WAIMEA, Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i (February 9, 2023)—A five-year effort to protect and improve the nearshore marine environment and improve coral ecosystem health in the Kawaihae 1 (Honokoa) Watershed was recently completed by The Kohala Center (TKC), an independent nonprofit organization based in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island.
WAIMEA, Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i (June 7, 2021)—The Kohala Center today announced that it received a grant award totaling $150,000 that will support the native Hawaiian community through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (OHA) ‘Ohana and Community Based Program Grant for Hawaiʻi Island. The grant will help to reinforce and strengthen native Hawaiians’ ‘ohana (family), mo‘omeheu (culture), and ‘āina (land and water) in the ahupua‘a of Kawaihae during the year-long project period.
Waimea, Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i (February 23, 2021)—Food producers and small businesses in Hawai‘i seeking financial support now have a local ally to help them secure no-interest microloans through one of the world’s leading crowdfunding platforms.
The Kohala Center, an independent nonprofit organization based on Hawai‘i Island, was recently designated by Kiva as the regional Kiva Hub for the Hawaiian Islands.
WAIMEA, Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i (February 1, 2021)—A two-year effort to protect and improve water quality and ecosystem health in Hawai‘i Island’s Pelekāne Watershed was recently completed by The Kohala Center, an independent nonprofit organization based in Waimea.
KAHALU‘U BAY, Hawai‘i (January 26, 2021)—With Hawai‘i’s ban on the sale of sunscreens containing two chemicals harmful to coral reef ecosystems now in effect, a popular snorkeling spot on Hawai‘i Island is providing beachgoers with easy access to a sunscreen option that’s kinder to marine life—and possibly their own health.
WAIMEA, Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i (November 10, 2020)—The Kohala Center today announced the launch of the Full Calabash Fund, a statewide effort to support vulnerable families and food producers most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Initially established with support from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Full Calabash Fund will provide grants to Hawaiʻi’s community-based organizations that provide food procured from local farmers, ranchers, and food producers to community members in need. The Fund is administered by The Kohala Center, an independent, community-based nonprofit organization based on Hawai‘i Island.
KAHALU‘U BAY, Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i—May 21, 2020—The results are in: oxybenzone levels have dropped dramatically at Hawai‘i Island’s Kahalu‘u Bay.
Thanks to tens of thousands of visitors who responded positively to The Kohala Center’s ongoing “Reef-Friendly Sun Protection” campaign, oxybenzone levels have dropped 93 percent or more at water sampling sites in the bay between the start of the campaign in April 2018 and November 2019.
KAWAIHAE, HAWAI‘I ISLAND, Hawai‘i—October 17, 2019—The Kohala Center has been awarded a $260,000 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Community Grants Program to support forest restoration and stewardship training in Kohala from ma uka to ma kai.
KAHALU‘U, HAWAI‘I ISLAND, Hawai‘i—April 4, 2019—For Earth Day 2019, The Kohala Center is providing community members with an opportunity not only to honor and give back to the Earth, but to deepen their relationship with one of West Hawai‘i’s most beloved environmental and cultural treasures as well.
WAIMEA, HAWAI‘I ISLAND, Hawai‘i—April 3, 2019—One of Hawai‘i’s most degraded watersheds is receiving some much-needed attention.
The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH), through their Polluted Runoff Control Program and in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is helping restore watersheds in the state and supporting the implementation of polluted runoff control projects in key watersheds. DOH is collaborating with the State’s Department of Land and Natural Resource (DLNR) and Hawai‘i Island-based The Kohala Center to implement a rotational and targeted grazing program to support erosion control in the Pelekāne Bay watershed, in which a majority of the land is privately owned and used for cattle grazing.