Preserve Hawaiʻi » Kauaʻi Volunteering

Earth Day in Hawaiʻi

preservehawaii — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:58:25 +0000

Click logo for national Earth Day website

Hawaiʻi is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with an Earth weekend full of events. Here’s a sampling:

April 22 OʻAHU
Sustainability Festival
University of Hawaiʻi Manoa Campus, Oʻahu
UHMearthday@gmail.com

April 22 KAUAʻI
Earth Day 2010
Kauaʻi Community College, Kauaʻi
bain@hawaii.edu

April 23 & 24 OʻAHU
Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival
Honolulu, Oʻahu

April 24 HAWAIʻI ISLAND (BIG ISLAND)
Earth Day Fair at Keauhou
Keauhou Beach Resort, Hawaiʻi Island (Big Island)

April 24 OʻAHU
Ka Mole o Na Pua Festival
Leeward Community College, Oʻahu
aulii@hawaii.edu

April 23-25 MAUI
Earth Day Service Trip in Haleakala Crater
Haleakala, Maui

Join Hawaiian Islands Monk Seal Count

preservehawaii — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:58:51 +0000

Monk Seals at Koki Beach, Maui

On April 17, all over the Hawaiian Islands, volunteers will be counting monk seals—and they could use your help!

The semi-annual count, coordinated by NOAA Fisheries, only happens 2 times a year. All islands participate on the same day at the exact same time to get a snapshot of monk seal numbers in Hawaiʻi and their locations.

What: 7th Semi-annual Main Hawaiian Islands Monk Seal Count
When: Saturday, April 17th, 10AM – 1PM
Who: Any interested volunteers must attend a pre-count meeting—meetings are scheduled on each island this week and next—contact your island’s coordinator to RSVP:

Oʻahu—www.hmsrto.org
Maui and Lanaʻi—nicole.davis@noaa.gov
Kauaʻi—(808) 651-7668
Big Island—(808) 756-5961

Friends of Kalalau Trail, Kauaʻi

preservehawaii — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:00:33 +0000

The spectacular hiking trail between Keʻe Beach and Hanakapiʻai Beach on Kauaʻi’s Napali Coast needs your help!

Twice a month, the Friends of Kalalau Trail organizes volunteer workdays help rehabilitate degraded portions of this two-mile stretch. The views are stunning and the company delightful—click here to join them.

Upcoming volunteer days (meet at the Keʻe Beach trailhead at 8 a.m.):

March 20
April 3 and 17
May 8 and 22
June 5 and 19

Using picks, shovels, hoe-rakes, and lots of muscle.

Turning the worn trail into a smooth, wide treadway.

Help Maintain New Kauai Path

preservehawaii — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:00:12 +0000

There’s a new pedestrian and bicycling path on Kauai’s east shore—Ke Ala Hele Makalae. Over four miles long, it hugs the dramatic coastline while following old sugar cane-haul rail and truck roads.

On the second Saturday of each month, Kauaʻi Path volunteers help maintain the beauty and safety of the island’s paths and you can join them. Second Saturday Sweeps start at 8:30 a.m. (meet at the Kapaʻa Neighborhood Center) and end at 11 a.m. with a potluck lunch. The next Sweep is March 13.

For more information, visit www.kauaipath.org, or contact Thomas Noyes, ThomasNoyes@hawaiiantel.net, (808) 639-1018.

Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park, Kauai

preservehawaii — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:28:23 +0000

You don’t have to be a kid to be awed by the Volcano Slide at Lydgate Park’s Kamalani Playground. Or by the multicolored mosaics—turtle tables and snake seats and tiles shaped into the faces of divers and butterflies and fish. A lot of love went into creating what the Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park like to call the “best beach park in the state of Hawaiʻi.” And love is what keeps it looking spectacular.

Join the Friends every Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at Lydgate Park in Wailua (Kauaʻi’s east shore) to help keep this special place in prime condition, such as by grooming the beaches of the popular swimming ponds. (Past Friends projects have included Kamalani Playground, Kamalani Kai Bridge, and Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Sports Park.)

For more information, contact Thomas Noyes, ThomasNoyes@hawaiiantel.net, (808) 639-1018, or visit www.kamalani.org. And if you’re on Kauaʻi for Earth Day, April 17 this year, help the Friends celebrate on their major volunteer day of the year—lunch is included!

Throughout March, we’ll be featuring a variety volunteer projects available on Kauaʻi’s east and north shores—check back here for weekly updates.

Surfrider Net Patrol

preservehawaii — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:00:46 +0000

: Gathering Nets

: Net Removal

As well as frequent beach cleanups, Surfrider Foundation on Kauaʻi runs a dedicated Net Patrol project, led by Barbara Wiedner. Her team of volunteers remove the massive entanglements that often wash up on shore—nets can break off coral or block sunlight to the underwater ecosystem; sometimes they wrap around sea turtles or monk seals, even whales. To join the Net Patrol effort, contact Barbara at Bwiednerrealtor@aol.com.

Kauaʻi Beach Cleanups and Blue Water Task Force

preservehawaii — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:00:47 +0000

Bottle caps, plastic bags, lighters, batteries. This isn’t the natural diet of a seafaring bird or marine mammal, but it’s increasingly becoming one. Marine debris is an enormous issue for wildlife whose lives depend on the sea—especially when they tragically ingest these items, mistaking them for food. On Kauaʻi, Surfrider Foundation devotes much of its time to cleaning up the island’s beaches. It only takes a few hours, and you get to experience some of the Kauai’s most beautiful coastlines. To join in on the next beach cleanup, contact surfriderkauai@gmail.com, (808) 337-9977, www.surfrider.org/kauai

Surfrider volunteers also make up the Blue Water Task Force, paddling out to favorite surf spots to test for water clarity, salinity, and bacteria. The Kauaʻi chapter tests 16 beaches on the island every month. Samples are then given to skilled scientist Dr. Carl Berg, who works closely with the State Department of Health to identify polluted areas. On Kauaʻi the largest problems have been associated with cesspools during heavy rains and toxic runoff from agricultural lands. To get involved in the Blue Water Task Force, contact Dr. Carl Berg directly at cberg@pixi.com.

Monk Seal Reward, Kauaʻi

preservehawaii — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:00:36 +0000

Monk Seal Mother and Pup

The Kauaʻi chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is one of the leading conservation groups on the island. Recently the chapter posted its second reward for information regarding the murder of endangered monk seals on the island last year. Thanks to all the folks who donated money for the reward, the fisherman who shot the first monk seal was apprehended and is now in jail.

To support this conservation effort by donating to the monk seal reward fund, please go to www.surfrider.org/kauai.

Spotlight: Surfrider Kauaʻi

preservehawaii — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:35:32 +0000

Kauai Coast

The Surfrider Foundation is a national coastal environmental organization, with chapters all over the United States. In Hawaiʻi there are chapters on Oʻahu, the Kona side of the Big island, Maui, and Kauaʻi. The Kauaʻi chapter is extremely active. This winter they sponsored a conference of the expected effects of global climate change on the island—over 200 people attended (an excellent turn out for an island that has only a few thousand households!). Professors from the University of Hawaiʻi gave their views on the validity of the concerns about global warming, as well as concrete things individuals can do, such as driving a hybrid car or taking the bus, or decreasing or eliminating red meat from their diet.

Check back here throughout January to see what Surfrider projects you can get involved with on Kauaʻi. Or contact them directly at surfriderkauai@gmail.com, (808) 337-9977, www.surfrider.org/kauai

To connect with Surfrider chapters on other islands, click here:
Surfrider Kona
Surfrider Maui
Surfrider O‘ahu