). The formal ceremony was an opportunity to reflect on the big picture—the past, present, and future of this land and the impacts humans have had on the functioning of the watershed. —Melora Purell, Coordinator, Kohala Watershed Partnership
A Visit to Our Nation’s Capital
Photo: U.S. Representative Mazie Hirono met with Samantha Birch (center) and Cindi Punihaole (right) at Hirono’s office in Washington, D.C. this July to discuss the Kahalu‘u Bay Restoration Project.
Cindi Punihaole and Samantha Birch traveled to Washington, D.C., this summer to attend the first nationwide annual National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) conference for B-WET (Bay Watershed Education & Training Program) grant recipients. The Kohala Center was one of three Hawai‘i projects represented at the B-WET conference. TKC received a $100,000 B-WET grant this fiscal year for its HI-MOES (Hawai‘i Island Meaningful Outdoor Experiences for Students) program, which will involve West Hawai‘i K-12 teachers and their students in projects focused on the ahupua‘a (watersheds) of the Kona Coast and Kohala Mountain. HI-MOES is a continuation of TKC’s 2006 B-WET program and will involve 10 teachers and 450 students in bay and watershed education via hands-on science projects throughout the school year. Student groups will visit sites such as Kahalu‘u Bay to learn about watershed ecosystems, and students and their teachers will engage in independent research projects, such as water quality monitoring and studying marine debris, sedimentation, and species abundance under the mentorship of Samantha Birch and Melora Purell, Coordinator of the Kohala Watershed Partnership. Interested teachers should apply by September 7. Learn more at www.kohalacenter.org/himoes/about.html.
While they were in Washington, Punihaole and Birch took the opportunity to visit and network with Hawai‘i’s Congressional staff about the master plan for the restoration of Kahalu‘u Bay. This long-term, large-scale effort to restore the health of the bay and its role as a significant cultural resource for the surrounding community will require many hands working together to bring to fruition. TKC staff were pleased with their efforts to raise the awareness of our federal legislators about this important ecosystem health project in the heart of West Hawai‘i. “Capitol Hill was buzzing about the stimulus funds we received for the restoration of the Pelekane Bay Watershed. Congressional staff had heard of The Kohala Center and our work for several years. They were very pleased with the projects we’ve embraced and the positive and successful results of these projects,” said Punihaole. Read Journey to the East Coast to learn more.
Staff Profile: Guy Kaulukukui
Hawai‘i Island Food Self-Reliance Program Director
Photo: Guy Kaulukukui takes a break from yard work at his home.
Guy Kaulukukui was born and raised on O‘ahu. His father was born and raised in Hilo, and his grandparents were from Kohala. “My family history on this island goes back for generations,” Guy says.
Guy graduated from Kamehameha Schools and attended the University of Hawai‘i (B.A. in economics), Hawai‘i Pacific University (M.B.A.), and the University of Kansas (Ph.D. in economics education). Guy has taught high school economics, worked at Bishop Museum in Honolulu where he was vice president for cultural studies, served as senior advisor to Honolulu City Councilman Todd Apo, and worked as a visiting professor of economics at UH Hilo for two years before joining The Kohala Center staff as Hawai‘i Island Food Self-Reliance Program Director in 2009.
The TKC position interested Guy because it provides him with an opportunity to apply economic reasoning to a real world problem:
A food system includes all processes required to feed our community. The system includes planting, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, and marketing, as well as the consumption and disposal of food items. We definitely have a food system in place on the island, but what we aspire to develop is a ‘local food system.’ In an industrial-style food system, market power accrues to the middlemen (processers, slaughterhouses, etc…), who are increasingly able to control the quality and variety of food made available to consumers. This is not true of local food systems, which shift more market power to farmers and consumers. Local food systems provide a reliable mechanism for matching farm supply with consumer demand. TKC’s food self reliance project addresses the need to build a locally-focused food system on Hawai‘i Island.
Read more about Guy Kaulukukui and his work on the back page.
Steering the Boat
Photo: Matt Hamabata, Executive Director of The Kohala Center.
