Monday, December 28, 2009

Back again!

Aloha mai kakou,

E kala mai for the absence! It has been awhile since posting so back at it again. Anticipating regulars posts going into the new year.

The last few months have had some great events & achievements in the Maunalua region including record amounts of invasive algae having been removed by community groups and schools including Waldorfe School, Halau Hula O Kamamolikolehua & Hawaiian Air Lines, a great Lunalilo Home Ho'olaulea event, drumming to raise awareness about the plight of the heiau's and wahi pana in Maunalua and accross the Pae Aina o Hawai'i and many other things.

Community groups are continuing to strive and progress with efforts to improve and restore Maunalua Bay and the surrounding water sheds (Malama Maunalua), gain access & restore the last remaining fish ponds of this area (Maunalua Fish Pond Heritage Center) & establish a learning center for agriculture and sustainability in Kamilonui Valley (Aloha Aina O Kamilonui).

Posts regarding these and other community led efforts will start again immediately in addition to other items of interest from around the island of Oahu. Stay tuned!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Desecration at Hawea Heiau

Hawea Heiau in Maunalua is being watched and guarded closely by the community at this time due to recent work done by a developer that has partially desecrated this wahi pana.

This type of careless action, disregard and stupidity by certain developers and land owners who have no regard for the culture of Hawai'i or it's sacred places seems to continue all for the sake of greed and money. To them, Hawai'i is nothing more than a commodity in which they can rake in there speculative dollars and run away with it back to the mainland or wherever they come from.

The people of Hawai'i obviously cannot rely on the agencies or bureaucracies to stay on top of these types of violations or stop it. Only a vigilant community can put an end to this type of sickening behavior.

Kapuna Spring & Haiku Stream








Mahalo to Mahi La Pierre for showing us around lands mauka in Haiku on Monday, June 22. Pictures above from bottom to top are Haiku stream and Kapuna Spring. Kapuna spring is a spring where Kane and Kanaloa are said to have obtained their drinking water (Sites of Oahu - Sterling & Summers - pp 201).

Crystal clear fresh water still gushes from the ground near the spring in which you can reach down with cupped hands and still drink the water right from the ground. Air bubbles are visible in Kapuna spring in the top picture. No doubt, there were many springs like this in the Maunalua area in days gone by which have since been covered up by development.

Loko I'a o Kanewai














Pictures above from bottom to top show 'auwai entrance to the Loko I'a o Kanewai (Kanewai Fish Pond) from Paiko Lagoon, makaha gate area at the mid-point of the 'auwai and 'auwai leading into Kanewai. The length of the 'auwai running between Paiko Lagoon and Kanewai pond I would guess is approx. 40 to 50 yards.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Native Plant Restoration at Paiko Lagoon








Students & volunteers worked hard Saturday, June 20th at Paiko Wildlife Sanctuary under the supervision of the State Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Invasive non-native plants are being cleared from the area (above pictures) and native species are in turn being planted (below pictures). This is an on-going project and future work dates are planned.



$3.4 Million is Awarded for Maunalua Bay Project

From Suzanne Case of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i (June 30, 2009):

It is with much excitement that I announce to you that TNC's proposed Maunalua Bay Reef Restoration project has been awarded $3.4 million by NOAA's Community-based Restoration Program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka economic stimulus funding).

Through this 2-year award, this project will create an estimated 73 new full- and part-time jobs in Hawai‘i, removing the invasive alien algae Avrainvillea amadelpha (mud weed) as the critical first step towards restoring coral reef and seagrass habitat in Maunalua Bay. It is a distinct honor for TNC to have been requested locally to serve as the lead on this project, which we look forward to successful implementation on in partnership with Mālama Maunalua, TNC’s long-time local community conservation partner in the Bay.

The project is a scaling up of three years of volunteer efforts that have successfully removed more than 25 tons of invasive algae from Maunalua Bay. The cleared areas have remained free of algae, and there is growing evidence of the return of native species. This stimulus funding from NOAA will enable us to take this community effort to scale so we can begin to bring this once thriving bay back to life.

This award is one of several that have been made to the Conservancy for national coastal habitat restoration efforts that also create jobs. These successful TNC awards have been selected among intense national competition: over 800 proposals were submitted requesting three billion dollars in funding from only $170 million available.

