Hawaiian Petroglyphs Tell Stories of the Past
By Margaret Kearns K‘i‘i pōhaku – the name Hawaiians gave their petroglyphs – are found scattered throughout the island chain. The largest, most concentrated fields of ancient rock carvings, however, are found here on Hawai‘i Island, where smooth, pahoehoe lava…
Debbie Hecht Loves Open Spaces: A Tireless Campaigner for the 2-Percent Land Fund
By Hadley Catalano Debbie Hecht is not your typical sign-waving activist. For the past eight years, since the Tucson, Arizona transplant relocated to the Big Island, Hecht has become the leading voice on what she considers to be one of…
Immersion with a Mermaid: This Kona Marine Mammal Has a True Tale to Tell
By Marya Mann In a challenge so unifying it has inspired global support among indigenous people, surfers, artists, marine scientists, models, musicians, boat captains, photographers, filmmakers, businesspeople, angel card readers and even Flipper’s original trainer, one Kona resident stands out.…
Search for the Heart of Kahalu‘u: E mālama i Nā Papa–Protect Our Coral Reefs
By Marya Mann It’s a courtship by the sea, except we’re sitting in a Bakken Foundation classroom north of Kailua-Kona, where ReefTeach trainers show color slides of brilliant and broken corals that flourish and die in Kahalu‘u Bay. They want…
Clean-Up Crusaders: Volunteer Groups Turn Out to Keep Hawai‘i Island’s Shorelines Beautiful
By Noel Morata It’s 8:30 on a stormy, drizzly morning at the lighthouse facing Hilo Bay. Assembled is a group of very dedicated people from the Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund, the Surfrider Foundation and members of Mālama Kaipalaoa. Even the hair…
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…
Save the Bees, Save the Planet: Listening to the Buzz with Bee Oracle Alison Yahna
By Marya Mann A honeybee swarm came to Alison Yahna and it changed her life forever. The bees came in a swirling rush, alighting on a small cedar tree near her home. With help from a friend she moved the…
The Plight of the Honeybee: Big Island Honeybees are Vital to Keeping Us Fed, Our Skin Soft and Even Healing Cuts on Fish Fins
By Denise Laitinen Raw honey may look like liquid gold, but it is the bees themselves that are worth their weight in gold. “Albert Einstein once said that without honeybees the human race as we know would end in seven…
The Nene Project: GPS Tracking Reveals the Hawaiian Goose Doin’ What Comes Naturally
By Fern Gavelek Hawai‘i’s beloved state bird, the nēnē, is making a comeback, and a new Hawai‘i Island study has revealed some fascinating facts about the Hawaiian goose and how we can help it thrive. The good news is the…
Money Does Grow on Trees: Puna Programs Help Backyard Farmers Sell Excess Produce
By Denise Laitinen When I was a kid my dad would say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” Well, it turns out Dad was wrong. Thanks to the efforts of two separate food co-op programs in Puna, people are tapping into…
The Story of `Iliahi: Sandalwood, A Saga of Destruction and Rebirth
By Tim Hall When the first humans stepped from their sailing canoes onto the shores of Hawai‘i, the islands were covered with (‘iliahi)—sandalwood. They brought with them a number of alien species; almost all were brought on purpose. Others were…
Mushroom in a Bottle: A Gourmet Fungus, from Hamakua to the White House
By Denise Laitinen The mushroom—actually a fungus—grows on a lot of different matter in the wild, from tree logs to cow pies. It’s called “substrate,” as opposed to soil. In cultivation, the substrate makes a difference in the quality and…
Taro, ‘Ohana and Jerry Konanui
By Marya Mann Lau or Lū’au ~ Leaf Turning over a new leaf this magical year of 2012? Think of making that a taro leaf. For a taste of the divine, simmer it into a soothing soup with coconut cream…
Pilgrimage to the Sky: Honoring Mauna Kea—Kuahiwi Kūha‘o i ka Mālie: Mountain Standing Alone in the Calm
By Marya Mann The Summit Pu’u Wēkiu, Sunrise, Fall Equinox, 2011 – Shimmering in the first light of morning at the top of the world, the sun paints brilliant shades of red, orange, pink and gold on the mountain, igniting…
Growing a Flavorful Agribusiness: Vanilla
By Denise Laitinen When Jim and Tracy Reddekopp purchased their property in Pa‘auilo back in 1998, they weren’t sure what they were going to build or grow. The two O‘ahu natives just knew that they wanted to get away from…
