Casa de Las Palmas: Hilo’s Sanctuary for Rare and Endangered Palms
By Sara Stover On an unassuming country road outside of Hilo, perched above the ancient waters of Waiākea Stream, grows a menagerie of rare and endangered palms. Before you even step foot onto the grounds of Casa de Las Palmas…
The Many Hands, Feet, Wings, Paws, and Hoofs of Lili House Farm
By Nancy S. Kahalewai What do Arthur the mini-donkey, Wilma and Fred the African desert tortoises, and Tommy the American heritage turkey have in common? They all get to roam and graze on a carpet of sweet grass on the…
Battered by Life, the Rescued Livestock at FPG Have Found Sanctuary
By Stefan Verbano Eve the sheep lived an action-packed life before coming to the sanctuary. She spent her early years frolicking through green pastures of her lower Puna homestead, until her peaceful existence was shattered in 2018 by the massive…
Students Learn, Grow Food, Eat at School Culinary Gardens
By Fern Gavelek Itʻs all about “connecting the dots to textbooks while making learning delicious.” That’s how Patti Cook, community development director of Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School, describes the Māla‘ai Culinary Garden. Started in 2003 through a community…
Big Impact, Small Footprint: Urban Farming on Hawai‘i Island
By Brittany P. Anderson Most people envision Hawai‘i as a place to get away from city life, slow down, and reconnect with the land. But, according to US Census data, almost 92% of Hawai‘i State’s population lives in urban areas.…
Mālama Mokupuni—Caring for Our Island Environment: Cultivating Resilience
By Rachel Laderman Can there be such a thing as “regenerative tourism,” where visitors can balance the consuming nature of tourism by contributing to island sustainability? It’s a tall order, but sisters Kalisi Mausio and Angela Fa‘anunu, the co-founders of Hawaii…
Athlete and Adventurer Tutu Lorna Just Keeps Moving!
By Sara Stover Lorna Larsen-Jeyte has always been on the move. The lifelong swimmer and 81-year-old adventurer does not, however, workout for the sake of working out. “It is about being outside and in nature,” she says of the active…
Seeger Institute at Eden Farms: Ecological Solutions to Make a Better World
By Stefan Verbano There is a fierce urgency in Gary Rosenbergʻs eyes. Itʻs the look of a time traveler who, after witnessing some future calamity, is sent back to warn an incredulous public to change their ways, often with great…
Maile Lei, Lovely Maile Lei…is Growing Sustainably on Hawai‘i Island
Maile Lei, Lovely Maile Lei… You weave your magic charms around Hawai‘i nei. Every day in your subtle way, You tease the tradewinds with your fragrance, maile lei. – Maddy Lam, 1963 By Marcia Timboy For centuries, lei made from…
Celebrating the 2% Land Fund Successes
By Mālielani Larish A Hawaiian yellow-faced bee zips through the air like a flash of black lightning, attracted to the fragrant white flower of the endemic maiapilo shrub. On this weekday morning, the shoreline of ‘O‘oma in North Kona is…
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden: Restoring and Protecting Hawai‘i Island’s Biodiversity
By Brittany P. Anderson The isolation of Hawai‘i Island, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and born of volcanic lava flows from the ocean’s floor, shaped the biodiversity of the island. Our unique position makes the Island of Hawai‘i one of…
Hawaiian Islands Land Trust: A Legacy of Land
By Brittany P. Anderson There is a place on Hawai‘i Island where clouds come down from the sky to walk amongst the trees. Noe kolo (creeping mist) overcomes the jungle as an ‘i‘iwi (scarlet honeycreeper) call rings out—its location masked…
A Taste of Hawai’i Island’s Vanilla Industry: Anything but Plain
By Brittany P. Anderson As the day’s first light sneaks over the horizon, a light green orchid blooms in a tangle of vines. A flurry of activity buzzes around the flower. With a swift hand, the orchid is pollinated, ready…
The Past is Present: Kalo Farming on Hawai‘i Island
By Brittany P. Anderson There is a story behind every plant on Hawai‘i Island. Sometimes it is a legend of betrayal, sometimes a voyage across the Pacific Ocean, or an accidental introduction to our island home. The tale of kalo…
The Cultivating Life: Agroforestry Expert Craig Elevitch
By Brittany P. Anderson A cool breeze runs through the dense forests of Hōlualoa, perched on the slope of Hualālai Volcano in North Kona. Here, the woods are brimming with avocado, ‘ulu (breadfruit), macadamia nut, coffee, and fruit trees. Once…
