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.

Talking about Kalo (Taro)

This Saturday (3/13), gifted cultural practitioner Lanakila Mangauil will share the story of the sacred kalo (taro), elder brother to man, at Malaʻai Garden. Come learn the cultural and practical practices of harvesting and cultivating dry-land kalo in this 9am-noon workshop. (Potluck will follow.)

Workshop is free in exchange for 2 hours of volunteering at the garden, or $25. (Also free to any school garden teachers.)

Malaʻai Garden is located at Waimea Middle School, 67-1229 Mamalahoa Hwy, Hawaiʻi Island (Big Island). Any questions, email garden leader Amanda Rieux.

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.

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.

Learning from the watershed model how land-based activities affect our oceans.

Water Quality Snapshot Days with Hui o Koʻolaupoko (HOK) are an easy way to help monitor the quality of Hawaiʻi’s oceans, streams, and other water sources. As a volunteer on Snapshot Day, you’ll learn how to sample the water for temperature, turbidity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and enterococcus bacteria.

To see the results of HOK’s first 2010 Snapshot Day—February 6 at Kualoa Beach Park, Kaneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu—go to http://huihawaii.org/data.html.

Recording data from tests of water samples.

Volunteers are invited to participate in the next Snapshot Day on March 6, 9am-11am, at Heʻeia State Park in Kaneʻohe. For more details, visit www.huihawaii.org or call Community Coordinator, Kristen Nalani Mailheau, at (808) 381-7202.

HOK would like to thank all the volunteers who participated in the February event, Hawaiʻi Pacific University for the use of the YSI 85, and Surfrider Foundation Oʻahu Chapter for the use of the Idexx machine to process enterococcus samples. HOK consistently seeks funds (private, state and federal) to continue monitoring water quality and works closely with the State of Hawaiʻi.

The Peak of Olomana Rises above Kaha Garden and Kawainui Marsh

Kaha Garden is located within Kawainui Neighborhood Park in Kailua, Oʻahu, and is maintained solely by community volunteers. Developed in 2007 by Hui o Koʻolaupoko, the garden is a living example of how individual homeowners can improve the local environment with what they plant. Visitors can walk the garden pathways, guided by interpretative signs, to see how native vegetation and xeriscape plants might appear in their own backyards. A website—http://kahagardens.com—designed by local elementary school students complements the Kaha Garden experience.

Volunteers at the garden are taught to identify native plants, learn their growing patterns, and understand their historic and cultural uses. They pass this knowledge on to park users, and help them with selecting proper plants for their homes and where to purchase them. Future plans include installing additional signage, replacing the cement sidewalk with pervious pavers, and expanding the planted area. In 2009, volunteers committed over 1,200 hours to Kaha Garden!

Volunteer workdays are the 4th Saturday of every other month, 8:30am-12pm. Upcoming workdays:

March 27
May 22

For more information, visit www.huihawaii.org or call Community Coordinator, Kristen Nalani Mailheau, at (808) 381-7202.

(Additional partners include landowners City and County of Honolulu: Park Department, Hawai‘i Department of Health: Clean Water Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Hui Ku Maoli Ola, LET Academy, and Hughes and Hughes Landscaping.)

Young Volunteers Help a Native Sapling Settle into Its New Home

Taking Cuttings for Stream Outplanting

Recent water quality monitoring of Heʻeia Stream in Kaneʻohe, Oʻahu, has shown high levels of nitrates and nitrites (possibly from fertilizer and pesticide overuse, and high turbidity due to stream bank erosion and nonnative vegetation).

The Heʻeia Stream Restoration Project of Hui o Koʻolaupoko addresses these issues by restoring sections of the stream banks and nearby forest with native vegetation, installing erosion control material, and holding workshops to educate area residents about proper fertilizer/pesticide use and useful native plants.

Volunteers play a vital role in this project. In this early stage, workdays focus on native Hawaiian plant identification and propagation, plus clearing invasive plants along the stream. Upon completion of the project, approximately 2,000 feet of stream bank and surrounding forest will have been restored! The area will be used by the community and school groups for environmental education.

Ulei Cuttings

Upcoming Heʻeia Stream Restoration workdays:

February 20
March 20
April 17
May 15

For more information, visit www.huihawaii.org or call Community Coordinator Kristen Nalani Mailheau at (808) 381-7202.

(Additional project partners include: Papahana Kuaola, Hui Ku Maoli Ola, Hawaiʻi Department of Health Clean Water Branch, Environmental Protection Agency, Hawaiʻi Pacific University.)

Planting Kupukupu at Kaha Garden

Throughout the Koʻolaupoko moku (district) of Windward Oʻahu, Makapuʻu to Kualoa, land-based pollution is a leading threat to ocean health and resources. The mission of Hui o Koʻolaupoko is to protect this ocean health by restoring the ʻaina (land), mauka to makai (from the mountain to the ocean), through: (1) watershed/ahupuaʻa restoration and monitoring, (2) natural resource coordination/community involvement, and (3) scientific data and information dissemination.

Volunteers are essential to these efforts! Projects include erosion control, water quality monitoring, invasive species removal, and habitat restoration using native Hawaiian flora.

Check back throughout February for more details on the upcoming events:

Heʻeia Stream Restoration Project: Help restore sections of the stream banks and nearby forest with native vegetation, install erosion control material, and participate in educational workshops. Next volunteer day: February 20

Volunteer Days at Kaha Garden: Help maintain the garden while learning about native Hawaiian plants and local watershed issues. Next volunteer day: March 27

Water Turbidity Testing on Water Quality Snapshot Day

Water Quality Snapshot Days: Help raise awareness about water quality monitoring and environmental conditions. Next volunteer days: (Kualoa) February 6, (Heʻeia) March 6

For more information, visit www.huihawaii.org or call Community Coordinator, Kristen Nalani Mailheau, directly at (808) 381-7202.

This is a great opportunity to not only help protect an endangered species, but to experience the beauty and landscape of Koko Head Crater on Oʻahu.

Volunteers will hike around the crater rim to the ʻihiʻihi habitat. The hike is a mile or so of steep and sometimes rocky terrain in exposed, sunny areas—but with great views and other native Hawaiian plants at the top. Bring plenty of water, lunch/snacks, sunscreen, sturdy footwear with good tread, comfortable gloves, and weeding tools. (If you don’t have tools, there may be extra and/or you can hand weed.) Please be sure your shoes and gear are free of dirt and seeds that may introduce invasive weeds to the site.

For more information, please e-mail Marian Chau at mmchau@hawaii.edu or Larry Abbott at lra@hawaiiantel.net, or check out the ʻIhiʻihi Protection Team website. Hope to see you Sunday!

Gathering Nets

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.