Education on the Ocean: Pua Ka Ilima Treats Keiki to Sailing Adventures
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu It was a 19-day adventure on the open seas for Ralph Blancato and his crew to pilot a 42-foot sailboat from California to Hawai‘i Island. In July 2022, Ralph and his team of three people sailed successfully…
Uncle Tilo Teaches Water is Life
By Stefan Verbano “The quality of your water is a direct link to the quality of your health.” This is scribbled on a chalkboard hanging in the window of Todd and Archer’s shop in Pāhoa. It’s their business motto, and…
Kawaihae Canoe Club Celebrates 50 Years
By Jan Wizinowich It’s early morning at Kawaihae and outrigger canoes dot the horizon carrying the kūpuna paddlers. Soon, the men’s master crew will be gliding into the boat ramp after an early morning run heading north. A Matson barge…
HEART: Growing Hilo’s Love for Theater
By Mālielani Larish Performing arts lovers of all ages are lucky that Larry Reitzer grew disenchanted with lounging on the beach. After a 30-year career in the entertainment industry, Larry retired and moved to Hilo with the intention of penning…
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…
Makahiki at Mālamalama
By Stefan Verbano Students at Mālamalama Waldorf School in Kea‘au will ring in the Makahiki season a little differently this year. Gone will be the crowds of spectators, the buffet tables groaning under the weight of steaming pots of taro…
A Wa‘a Named La‘i‘ōpua
By Gayle Kaleilehua Greco Being birthed on the ‘āina of Hawaiian homelands at the Villages of La‘i‘ōpua in Kailua-Kona is a wa‘a (canoe) by the same name, La‘i‘ōpua. Not since the Makali‘i was constructed in 1993, has there been an…
Welcome to the Lava Zone
By Brittany P. Anderson It’s hard to forget that day—May 3, 2018. The ground shook and cracked open, slowly blanketing land and homes, smothering dreams and spitting out steam. Then, the molten orange lava burst free, weaving a path of…
Dr. Joan Greco Inspires Students while GIving Back to Our Island Community
By Brittany P. Anderson There’s something extraordinary about a woman who rises to the top in a male-dominated field. It takes strength, grace, intellect, fearlessness, and the courage to never accept “no” for an answer. That woman is Dr. Joan…
Talking Hula with Kumu Aloha Victor
By Karen Valentine The conversation begins with a hug, even in the time of COVID-19. This serious kumu hula (hula teacher) tests himself regularly, not only for the health of himself and his students, but in life itself. After entering…
Bo Williams: Island Teen Proves “It Takes a Village”
By Fern Gavelek Restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic presented island youth with a variety of challenges: online school instruction, cancelled sporting events, and minimal, in-person interaction with friends. With the help of his community, a Hawai‘i Island teen…
Mālama Mokupuni—Caring for Our Island Environment: Nursing Along a Coral Nursery
By Rachel Laderman How do you create an ocean in an aquarium? This is the challenge Michelle Nason took on in 2017, when she was a student in the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s Marine Science Department and Marine Option…
Keiki Hālau Honors Ancient Hula Legacy
By Karen Valentine Kapono Like one of the glistening orbs in a string of pearls, Pelehonuamea Puku‘i Suganuma Harman joins other daughters and granddaughters of hula dancers in a string of generational legacy that is rare in today’s world. In…
Sailing into the Future: Nā Pe‘a Participants Apply Canoe’s Lessons to Life
By Sara Stover “Stay off the rocks,” Kalani Nakoa instructs his young crew. The wind is light out of the west as they launch one of the three 26-foot single-hull canoes from Kīholo Bay. Within minutes, the wind shifts to…
Mālamalama and Kona Pacific Celebrate 100 Years of Waldorf Education
By Karen Rose On September 19, 2019, Waldorf education proudly marked its 100-year anniversary worldwide. The first Waldorf school was founded in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919 and is based on the educational philosophy of Austrian social reformer, Rudolf Steiner. Today…
Look For The Helpers: How Hawaii Tracker Became a Pivotal Community Resource
By Denise Laitinen Mr. Rogers, the beloved children’s TV show host, is known for saying, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You…
To Seek Far: ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center Reaches Out to Students of All Ages
By Stefan Verbano “So, what’s one way we can tell the age of a volcano?” Punawai Rice asks the audience of fourth graders seated before him. No hands shoot up. “Well think about this: how can we tell one volcano…
Honoka‘a High & Intermediate School Celebrates 130 Years
By Catherine Tarleton Honoka‘a High & Intermediate School sits on seven ocean-view acres of Hāmākua hillside, its 19 buildings and covered sidewalks painted Dragon (their mascot) green and gold. 611 students, grades 7–12, work and play here. In its 130-year…
Empowering Women and Girls to Reach Their Highest Potential: American Association of University Women
By Karen Rose In 1776, future first lady Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John, then a member of the Continental Congress, “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we will be determined to foment a…
4-H Clubs Inspire Kids “To Do”
By Fern Gavelek “It teaches kids life skills…It led me in the right direction and helped me while going through teenage moments…It offers projects for positive youth development…It enables kids to master a skill and chart their own direction…” What…
Mālama Mokupuni—Caring for Our Island Environment: A Plastic-y Solution in Compost
By Julia Meurice Ever heard of bioplastics? Though derived from corn or sugar and labeled “commercially compostable,” they are not accepted at composting facilities on Hawai‘i Island. Sadly, many of these products end up in landfills. Over the past year…
Mālama Mokupuni–Caring for Our Island Environment: Telling the Story of the Archipelago
By Rachel Laderman When the 6.9 earthquake rocked Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on May 4, 2018, it seriously damaged park buildings and infrastructure. The park had to close until the volcanic action settled down, reopening on September 22. During those…
Magical Creatures of Hamakua: A Second Chance at Life for Animals Large and Small
By Denise Laitinen Standing atop a hill in the middle of a large green pasture along the Hāmākua Coast, the Pacific Ocean extends far into the distance melding with the blue sky as birds sing and puffy white clouds float…
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…
Grammy Dust: Charles Michael Brotman is Sparkling with it!
By Catherine Tarleton It’s difficult to describe Charles Michael Brotman in words. He’s a lifelong musician, songwriter, producer, mentor, and Grammy Award winner. Yet, sitting barefoot in his studio, picking the bass line for a new track—sharing it, listening, tweaking…
Where are the Whales? Humpback Whale Sightings are on the Decline
By Karen Rose The Senegalese environmentalist Baba Dioum said that in the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught. Researchers at the National…
Diving into the World at Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center
By Brittany P. Anderson The constant low hum of bubbling water provides a soothing soundtrack to the work taking place at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center in Hiloʻs harbor area, Keaukaha, on the east side of Hawai‘i Island.…
Hui Mālama Ola Nā ‘Ōiwi: Live Longer and Feel Better Together
By Paula Thomas Hui Mālama Ola Nā ‘Ōiwi has been providing health and education services to the residents of Hawai‘i Island since 1991, following the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act that was passed in Congress in 1988. The Act…
Aunty Doreen Henderson: Fascination with Feathers
85 Years of Perpetuating an Elegant, Native Hawaiian Craft By Karen Valentine With the confidence of a master craftsman who is still working and teaching at age 92, Master Kumu Doreen Henderson’s eagle eye marks each student’s feather work and…