This is a highly unusual project for The Nature Conservancy, as this funding does not go to support our current projects, but creates a new, direct, community-based project that TNC has agreed to manage. TNC will have one new staff person to oversee the project, and a minimal amount of the funding will cover TNC marine support and project administration. We welcome this opportunity because it is good for both the economy and the environment.

We believe that there is no better investment in our State than to improve the health of our near shore ocean, which is a source of food, recreation, and income for many. We consider this project to be among our highest priority conservation efforts over the next two years, and we are committed to see it through to its successful completion. Few conservation projects will ever receive the extraordinary level of national visibility and attention that this project will receive. Our commitment to this work reflects not only our belief in achieving lasting conservation impact through local partnerships with public support, but also the role of applied science in making management decisions and taking future conservation action. In particular, we are excited about the opportunity for this project to clearly demonstrate the direct connection between Hawai‘i’s economic and environmental health.

During the selection process, NOAA received over 800 proposals totaling more than $3 billion in requests for restoration funding, yet only $160 million in NOAA funding was available. The Nature Conservancy received funding for eight coastal restoration projects across the U.S., to restore and protect coral reefs, oyster reefs, seagrass beds, salt marshes, salmon streams, and floodplains. We are honored and humbled to be one of these projects, and would like to thank President Barack Obama, the Congress, the Hawai‘i congressional delegation, and NOAA for their support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and for recognizing the importance and value of Hawaii’s reefs.

The writing and submission of this award proposal was a true team effort, with members from our marine and terrestrial teams, our financial management team, and our administrative leadership all contributing on what has been reported back to us by NOAA staff as among the very best proposals that were submitted nationally. I congratulate you all on this significant team achievement.


Sincerely,

Suzanne


Congratulations all volunteers, community members, residents and agencies involved!!! Without all your dedication and hard work over the last year, this would not have been possible.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Limu Huki for Pōʻalima, Iune 12




Mahalo to Outrigger Canoe Club kids, Malama Maunalua members and community volunteers for all the great work last Friday (April 12)at Paiko. Approx. 3900 lbs of invasive alien algae (IAA) was pulled. Almost two tons! Maika'i loa!

Mahalo nui iā 'oukou no ko 'oukou kōkua.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Huki for Pōʻalima, Mei 15


Mahalo to everyone who came out last Friday, May 15 to the huki at Paiko and for another successful day. We pulled 3751 lbs of IAA that day in just one hour.

Mahalo nui to the students and the teachers from Halau Ku Mana for visiting and for their kokua. Big mahalo's also to Russell Amimoto for talking story to the students and the group about the recent Hokulea voyage. Also, Brain Hauk and Rodolf Pan for talking about the plants and animals found at Paiko.

Huki for Pōʻaono, Mei 2




Mahalo nui to all who came to the Saturday, May 2nd huki at Paiko Beach (see attached pics.). We had a great day and pulled approx. 3560 lbs of IAA. Also, loaded on top of that was another approx. 700 lbs pulled by Paiko resident Kini Gleason in days prior to our Sat pull.. Big mahalo to Kini. It is great to see Paiko residents involved since we are working right near there homes. We wish and hope for as many residents as possible to be involved with our work especially the ones right near where we are pulling.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Ho'oulu ʻĀina








Yesterday, I spent the morning at Kalihi Valley Nature Preserve to kokua with the spreading of limu into some of there plots. Gorilla ogo and mudweed (3nd Pic. from top) was spread over the rows and than dug into the soil (top Pic. below). Kalihi Valley Nature Preserve is pioneering the use of Avrainvillea and is having success. I learned that when they incorporate avrainvillea into their compost piles, they layer it with shredded tree trimmings and it takes about 6 to maybe 9 months to completely decompose. Yesterday, we dug fresh avrainvillea & gorilla ogo right into the plots for the first time without it being composted prior to. That's how confident they are about the use of avrainvillea as nourishment for the lepo in addition to other composting materials. I am experimenting with the composting of avrainvillea in a small garden plot also in Kamiloiki (bottom Pic. below) and will keep you posted as to how it goes.

We also spent time weeding and hiking around the preserve.

