As a nature writer, I realized that when you encourage people to visit a place, no matter how conscious they are, that impact on that environment adds up. Was there a way we could go beyond even the low-impact approach of ecotourism and give something back to the places we visit?
The answers to that question led me to write the book Preserving Paradise: Opportunities in Volunteering for Hawaiʻi’s Environment (Island Heritage Publishing, 2008). And I started this website—a place to find out what’s happening week-to-week at Hawaiʻi’s environmental volunteering programs, and how easy it is to join them.
In 2009, I also created an educational outreach project to further share Hawaiʻi volunteering information with 300+ industry leaders in the youth, visitor, and business sectors. Nonprofit sponsorship through Tri-Isle RC&D and support from the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Natural Resources Program, Atherton Family Foundation, KAHEA-Hawaiian Environmental Alliance, and several private supporters made this outreach possible, and I’m so very grateful to them.
Please enjoy! And feel free to contact me with any questions. I hope you’ll find just the project you’ve been looking for in these pages …
Aloha,
Kirsten Whatley
preservehawaii@gmail.com
ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia.
No task is too big when done together by all.
