The Trust for Public Land in Hawai‘i THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF
in 2021
AND MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE YEAR AHEAD
A LETTER FROM HAWAI‘I STATE DIRECTOR LEA HONG Your continued partnership with us to improve health, equity, and climate outcomes in communities across Hawai‘i is humbling. Like you, we believe that ‘āina is precious and that everyone deserves access to nature. In early 2020, when the pandemic first limited travel and gatherings, Hawai‘i turned to our parks, beaches, trails, and open spaces. We rediscovered the breathtaking beauty of our island home and the ease and stress-free joys of surfing, hiking, walking the beach, or strolling around the block with our ‘ohana to the park. However, this mass movement outdoors also exposed that not everyone in our communities has equal access to the outdoors. As our state continues to grapple with COVID-19 and visitors return to Hawai‘i, equitable access, management, and stewardship of our parks, trails, and beaches are more important than ever. Now is the time to champion close-to-home parks and natural areas in addressing inequity and ensure that the healing power of nature is available to Hawai‘i’s families and communities.
Thanks to supporters like you, we accomplished so much in Hawai‘i this year. Together, we: • Preserved nearly 2,300 acres of land in Ka‘ū so the community can access their coastline, trails, and cultural sites while also supporting local food production and preserving the region’s paniolo (cowboy) traditions • Fundraised for and expanded our Hawai‘i staff capacity—adding a junior position to our Land Protection team to invest in the next generation of land protection leaders • Supported our partners and communities through an unprecedented global pandemic, all with the unwavering belief that Lana kākou i ka hau‘oli o ha‘i (We rise by uplifting others) I hope you are inspired by the work described in the following pages. With your help, we will continue protecting land, creating parks, and connecting people to ‘āina here in Hawai‘i and across the country. Mahalo a nui,
Lea Hong, Hawai‘i State Director Edmund C. Olson Trust Fellow
TPL STAFF
Thank you from The Trust for Public Land’s Hawai‘i team
PARKS FOR PEOPLE HAWAI‘I ‘A‘ALA PARK IN THE FIRST YEAR
Thanks to ECF donors, we awarded $200,000 in grants to eight community partners integral in supporting great parks for their neighborhoods. We proudly awarded $25,000 to our ‘A‘ala Park partners at the O‘ahu Intertribal Council (OIC).
COVID-19 has proven the importance of parks and open spaces to our quality of life. But 100 million people do not have a close-to-home park. To advance health equity, we must improve the contexts in which our most vulnerable community members live, learn, work, and play. Ensuring that everyone lives within an easy 10-minute walk of a quality park is an essential part of that equation.
The OIC is a grassroots organization working to preserve diverse Indigenous traditions, family histories, and community relationships. Over the last 40 years, OIC has hosted educational outreach, cultural exchanges, and an annual powwow event in Hawai‘i’s parks.
As the pandemic unfolded, the ‘A‘ala Park neighboring communities in Kalihi and Chinatown experienced the highest rates of COVID infections and related income loss in Hawai‘i. They also experienced increased housing and food insecurity, income and employment loss, and challenges accessing vital health, economic, and social service resources. JOHN BILDERBACK
We needed to shift our park engagement to support our partners quickly. And as we did so, we saw just how resilient Kalihi and Chinatown residents are. We were humbled to partner with community groups like We Are Oceania, the O‘ahu Intertribal Council, Ka Po‘e o Kaka‘ako, and many more who worked tirelessly to serve the immediate needs of their communities. We also partnered with American Savings Bank and Hawai‘i Pacific Health to host two vaccine clinics in the park. We cannot wait to help this community transform their park.
The pandemic expanded the council’s outreach beyond education to immediate support for families through food and economic relief to elders, children, and veterans. OIC also distributed over 1,000 meals during the summer launch of our Parks for People Program at ‘A‘ala Park.
SUPPORTING OUR PARTNERS We launched the Equitable Communities Fund (ECF) to energize the efforts of disadvantaged and historically marginalized communities nationwide who need resources, capacity, and financial support to accelerate the creation of parks and open space.
‘A‘ala Park O‘ahu
LOVE OF THE LAND—OUR ALOHA ‘ INA PROGRAM TINA AIU
Alakoko Fishpond Kaua‘i
Our Aloha ‘Āina program reflects our commitment to equity, health, and community. Our mission is to protect land for people. In Hawai‘i, we have the privilege of working with dedicated stewards that have genealogical and intimate relationships to place and culture and welcome all to reconnect with ‘āina. ‘Āina, the Hawaiian word for ‘land,’ translates to ‘that which feeds us.’ It encompasses the Hawaiian worldview of a reciprocal and familial relationship between people and land. ‘Āina is foundational to Native Hawaiian culture and identity, traditional and customary practices, subsistence farming, fishing, hunting, gathering, healing arts, and spirituality. Connection to ‘āina is essential to Native Hawaiians and all who call Hawai‘i home. Likewise, the health of the land reflects the
health of Hawaiian communities. The concept of aloha ‘āina, or love of the land, teaches us that if you take care of the land, it will take care of you.
