Stories in The Kohala Center Leaflet
Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center Celebrates First Anniversary
December 2012
The Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center (KBEC), a program of The Kohala Center, celebrated its one-year anniversary on December 3, 2012. While our Center staff is to be commended for their commitment and hard work to protect the fragile ecosystem at Kahalu‘u Bay, our success is due in large part to the dedication of over 360 ReefTeach and Citizen Science volunteers.
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Kahalu‘u Bay Welcomes a Rare Visitor
September/October 2012
Kahalu‘u Bay, Hawai‘i Island’s premier snorkeling beach, attracts nearly 400,000 visitors each year. But on August 17th and 21st, 2012, amidst what seemed like a slew of paparazzi, the Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center (KBEC) and ReefTeach volunteers played host to an unexpected celebrity: an endangered female Hawaiian monk seal.
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KBEC: Where Culture, Science, & Community Meet
May/June 2012
Visitors entering Kahalu‘u Beach Park enter a world where culture, science, and community intersect. Teams of volunteers, each trained in different aspects of ecosystem stewardship, deliver information and aloha to ensure a positive experience for people and the reef.
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Spawning Guide
March/April 2012
In the past, fish provided most of the protein in the Hawaiian diet. Traditional fishing practices were guided by cultural values and knowledge of natural cycles: they protected fish during peak spawning time periods and allowed fish to reproduce before they were harvested.
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For Our Future
November/December 2011
By Cindi Punihaole
Since 2006, our ReefTeach volunteers have helped to educate visitors in how to take care of the coral reef at Kahalu‘u Bay. Today, there is a decrease in coral trampling, and the coral polyps are growing back. In 2008, a heart-shaped cauliflower coral appeared in the bay. We think this coral is the bay’s way of saying thank you.
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The Power of Mother Nature
July/August 2011
On March 11, 2011, the first tsunami waves hit the 4.2-acre Kahalu‘u Beach Park, transforming it into a massive lake. As the water receded over the next few days, the extent of the damage the waves had wreaked upon the park became apparent. “Fish lay flapping on the sand. Tables and signs were tossed and torn apart like toys,” says Cindi Punihaole, The Kohala Center's (TKC) Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator.
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The Miracle of Community
By Cindi Punihaole
July/August 2011
With the kōkua (generous support) of the Rotary Club of Kona and the Interact Club of Kealakehe High School (Junior Rotarians), The Lions Club of Kona and the Konawaena High School Leo Club (Junior Lions), and Starbucks, The Kohala Center issued another call for volunteers on April 30. Once again, over 100 island-wide community members showed up to help at the second Kōkua Kahalu‘u Day event. The volunteers helped paint the main park pavilion, cleared the parking lot, and continued rebuilding the rock wall at Waikua‘a‘ala Pond.
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Turtle Rescue
May/June 2011
On Friday, February 4, The Kohala Center’s ReefTeach volunteers were approached by a beachgoer with concerns about a turtle feeding in the tide pools at the south end of Kahalu‘u Bay, near the Kalani Kai Bar at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort. After taking a closer look, the ReefTeachers saw that this turtle was entangled in fishing line. The line was wrapped around its right front flipper and led into its mouth.
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The Story of Lefty
By Caroline Neary
May/June 2011
According to George Balazs, Leader of NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Marine Turtle Research Program, the turtle’s flipper was entangled in light-weight fishing line. “Several wraps of it just tightened and tightened over weeks and likely months. The line constricted blood flow, hence the tissue and the bones ‘died,’” said Balazs. “The only way to save the turtle’s life was by surgical amputation of the flipper,” he explained.
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Project Aloha ‘Āina
March/April 2011
What happens when you combine the dreams of passionate people, their families, and the organizations that they work for with a vision to make education relevant, meaningful, and culturally appropriate? This is the mana‘o (idea) combined with the mana (power) of Kahalu‘u that has inspired a new and innovative partnership between The Kohala Center, the Pacific American Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools in the joint development of a new curriculum centered around Kahalu‘u Bay.