For those of you have been involved in the pulling of invasive alien algae from Maunalua Bay and than watching it go bye-bye to places unknown. Now, you can see the whole mauka - makai connection by seeing that what we have been viewing as rubbish only, is not rubbish. It is a valuable resource that can be used to enrich the land and grow food, flowers, native plants & trees. Solomon Enos is a great teacher and they are doing great things in Kalihi. They are a great model to learn from and follow in ahupua'a land management. They hope that their Nature Preserve can serve as a template for other communities to learn from and incorporate into their own ahupua'a.




Monday, April 13, 2009

Huki for Pōʻakolu, ʻApelila 8th




Last Wednesday's huki rendered 2266 lbs of invasive alien algae - plus some because I think the scales are still of by about 5%. Per Marion, we pulled this amount in only 1.75 hours which included having the trucks loaded and ready to go. Our efficiency is really improving.

To date, we have cleared 10,355 square feet of invasive alien algae from our plot at Paiko Beach or just 1% shy of a quarter acre (see pics). This is a great accomplishment by all the volunteers and something to be proud of.

Kalihi Valley Nature Park






Big mahalo to all volunteers who made it out for the March 24th huki. We finished with about 2700 lbs. of invasive alien algae (IAA) plus some. Maika'i loa! YOU GUYS ARE DA BEST!!!

In the afternoon, the IAA was transported to Kalihi Valley Nature Park where we had a great meeting with Puni, Casey and Solomon in Kalihi Valley (see attached pictures). What they are doing at Kalihi Valley Nature Park is truly amazing. We can all learn from what they are accomplishing and the awareness they are creating in us all to malama ka 'aina. Looking forward to having them come and visit us in Maunalua soon.

By the way, they have been successful at composting Avrainvillea and re-introducing it to the 'aina to nourish the lepo, grow kalo, 'uala and other plants. Very encouraging and hopefully this can be passed on to other farmers and plant nurseries for further evaluation to see if it might be helpful to them.


Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Pa'ipa'i i ke kahawai o Wailupe






The traditional Hawaiian fishing method of pa'ipa'i was used in Wailupe stream on Sunday, March 14 to corral fish. The goal was to try to determine what types of fish are living in the stream.

Wailupe is one of the last streams in East Honolulu that has not been channelized with concrete.
About a dozen community members waded up the stream to just ma uka of Kalanianaole Hwy. to pa'ipa'i the water ma kai down to the boards and net being used to corral the fish.

Manuel Mejia of the Nature Conservancy and Division of Aquatic Recourses personnel were there to facilitate scientific analysis of the fish.

Some conclusions trying to be drawn include:

1) Are there native fish?
2) What are the alien fish eating?
3) What life stages are they in?
4) Are eradication programs necessary?
5) Are there positive ramifications of alien fish?
The days before Sunday included much rain and the water was running fairly strongly on that day from ma uka to ma kai.

Baby ʻamaʻama (stripped mullet), uouoa (sharp nose mullet), kanda mullet and āholehole (bottom picture) were caught in addition to one tadpole. Talapia were seen in the water, but none were caught.

Many baby mullet (pua) were seen swimming approx. 20 yards in front of the pa'ipa'i crew; however, most were very elusive and were able to evade the pa'ipa'i crew, corral and net. Some of the small fish were not positively identified.


Another pa'ipa'i attempt may be made in the summer under different conditions including dryer weather preceeding pa'ipa'i and different tidal conditions.




Thursday, March 5, 2009

Todayʻs Huki Tally


98 bags of invasive algae were pulled today at Paiko by 20 of us in about 1 1/2 hours for a total of 3076 lbs. Right on, gang!

Mahalo nui to all who were able to make it out and to TNC & DAR crews for their usual great support. Mahalo also to Kalihi Valley Nature Park for allowing algae to be dumped there.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Old Mākāhā adjacent to Paiko Lagoon






There are remnants of an old mākāhā at the base of Paiko Lagoon where the lagoon meets the ma kai side or start of Kuliʻouʻou Road. You can see an indentation in the old wall there and the gaps or groves in the wall where the mākāhā gate used to slide up and down.

At this time, on the opposite side of the wall, it is all filled and is ground and grassy area adjacent to the Kuliʻouʻou Kai condominium. It would be interesting to know if Kulioʻouʻou stream originally fed into this location or if there were adjacent fish stocking ponds adjacent to Paiko Lagoon in the old days. Carved into the wall is the date May 6, 1934.

Mahalo to Chris Cramer for pointing this out.