Hui Lā‘au Kama‘āina: Restoration and Education at La‘i‘Ōpua Preserve

HFI is working with the Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), and other community partners to restore and manage the 70-acre endangered plant preserves at the Villages of La‘i‘Ōpua in Kealakehe, North Kona, on Hawai‘i Island. In addition to endemic, indigenous, and Polynesian-introduced plants, two of the rarest endangered plants in the world, the Aupaka wahine noho kula (Isodendrion pyrifolium) and Uhiuhi (Caesalpinia kavaiensis) are being protected and perpetuated.

In addition to site restoration and management, this project is providing the West Hawai‘i community with “land-based”, cultural and environmental education and forest stewardship opportunities through the Hui Lā‘au Kama‘āina outreach program. The program instills in the homesteaders at La‘i‘Ōpua a sense of their historic and cultural landscape. The plants being restored are part of their ‘ohana and opportunities to relearn those connections and to nurture and care for their family members are important to the success and well-being of this new community.

Values of aloha, mālama ‘āina, pono, and lōkahi are essential components of this project. The project involves taking care of the land, water, air, and each other in spiritual harmony and creating opportunities for healthy lifestyles, both mentally and physically.

The Hui Lā‘au Kama‘āina Team is creating the Hui Lā‘au Kama‘āina Outdoor Learning Center, a native dryland habitat learning center with a walking trail within the La‘i‘Ōpua Dryland Forest Preserve. The community walking trail is integrated with the natural landscape, offering views of the ocean and connections to the wind and sun.

Hui Lā‘au Kama‘āina Team members are Site Manager Wilds Pihanui Brawner; Education and Community Engagement Coordinator Keoki Apokolani Carter; Outreach Consultant Yvonne Yarber Carter; Restoration Technician Kealaka‘i Knoche, and Project Administrator Heather Gallo-Simmons. Two full-time, year-round Hawai‘i Youth Conservation Corp (HYCC) interns are assisting and learning from the Team.  Former La‘i‘Ōpua Village Project Manager and Civil Engineer William Makanui and Leonard Bisel, Leonard Bisel Associates have provided much appreciated support of the project.

Tropical dryland habitats 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.

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

Learn more at http://www.drylandforest.org/

Photos of Hui Lā‘au Kama‘āina: Restoration and Education at La‘i‘Ōpua Preserve

Salvation Army Family Intervention Services
The Salvation Army Family Intervention Services (FIS) provides residential, prevention and intervention services to adolescents in communities on the Hawai‘i Island. Its mission is to provide youth with skills for a healthy lifestyle, and instill purpose, hope and vision to youth and their families. FIS provides opportunities to achieve academic success and personal resiliency.  Mahalo to Salvation Army Family Intervention Service youth for all their hard work at La‘i‘Ōpua Preserve.

Aupaka o Wao Lama
Aupaka o Wao Lama is a collaborative partnership program among: Kealakehe High School, Spirit of Aloha 1-credit course taught by Greg Harrs; La‘i ‘Ōpua 2020 Kau I Ka Mālie Cultural Center and Aupaka Ke Kilohana; and HFIA programs Hui La‘au Kama‘āina La‘i ‘Ōpua, and Ho‘ola Ka Makana‘ā Ka‘ūpūlehu.

This is a “Learn while doing” place-based stewardship education partnership, integrating cultural ecology, and science ecology. The primary sites of activity are: 1) The community “Piko” area of the native plant Aupaka Preserve, within Hawaiian Homelands of La‘i ‘Ōpua; 2) The L2020 Kau I Ka Mālie Cultural and Technical Center at Kealakehe High School; 3) The cultural ecology outdoor learning site of Ho‘ola Ka Makana‘ā, Ka‘ūpūlehu. Cultural Ecology educators Keoki Apokolani Carter (DOE certified) and Yvonne Yarber Carter are coordinating the experiential learning events and curriculum, along with the HFIA dryland forest restoration team, utilizing a combination of cultural knowledge, place-based activities, curriculum and digital resources. This is being done within the context of sound conservation practices; and homeland cultural ecology values and history. The “Spirit of Aloha” Kealakehe High School students (1-credit course) is the haumana of this experiential learning program.