New Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center blessed

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December 6, 2011 A new visitor education experience awaits visitors to Kahalu’u Beach Park. The Kohala Center has entered into a 10-year contract with the County of Hawaii to establish the Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center, a new, portable facility to house the educational center and the snorkel rental concession at the popular beach park. The new education center was blessed this Saturday.

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Used with permission from Big Island Video News

Protecting Kahaluu Bay

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December 4, 2011 The Kohala Center has entered into a 10-year contract with the county to establish a learning center at Kahaluu Beach Park. The Kahaluu Bay Education Center offers a learning experience for visitors and residents — one that teaches respect and reverence for the natural and cultural resources of Kahaluu Bay. “It’s a great day today, to be able to move forward with this project,” said county Parks and Recreation Director Bob Fitzgerald at Saturday’s blessing of the education center.
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Used with permission from Hawaii 247

Kaiser supports Big Island healthy eating initiatives

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December 2, 2011 Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has announced $20,000 in grant funding to the Food Basket and The Kohala Center to address healthy eating initiatives on the Big Island: * The Kohala Center – A $10,000 grant to support setup of SNAP/EBT redemption systems in six farmers markets involving 170 local vendors on the Big Island. Incentives will be offered to promote consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by low income families. * Food Basket – A $10,000 grant to Hawaii Island’s foodbank to extend their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and provide seniors with greater access to fresh produce.
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Used with permission from Hawaii 247

The Kohala Center: Message from Hamabata

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November 30, 2011 From Matt Hamabata, The Kohala Center executive director: As we celebrate the end of our first decade, The Kohala Center has much good news to share with you. We have begun to fill a vital niche in Hawaii by simply responding to the needs and wise advice of island residents. We have planted seeds across the islands by working in partnership with communities to advocate for healthy, fresh, and locally grown food in the meals we serve to children in our schools; with farmers’ and fishermen’s co-ops to provide them with resources to help them succeed in the marketplace…
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Used with permission from Hawaii 247

Mellon-Hawaii Fellows Present Their Work

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November 21, 2011 Four Native Hawaiian scholars are on their way to completing a prestigious fellowship. Hawaii Island’s Kohala Center administers the program supporting a special kind of scholarship. HPR’s Sherry Bracken tells us more from Kona.

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Used with permission from Hawaii Public Radio

Education center on wheels rolls into Kahaluu

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November 13, 2011 By the month’s end, The Kohala Center plans to have a soft opening of its Kahaluu Bay Education Center — a 1995 Ford van retrofitted to be an educational tool to share the importance of the resources at the popular West Hawaii snorkeling and surfing spot. While this new education center is small, The Kohala Center and Hawaii County officials say it will make a big impact in further enhancing the area’s natural environment and protecting cultural resources. It will also serve as a focal spot for educational, public outreach and research efforts, as well as a concession stand, renting snorkel gear for about $9 plus tax. tourists.
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Used with permission from West Hawaii Today

Truth Seeker

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November 2, 2011 by Mindy Pennybacker Cross-cutting between territorial and contemporary Hawaii, Sydney Lehua Iaukea’s brilliant memoir/ historical expose provides a gripping and revelatory read, endowed with all the trappings of romance, melodrama and ghost story. There’s a mysterious old family portrait, two young heiresses robbed of their birthright growing up in poverty, and Iaukea’s discovery of uncovered chapters in Hawaiian history, in the long-forgotten papers of her great-great-grandfather, Curtis P. Iaukea, that her book brings to light. As the author plunges into her research, shades of the past–her ancestor and Queen Liliuokalani–come to dominate her own life in scenes worthy of Julie and Julia, Rebecca, or Great Expectations.

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Used with permission from Honolulu Weekly

Dispatch from Hawai‘i: Supporting the Growing School Garden Movement

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November 2011 Think “Hawai’i,” and lush, abundant landscapes likely come to mind. Yet statistics tell a different story: Located more than 2,000 miles from the nearest port, Hawai’i imports 85–90% of its food and has less than a seven-day supply in stores at any given time, making it vulnerable to economic disruptions and natural disasters. Over 9% of residents are “food insecure,” which means they lack consistent access to enough food for a healthy, productive life. There is heightened demand to feed the state’s 1.3 million residents and 7 million-plus annual tourists.
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Used with permission from the Center for Ecoliteracy

Fresh produce for low-income folks

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October 27, 2011 The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded nearly $165,000 to two West Hawaii nonprofits to support direct marketing efforts and increase access to fresh produce in low-income areas. Getting fruits and vegetables from six area farmers markets into the hands of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients will get a little easier next year. A $90,460 grant to The Kohala Center will allow these customers to pay with electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, cards — the replacement for food stamps, said Melanie Bondera, rural cooperative development specialist for the Laulima Center, a program of The Kohala Center.
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Used with permission from West Hawaii Today

South Kona: Seed exchange set for Nov. 5th

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October 22, 2011 By David Corrigan and Stephanie Salazar Captain Cook, Hawaii: In South Kona, today we report on a West Hawaii Seed Exchange set for November 5th. According to the Kohala Center, Island farmers and gardeners who save seed are invited to attend the annual West Hawai‘i Seed Exchange from 2–4 p.m. Saturday, November 5, at the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook. The exchange coincides with the garden’s annual Arbor Day Plant Give-Away. Farmers and gardeners are invited to bring saved seed, cuttings, huli, and corms of food crops that grow well in home gardens and on farms.

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Used with permission from Big Island Video News