He kaiāulu ‘o Alakoko. “ Hiki i nā keiki ke a‘o i ka alu like e kōkua i ka loko i‘a. ” “ Alakoko is a community. We children can learn to work together and restore the fishpond.” - 4th Grade Kaua‘i Student
SAVING KAUA‘I’S ICONIC FISHPOND Alakoko Fishpond (aka Menehune Fishpond) lies at a large bend in the Hulē‘ia River separated by a 2,700-foot long kuapā (fishpond wall). This 600-year-old fishpond is famous in Hawaiian legend and beloved by the Kaua‘i community. Alakoko is the finest example of an inland loko kuapā (brackish water-walled fishpond) in all of Hawai‘i. It is said to have been built overnight by Menehune. According to oral histories, they may have been some of the earliest inhabitants of Hawai‘i and were master craftspeople, building fishponds, heiau (temples), and aqueducts. Fishponds are some of Hawai‘i’s most significant cultural resources—they are a testament to Hawaiian innovation in engineering, hydrology, and aquaculture. Fishponds like Alakoko demonstrate Hawaiian ingenuity in sustainability, food sovereignty, and natural resource management.
CREATING A COMMUNITY KĪPUKA Community nonprofit Mālama Hulē‘ia has been restoring the property since 2018, leading thousands of volunteers in mālama ‘āina activities. Yet, in early 2021, the 102-acre property was listed for sale. Mālama Hulē‘ia invited The Trust
for Public Land to help purchase the property to preserve the community’s access to the fishpond. The fishpond is a home base for Mālama Hulē‘ia to continue restoring the native wetland ecosystem and the Nāwiliwili Bay Watershed. Alakoko is now a living classroom where teachers, conservationists, and cultural experts create lessons in science, environment, climate, history, and Native Hawaiian culture. Over 5,000 school groups and community members have completely cleared 26-acres of invasive mangrove. Now, abundant signs of life are appearing at the fishpond. We can once again see and experience the beginnings of a thriving native landscape that existed over a century ago. The Trust for Public Land is working on due diligence and negotiating the purchase of the Alakoko property so that Mālama Hulē‘ia can forever steward this ‘āina in partnership with the community. If we are successful in purchasing the property, support will be needed to help steward Alakoko into the future to once again become a working fishpond that will feed our community. Mālama Hulē‘ia and The Trust for Public Land plan to launch a community campaign to ensure the long-term stewardship of this community treasure! We hope you will join us.
TPL ARCHIVE
NEARLY 2,300 ACRES PROTECTED IN KA‘Ū IN 2021 TPL STAFF
Kaunāmano
Island of Hawai‘i
precious farm land and cultural sites, perpetuate Ka‘ū’s paniolo (cowboy) history, and support agricultural jobs in this rural community.
MAN KA‘A FISHING VILLAGE With Kuahiwi Ranch, ATA, and the Freeman Foundation, we joined the community to protect Manāka‘a Fishing Village. The 348-acre undeveloped coastal parcel is located in the Kāwala ahupua‘a. The Ka‘ū community has long cherished the land between Nā‘ālehu and the Maniania Pali sea cliffs for subsistence fishing, cattle ranching, and precious cultural sites.
The Ka‘ū community is determined to protect their beloved 80-mile coast to honor their kūpuna and empower future generations to perpetuate their subsistence lifestyle and Hawaiian culture. We are partnering with them to achieve their goals.
HONU‘APO RANCHLANDS With Kuahiwi Ranch, Ala Kahakai Trail Association (ATA), Ka ‘Ohana O Honu‘apo (KOOH), and the Freeman Foundation, we protected 601 acres of pasture land with a conservation easement. Family-owned and operated Kuahiwi Ranch owns the property as a working ranch. Their goal is to increase the island’s local food supply—marketing approximately 450,000 pounds of meat annually. ATA and KOOH will hold and manage the conservation easement. These lands are part of the storied rural landscape of Ka‘ū—rich in cultural and agricultural history. The conservation easement will conserve
With our partners and the Ka‘ū community, we purchased a conservation easement to protect Manāka‘a from development. Together, we preserved this coastline so future generations can walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.