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New Coral Reef Curriculum
By Cindi Punihaole
March/April 2011
The Pacific American Foundation (PAF) writes curriculum for Kamehameha Schools. PAF has developed written curriculum about the corals at Kaneohe Bay on O‘ahu and at Hilo Bay on Hawai‘i Island. View their excellent work at ulukau.org by searching for “Project Aloha ‘Āina.”
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Good Information and Best Practices
July/August 2010
The Kohala Center's (TKC) work at Kahalu‘u Bay continues to enrich the health of our ‘āina (land), our water, and our community. TKC’s ReefTeach Programs now impact over 400,000 visitors per year—teaching them how to enjoy the bay while protecting its fragile coral reef environment. Each year, ReefTeach engages more than 2,000 island students, who help us to share these important and positive lessons with their friends and families.
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A Mountain to Sea Approach
By Cindi Punihaole
July/August 2010
The Kahalu‘u watershed spans pristine cloud forests, agricultural lands, housing developments, coastal resort development, and coral reef environments. Through the NSF EPSCoR Project, a complete summit-to-sea research program is now taking shape at Kahalu‘u.
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In Celebration of Life
November/December 2009
A full house gathered in the Convention Center at the Sheraton Keauhou Resort for the third annual Bay Concert on November 21. Over 900 people came out to enjoy the music and Frank De Lima’s island style humor, and to celebrate the rebirth of Kahalu‘u Bay. The Kohala Center extends a gracious mahalo to each and every one of you.
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Celebrating Life at Kahalu‘u Bay
October 2009
Come join us for an evening of music, humor, fun, recognition, and celebration! This year’s Bay Concert is on Saturday, November 21 from 5:00–8:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort Convention Center. Featuring Na Hoku Award winners Na Leo Pilimehana, Ho‘okena, our own Daifukuji Taiko Drummers, and funnyman Frank De Lima as emcee, the Bay Concert honors all of the volunteers and supporters of the Kahalu‘u Bay Project.
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The Bay Concert: A Celebration of Life at Kahalu‘u Bay
July/August 2009
Last year, 1.3 million people visited the Island of Hawai‘i, and over 348,000 of these visitors stopped at Kahalu‘u Bay. If we do not carefully manage this area, there is a very real danger that we will “love our bay to death.” In 2008, a conceptual Master Plan for Kahalu‘u Beach Park was created, inspired by the vision of local kūpuna (Hawaiian elders) and embracing the wishes of park users and the community.
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Young People Contribute to the Health of the Bay
July/August 2009
During their summer vacation most students wind down and enjoy a long awaited break from school. This, however, is not the case for many of our recent ReefTeach participants. This summer students from all over the country have traded in their beach towels for ReefTeach shirts and kicked their learning into high gear as volunteers at Kahalu‘u Bay.
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Student ReefTeachers
By Caroline Neary
As part of their senior research project, ten environmental studies students from Thayer Academy in Massachusetts joined their teacher, Kendra King, for a twelve-day adventure studying geology, ecology and marine biology on Hawai‘i Island. In addition to hiking in Volcano to study native vegetation and scuba diving with manta rays, these students dedicated one of their final days in Hawai‘i to volunteering as ReefTeachers at Kahalu‘u Bay.
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Hands on the Pulse of the Bay
June 2009
Tuesdays and Saturdays are water quality monitoring days at Kahalu‘u Bay. Armed with newly acquired high-tech instruments, teams of Citizen Scientists have begun biweekly collecting and testing of water samples from six different sites around the bay. These trained volunteers are using sophisticated tools to measure temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and water clarity in the samples.
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The Fruits of Collaboration
May 2009
Kahalu‘u Bay is featured in nearly every visitor’s guide as one of the best snorkel sites in the Hawaiian Islands, due to its clear, shallow water and abundant tropical reef fishes. Each year over 450,000 people visit Kahalu‘u Bay—nearly twice as many users per acre of water as at Hanauma Bay on O‘ahu. Like all coral reef ecosystems, the reef at Kahalu‘u is fragile and can be irreparably damaged by human touch and trampling.