Saving the Nightingale: Four-Legged Coffee Farm Workers Now Unemployed and Endangered
By Margaret Kearns One of Hawai‘i Island’s most charming creatures—known as Kona Nightingales—played an integral role in island heritage, especially in the history and development of the island’s Kona coffee industry. These beloved donkeys bray from farm to farm at…
The Mysterious World Beneath Our Feet: A Fascinating Exploration of the Worldʻs Longest Lava Cave
By Noel Morata Walking through a stretch of pristine forest filled with ‘ohia, large native hapu‘u ( tree ferns) and beautiful bamboo groves is a nice hike in the Puna District of Hawai‘i Island. However, that’s not our destination today.…
Surinam Cherry: What It Is and What to Do with It
By Devany Vickery-Davidson The Surinam cherry is sometimes called the Brazilian cherry, Pitanga or Cayenne cherry. The plant is native from Surinam, Guyana and French Guiana to southern Brazil. It was first described botanically from a plant growing in a…
Brewing Up an Industry: No, Not Coffee—The World Is Taking Notice of Hawai‘i Island Teas
By Denise Laitinen Whether you’re a coffee enthusiast or a tea devotee, there’s a new brew at the breakfast table, and Hawai‘i Island could be the beneficial host for rooting this profitable agricultural product. Black, green, white, oolong, hot or…
A Tower of Strawberry Love: Hanging, Hydroponic Planting Yields a Profusion of Healthy Berries
By Devany Vickery-Davidson Hawai‘i Island draws many Alaskans to her shores. There must be something about the lure of the tropics and year-round growing season especially appealing to hopeful farmers from the northern reaches of the United States. One of…
In Pursuit of Ecotopia: A “Garden-Raising” Diary
By Marya Mann Most of my life I have gardened, a vocation for which I credit my grandmother Ina. In old photographs of her home in the West Texas Panhandle, vertical stands of lacy asparagus and succulent butternut squash on…
Healing Grass: the Amazing and Versatile Vetiver
By Jessica Kirkwood Just past the 7-mile marker, above Mamalahoa Highway along the Hamakua Coast, sits the quaint little town of Papaikou. The directions read: hang a left up mauka about a mile; there will be some cows on your…
The Reef as a Community: Cold and Fuzzy
New Book Portrays Fish in a Different Light By Alan D. McNarie One day in 1955, young Robert Wintner’s father took him to a Miami, Florida drugstore and bought him a two-dollar mask and snorkel—“the deluxe, with the ping-pong ball”—then…
Rights and Respect for Native Fishing
By Prana Joy Mandoe A few years ago, a Hawaiian fisherman noticed a huge ball of akule boiling off the pier at Kailua-Kona. He tucked his whip net under a boogie board and circled the fish. It was a grand…
If Only Chocolate Grew on Trees . . . or does it?
By Fern Gavelek Mmmmmm…….chocolate! Many people consider it one of the major food groups. And with good reason—it not only tastes good, but makes you feel good while boasting health benefits. The botanical source of chocolate is cacao (pronounced ka-cow);…
The Enchanted Gardens of Ira Ono
By Devany Vickery-Davidson In the fern forest of Volcano Village is a magical place, full of art, music, wonderful food and enchanting gardens. The spot is Volcano Garden Arts (VGA), and Ira Ono is the maestro who orchestrated this virtual…
Saving Kanaloa
By Denise Laitinen When a rare Blainesville’s beaked whale—which resembles a dolphin—stranded on Maui’s south shore last August, a volunteer alert was issued via Facebook and email. Volunteers with the Hilo Marine Mammal Response Network (HMMRN) were put on notice…
Ken Love: Hawai‘i’s Fruit Guru & Avocado Advocate
By Devany Vickery-Davidson Ken Love personifies the word “localvore.” He has been passionately preaching about local fruits and vegetables long before it was in vogue. I first heard of Ken in 2008, when reading Adam Leith Gollner’s book, The Fruit…
A Bit of the Bayou in North Kohala: This Louisiana Boy Farms Hawaiian Crawfish
By Richard Mark Glover Barefooted, Lance Caspary wades into the rice pond and lifts a triangular trap out of the water. As white caps curl below in the sea along the rugged North Kohala coastline, the sun sparkles from Lance’s…
Joy of Chickens: Big Islanders Are Discovering a New Use for Their Back Yards
By Alan D. McNarie I think a lot of people don’t think that chickens have brains,” muses Jeannette Baysa, co-owner of the Hilo Coffee Mill. “But I think they do. We train them. They know their names. They come when…