Anyone familiar with The Kohala Center knows that the success of our organization has surpassed anyone’s expectations. We are now bringing to fruition the dreams of our community, who wished for more and better educational opportunities for island youth and greater employment opportunities in a diversified economy. TKC leadership has skillfully built a full-fledged academic center right here on Hawai‘i Island, with ties to some of the finest universities on the face of the planet. Through education and respectful collaboration among local, national, and international partners, TKC has created a new paradigm for addressing some of the critical issues that face our island. The importance of our work in assuring sustainable food, energy, and water systems, as well as in restoring the health of island ecosystems, is indisputable.
It feels very rewarding to us at The Kohala Center that we are creating jobs by working with others to foster the well-being of our natural and human communities. —Dr. Matt Hamabata
Executive Director Matt Hamabata has guided The Kohala Center from its humble beginnings to its current status as one of the island’s most respected non-profits. Hamabata now presides over an annual budget of $4.1 million dollars and a staff of over 30 full-time employees. In recognition of his outstanding leadership and contributions to his community, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation recently honored Hamabata with a 2009 Ho‘okele award. “Just as a steersman, ho‘okele, is key to guiding a canoe successfully to its destination, this award recognizes the significant and often less visible role that a nonprofit leader plays in improving the quality of life for Hawai‘i’s people,” said Christine Van Bergeijk, vice-president of programs for the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. Hamabata was one of four nonprofit leaders honored this year. Along with his award, Hamabata receives a $10,000 grant to be used for his professional development and renewal.
Hamabata was born and raised in Hanapepe, Kauai. After completing his secondary education at Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, he received his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University. He first taught at Yale University, served as the Dean of Haverford College, and was the Director of Learning at the California Endowment. He is Professor Emeritus at the Fielding Graduate University, a former Fulbright-Hays Fellow, and a recipient of the Literary Award of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
From the Bogs to the Sea: Summer Camp Highlights
Photo: Campers making paper. Elizabeth Jim and Tove Fostvedt worked together to create recycled paper. Campers created unique designs with dried flowers, leaves, and other natural fibers incorporated into the recycled paper pulp.
Waimea Nature Camp is a place where ‘Play Station’ doesn’t refer to an electronic toy, but instead refers to the stop on an imaginary train that transports you to a land where you can create costumes from leaves, transform into a native bird, and create an ideal world where fairies and princesses and nature spirits work together to combat pollution.—Melora Purell, Director, Waimea Nature Camp
Waimea Nature Camp is based at Ulu La‘au (garden of the trees), the Waimea Nature Park, where the dirt, trees, and fresh air provide the perfect setting for adventure, learning, and environmental stewardship. Daily field trips took the campers to climb “Mama Koa” on the Pu‘u O‘o Trail on Mauna Loa, to wade in Waikoloa Stream, to play hide and seek in the tall grasses of the Koai‘a Corridor restoration site on Kohala Mountain, and to explore the bog that is the source of Waimea’s municipal water supply.
Photo: Campers in the grass: the Kohala Youth Corps middle school group enjoyed a challenging game of “Eagle Eye” in the tall grass of the Koai‘a Corridor.
Generous funding from Hawai‘i Community Foundation and from the State of Hawai‘i Watershed Partnerships Program, along with donations from camp parents and from the community, help to keep camp affordable and accessible to as many kids as possible. This summer, a total of 82 island children had the opportunity to experience the fun of Waimea Nature Camp (WNC).
Photo: Campers with buckets and mulch. In order to do their part to support the diligent volunteers who plan, maintain, and care for Waimea Nature Park, campers pitched in to spread mulch over native plantings.
Here are some of the “aha” moments camp staff recorded in the WNC journal:
"Wow! This is ALL native forest here!"
"I never knew you could eat all these wild plants before."
"This is the best field trip EVER!"
"It's really fun making a raft at camp. Two rocks can fit on it for a ride."
"I found a deep, surprising hole."
"This jewel bug is like a lady bug. It flies and crawls, which are two things that jewels don't do."
"This is a special secret stream hiding place. It's a place that girls can go to share their feelings. It's a place to go if you feel sad, or you want to write a song, or pray. It's a beautiful place with views, a sparkling lake, where you can eat berries and avocados."
"Now I am starting to appreciate how people could survive for long in a wild, uncharted place."
"I like seeing nature as it once was—to see places that humans haven't changed."
"This is the best day EVER!"
"Awesome people go in the bushes."
"I like field trips because you can get wet and have fun with everyone!"
The next session of Waimea Nature Camp will be held in January 2010, during winter break from school. Look for details in The Leaflet later this fall.
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