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Remembering Hawai‘i’s Future by Recognizing Its Traditions at Kahalu‘u and Keauhou
May 2009
By Matt Hamabata
“Hanau ka ’Uku-ko’ako’a, hanau kana, he ’Ako’ako’a, puka” (Born was the coral polyp, born was the coral, came forth). Thus recounts Martha Warren Beckwith’s translation of the Kumulipo, the chant of Hawaiian origins, signifying na kanaka (Hawaiian/humankind’s) relation to the natural environment and recently shared with marine scientists from around the world who convened at Kahalu‘u and Keauhou.
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The Heart of the Bay
April 2009
By Cindi Punihaole
In late 2006 when I first started to manage the Kahalu‘u Bay Project, Kahalu‘u was very sick. I could feel his sadness when I went into the water or even just standing on the beach. Today he feels much healthier. I believe this coral heart is full of gratitude and aloha for all of our volunteers who have given so much of their time and energy to take care of and heal him.
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Meeting of the Minds … A Time of Sharing
April 2009
By Cindi Punihaole
We believe that our ReefTeach volunteers become more confident and are better educators when we provide them with correct and pono (good) information. Once every few months we hold a meeting of the minds and invite all of our ReefTeachers to participate. This is a time for us to gather together, to meet new recruits, and to let newcomers know that we have a large support group. Our meetings also serve as a special mahalo (thank you) for all of our volunteers.
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Standing Room Only
December 2008/January 2009
Over 900 people gathered in the Convention Hall at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort to listen to music, to laugh at Frank De Lima’s island-style humor, and to show their public support for a very worthy cause: saving Kahalu‘u Bay. The second annual Bay Concert celebrated our community’s ongoing and successful efforts to restore the historic, cultural, and natural resources of this sacred site.
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Citizen Scientists Hit the Beach
December 2008/January 2009
The first cadre of more than twenty Citizen Scientists were trained in October. Each of these dedicated citizens will be monitoring nearshore water quality at Kahalu‘u Bay twice a week as part of TKC’s new Citizen Science initiative. Volunteers, including five students from West Hawaii Explorations Academy and eight students from the University of the Nations Foundation School, were taught how to properly take water samples from predesignated spots in the bay.
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Bay Concert Mahalos!
December 2008/January 2009
Here is a sampling of the positive feedback that poured into our in-boxes after the sold out Bay Concert, a benefit for Kahalu‘u Bay.
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Come Enjoy!
November 2008
“Forget your worries, come and enjoy some beautiful Hawaiian music,” suggests Cindi Punihaole, Kohala Center Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator. The Bay Concert, featuring Na Hoku award winners HAPA and Robi Kahakalau (Sista Robi), comedian Frank De Lima, and the powerful Daifukuji Taiko Drummers, is on Saturday, November 22, at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa’s Hawai‘i Lawn.
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Available Soon: Two Kahalu‘u DVDs
November 2008
The Kohala Center (TKC) and Sara Peck of the UH Sea Grant Program have teamed up to create a new ReefTeach Training DVD. “Given the increasing interest in ReefTeach, we decided to create a training video so that we could reach and train more people.
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People Protecting Hawai‘i
November 2008
Preserving Paradise, a guide to volunteer opportunities in Hawai‘i, features the ReefTeach Program at Kahalu‘u Bay as one of over a dozen meaningful ways to give back to our island home. Author Kirsten Whatley praises the ReefTeach Program for its efforts to protect the coral reef resources at Kahalu‘u Bay.
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Concert to Save the Bay
October 2008
The Kohala Center is pleased to invite our friends and neighbors to celebrate a wonderful evening of music and goodwill at the second annual Bay Concert. Join us from 5 to 8 pm on Saturday, November 22, at Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa’s Hawai‘i Lawn.
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Makapo Canoe Club Visit
October 2008
The Hawaiian word "makapo" is derived from the 2 Hawaiian words "maka" meaning "eye" and "po" meaning "dark." Makapo Canoe Club is a competitive paddling team for blind and visually impaired athletes based in Orange County, California.
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