KAUN MANO Alongside the Ka‘ū community and ATA, we purchased and protected 1,363-acres of shoreline, cattle pasture, and four miles of the ancient Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail. The Trail previously covered the entire island. It now links traditional trails leading to two fishing villages at Pā‘ula and Pauku, Puhi‘ula cave and anchialine pond, and hundreds of ancient Hawaiian cultural sites. As landowner and community steward, ATA and its Ka‘ū Stewardship Hui will partner with the community to develop a community-based management plan for Kaunāmano. The plan will continue the current ranching lease, steward the cultural sites, trails, and natural resources, and manage coastal access for fishing, gathering, and cultural practice.
IN THE YEAR AHEAD In the year ahead, your partnership will support …
ALOHA ‘ INA Protecting Hawai‘i’s cultural lands: • Maunawili: Partner with the Kailua community to purchase and protect 1,084 acres on O‘ahu, home to popular hiking trails, fertile agricultural lands and terrace systems, where Queen Lili‘uokalani wrote the song “Aloha ‘Oe.”
PARKS FOR PEOPLE HAWAI‘I Creating close-to-home parks: • ‘A‘ala Park: Engage the community in an inclusive participatory planning process to articulate a vision for the park that honors the past, looks forward to the future, and improves the lives of over 18,000 residents who live within a 10-minute walk of the park.
• Kiolaka‘a: Assist the Ka‘ū community to protect 1,841 acres of rare native dryland forest, a coastal freshwater spring, anchialine ponds, the eastern shoreline of Ka‘alu‘alu Bay, mauka pasturelands that perpetuate Ka‘ū’s paniolo traditions, and portions of the ancient Kamakalepo settlement and Lua Nunu cave system—used to defend Ka‘ū during the wars with Kamehameha.
• Plan for the future: Create a model to scale our work for other park improvement and publicprivate partnership park projects in Hawai‘i.
SUSTAINABLE HAWAI‘I
• Love of the land: Partner with Native Hawaiian communities to protect ‘āina from development and return these lands to Hawaiian organizations for community-based stewardship.
Securing Hawai‘i’s food, forests, and water:
• Kaupō Ranch: Partner with the National Park Service to acquire 3,018 acres in East Maui along the southern boundary of Haleakalā National Park and Wilderness with surreal views up Kaupō Gap. • Support ‘āina momona: Enhance and support Native Hawaiian resource management and food production, connect people to the outdoors, and preserve the beauty of Hawai‘i and its scenic view planes.
TPL STAFF
• Nā Wai ‘Ehā: Collaborate with the Maui community to permanently protect 11,021 acres of Mauna Kahālāwai (West Maui Mountains) located over the ‘Īao aquifer with abundant streams, native forest, priority watershed, and significant cultural sites.
‘A‘ala Nā WaiPark ‘Ehā Honolulu, HI Maui
Hawai‘i Advisory Board We are so grateful for our volunteer leaders who advise, guide, and inspire our work across Hawai‘i Nei! Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli, Moloka‘i General Hospital Stanford Carr, Stanford Carr Development Mahina Paishon-Duarte, The Waiwai Collective Kā‘eo Duarte, Kamehameha Schools Bob Hines, Mediator Chris Hochuli, Merrill Lynch Steve Kelly, James Campbell Company Mark Linscott, Kāhi Mōhala Earlynne Maile, SSFM, International
Jeff Overton, G70 Mike B. Pietsch, Title Guaranty Brad Punu, Anatha Kirstin Punu, AES Distributed Energy Race Randle, Lendlease Americas Tom Reeve, Conservationist* Ka‘iulani Sodaro, Ward Village/Howard Hughes Corporation
Kurt Matsumoto, Pūlama Lāna‘i Catherine Ngo, Central Pacific Bank Blake Oshiro, Capitol Consultants of Hawai‘i
Emeritus Edmund C. Olson, Edmund C. Olson Trust * Chair of the National Board
Pūpūkahi i holomua Unite in order to progress BACK COVER: RYAN K AWAMOTO • FRONT COVER: TPL STAFF; JOHN BILDERBACK; MAL AMA HULĒIA; JOHN BILDERBACK; AL A K AHAK AI TR AIL ASSOCIATION
Mahalo For supporting The Trust for Public Land as we work to protect land and create parks for people in Hawai‘i and beyond. We couldn’t do it without you!
tpl.org/donate
Lea Hong Hawai‘i State Director Edmund C. Olson Trust Fellow 808.470.2141 | lea.hong@tpl.org Leslie Uptain Director of Field Philanthropy 808.470.2138 | leslie.uptain@tpl.org 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1512 Honolulu, HI 96813