Community Leader Howard Pe‘a: Talented Family Man, Haku Ho‘oponopono
Na Puanani Woo and Pualani Louis ‘Ohana Howard Kahale Pe‘a, or “Uncle Howard” as he is known, is a talented family man. Genuine. He was born, raised and still resides in Hawaiian Homelands in Keaukaha-Pana‘ewa, Hilo. In his late 60s…
For the Love of Cacao: Highlighting East Hawai‘i Cacao Farmers
By Brittany P. Anderson A Hawai‘i Island farmer once told me, “Plant some; if it grows, plant some more,” and that’s just what East Hawai‘i cacao farmers are doing. From the lava scalded shores of Puna to the rolling hills…
Reforest Hawai’i: Feeding the Forest, Feeding the Soul
By Jan Wizinowich Aloha is at the heart of everything Joe and Kristen Souza do and when the forest spirits called, they answered by creating Reforest Hawaiʽi, whose sole purpose is to rebuild Hawaiʽi’s native forests where “the journey of…
La‘au Lapa‘au: Medicinal Plants and their Healing Properties
By Marcia Timboy Hawai‘i is viewed throughout the world as a place of rest and rejuvenation, a concept that is deeply rooted in and supported by the healing environment of our islands. Ancestral wellness wisdom is the basis of the…
Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers: Cultivating Successful Farmers to Feed Our Island
By Fern Gavelek Growing fruit in Hawai‘i to feed our island is one thing. Growing farmers to do it successfully is another. The Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers (HTFG) does both. The statewide nonprofit was founded in 1989 and boasts more…
Tropical Edibles: Dreaming of an Island Eden
By Lara Hughes The Dream On the mauka (mountain) side of the Māmalahoa Highway on the slopes where Hualālai and Maunaloa meet overlooking Kealakekua Bay, you can find a garden vision brought to fruition. Hailing from different places around the…
The Compost King of Hilo UrbFarm
By Brittany P. Anderson As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and this couldn’t be more true for Michael Pierron, founder of Hilo UrbFarm, as he spins organic waste into garden gold. The Hilo UrbFarm, founded…
Ka‘ū Coffee Festival: Celebrating a Crop that Brought Hope and Success
By Fern Gavelek Ten years ago, a group of folks were sitting on the lānai (porch) gazing out at healthy rows of Ka‘ū coffee trees laden with cherries. Beaming with pride and optimistic for the future, the neighboring Ka‘ū coffee…
Lessons from the Garden
By Jan Wizinowich The Hawaiʽi Island School Garden Network (HISGN) was created in 2007 through The Kohala Center as a way to promote garden education and food sustainability practices. As the network grew, educators began to realize the potential for…
Hawai‘i Island Tea – Craft Brew
By Brittany P. Anderson The quest for Hawai‘i Island grown tea starts with the perfect storm of volcanic acidic soil and humidity. Those bold enough to take the journey tend to their plants with patience and a kind hand. The…
From Soil to Toil: Celebrating Kona’s Finest Crop and the Volunteers of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival
By Aja Hannah For 44 years, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival has celebrated the coffee pioneers, farmers, and artisans alongside the coffee bean, itself. This year the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is one of the winners of the 10 Best…
Community Supported Agriculture Grows Up on Hawai‘i Island
By Cynthia Sweeney Each Thursday, Lark and Steve Willey pack up their specially outfitted van with boxes of freshly picked spinach, beets, leeks, mushrooms, and other seasonal fruits and vegetables from their farm in Waimea, and deliver them door-to-door. In…
Grace Under Stress: Kona Orchid Society
By Catherine Tarleton Older than the volcano, with roots in dinosaur days, orchids were alive and well as far back as 80 million years ago, according to the Harvard biologist who managed to date fossilized pollen from a now-extinct bee…
“Beetle Juice” Inoculates Kona Coffee Against Coffee Beetle Borer
By Margaret Kearns Greenwell is a name synonymous with Kona coffee in Hawai‘i with patriarch Henry Nicholas Greenwell lauded as the marketing genius who put the region’s highly-sought brew on connoisseurs’ radar worldwide more than 150 years ago. Greenwell, a…
Home on the Ka‘u Range: The Kuahiwi Family Ranch and Natural, Free-Range Beef
By Denise Laitinen When Captain John Vancouver presented King Kamehameha with cattle on the Big Island as a gift in 1793, no one imagined the impact it would have on the future of the island. Kamehameha placed a kapu on…
