Ka Pilina Poina ’Ole “Connection Not Forgotten”

The Ka Pilina Poina ‘Ole “Connection Not Forgotten” project connects three dryland forest sites in West Hawai‘i; Ka‘ūpūlehu Dryland Forest, Kalaemanō Cultural Center, and La‘i‘ōpua Preserve. The project entails providing dryland habitat restoration and a youth educational program, which provides hands-on, learning experiences to effect positive change in the areas of kuleana (responsibility), mālama (stewardship), and interdependency of all living things.

Project Sponsors
Atherton Family Foundation
Arthur Lawrence Mullaly Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
Bill Healy Foundation
Cooke Foundation
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
Friends of Hawaii Charities
La‘i‘ōpua 2020
Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association
Hawai‘i Forest Institute
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority Kūkulu Ola: Living Hawaiian Culture Program
Kamehameha Schools
Kukio Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
U.S. Department of Education’s “Education through Cultural & Historical Organizations”

Aupaka o Wao Lama Partnership

A new partnership Aupaka o Wao Lama was recently formed among Kealakehe Intermediate School; Ke Kama Pono, transitional teen-male program; Kealakehe High School; La‘i‘Opua 2020 Kau I Ka Mālie Cultural Center and Aupaka Ke Kilohana; Hui La‘au Kama‘aina La‘i‘Opua; Ho‘ola Ka Makana‘a Ka‘ūpūlehu (‘Āina Ulu); and Ka‘ūpūlehu Cultural Center at Kalaemanō.  Aupaka o Wao Lama is a “learn while doing” stewardship education partnership, integrating cultural and science ecology. La‘i‘Opua 2020 is contributing $20,000 to this effort.

Cultural Ecology Team educators Keoki Apokolani Carter and Yvonne Yarber Carter are developing and coordinating  an intensive collaboration that weaves together the volunteer learning events and curriculum using a combination of cultural knowledge, social and natural science, place-based activities, and curriculum and digital resources. Kalaemanō Cultural Center educator, performing artist, and Hawaiian language teacher Ku‘ulei Keakealani is providing a “mo‘olelo wahi pana” (storied place) component that gives a deeper grounding in the oral tradition of place. La‘i‘Opua 2020 Kau I Ka Mālie Cultural Center and Aupaka Ke Kilohana Administrator Christy Schumann is providing program support for La‘i‘Opua 2020 and Kealakehe High School teacher Chris Ibarra, Kealakehe Elementary Na Kahumoku coordinator Jeannine Crisafi, and Ke Kama Pono Coordinator Anthony Savvis who are coordinating their student logistics, grading, attendance, recruitment, and transportation.

The team, including Site Manager Wilds Pihanui Brawner and Restoration Technician Kealaka‘i Knoche work together with the outreach education team and collaborators to intertwine history of people and place with land restoration “learn while doing” activities to better understand the lands of Kealakehe and the larger mauka-makai lands of  North Kona, Kekaha region of Hualalai mountain. Stewardship events involve intergenerational sharing of knowledge with other groups and learning programs.

HTA Kūkulu Ola: Living Hawaiian Culture Program Supports Ka Pilina Poina ‘Ole “Connection Not Forgotten” program

In 2011,  Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association (HFIA) was awarded $15,000 by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) for the Ka Pilina Poina ‘Ole “Connection Not Forgotten” program. The cultural education program engages youth groups in forest stewardship events at three dryland forest sites in West Hawai‘i; Ka‘ūpūlehu Dryland Forest Preserve, and Kalaemanō Cultural Center. This is the second year HTA has supported this effort through its Kūkulu Ola: Living Hawaiian Culture Program.

The youth educational program serves an estimated 300 students (ages 13-19) annually. Youth receive a hands-on, learning experience to effect positive change in the areas of kuleana (responsibility), mālama (stewardship), and interdependency of all living things. Outreach includes learning about Hawaiian protocols, native and invasive plants, and heritage stories of the landscape and people. The program incorporates Cultural Educator Keoki Apokolani Carter’s Mea La‘au program, a hands-on youth education program that focuses on native Hawaiian plants and trees for tools and implements and offers alternatives to endangered species.

Tropical dryland forests are among the most threatened and endangered ecosystems in the world. In Hawai‘i, over 95% of the State’s dry forests have been destroyed and over 25% of the federally listed endangered plant taxa in the Hawaiian flora are from dry forest ecosystems. Hawaii’s remaining dryland forests have been severely impacted by deforestation, fire, and invasions by alien species. Even within the North Kona region of the Island of Hawai’i, which contains some of the largest and highest quality remnants left within the State, most of them today consist of only fragmented, degraded, and senescent patches.

To learn more about dryland forest ecosystems, go to Ka’ahahui ‘O Ka Nāhelehele’s website at www.drylandforest.org or HFIA’s dryland forest webpage at www.hawaiiforest.org/reports/dryland.html.

Na Kahumoku photos: http://www.nakahumoku.com/event007.html

Geography Huaka’i to Kalaemanō and Kīholo
Ma Kekaha Wai ‘Ole O Kona
April 16, 2011
HawCC/UHH
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dkapp/huakai_kalaemano_04.16.11.html

More About Ka Pilina Poina ’Ole

Learn more about dryland habitat restoration and youth educational program.
Download the PDF Brochure (3.3 Mb)