Hawai'i Land Trust

HILT is seeking proposals for project management services for a series of capital improvements at its 642-acre Mahukona Navigation & Ecological Complex in Kohala, Hawaiʻi Island. HILT has begun programming in collaboration with partner organization, Nā Kālai Waʻa, which has led to greater and more frequent use of the site by staff, volunteers, and school groups. To support this work, HILT needs to repair or install appropriate facilities. Interested contractors shall send an email expressing their interest to submit a proposal by August 30th. Learn more at hilt.org/careers

Happy Aloha Friday to Amazon's new Hawai'i Warehouse team, DHI2! Sending a big mahalo and aloha to DHI2 - it was an honor and privilege hosting the first Hawai'i Land Trust Volunteer Day with Hawai'i Amazonians and joining in our Hawaiian Cultural Training Day. Proud to be Amazonian and even prouder to be Kanaka Maoli 💚 #DHI2 #Amazon #KanakaMaoli #Hawaii #Indigenous

Some solid reflections, photos and highlights by Kia'i Collier from this year's Hui Mālama Loko I'a gathering in Waihe'e, Maui hosted by his organization the Hawai'i Land Trust. Communities connected, celebrated, discussed successes and challenges and put hand to pohaku (stone) and laid out approximately 1,000 linear feet of loko i'a (fishpond) wall. This on the same day the Hawai'i Supreme Cort ruled that the state neglected to restore the waters of Na Wai Eha (including Waihe'e where we were) and must return them. https://lnkd.in/gMYg-gVp

On May 2, 2024, we followed Matthias Nyquist, a Maui fire survivor, and the workforce crew from Hawai'i Land Trust for a day of restoration work at Nu‘u Refuge in southeast Maui. When asked about what he likes about the job, Matthias said, “I like this job because I feel like it can make a difference. The change you’re making is tangible. You can see it.” Hawai‘i Land Trust is a Maui Strong Fund grantee. With so many people looking for work to help them rebuild their lives and hang on to the land they own, Hawaiʻi Land Trust, with the support of a $1.1 million grant from the Maui Strong Fund and in partnership with nonprofit Kupu, has created a program to create temporary workforce opportunities for 48 Maui residents who have been affected by the recent wildfires. Learn more about the Maui Strong Fund grantees and the impact they are making on the people and places affected by the Maui fires: https://lnkd.in/gAcNAcE9 #MauiStrongFund

Today some 100+ intergenerational members of the Hui Mālama Loko I'a (HMLI) and members of the public led by Hawai'i Land Trust (HILT) Maui Educator and Steward Kia'i Collier and team built 1,000 linear feet of fishpond wall at the HILT's Waihe'e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge. In terms of physical size that's about 3,000 cubic feet of stone. HMLI together moves mountains. Lines of people pass stones in unison, master builders guide collective hands and muscles to lock stones and set foundations. It is well known today that restoring Hawaiian cultural sites can often improve ecosystems and ecosystem services and draw back the native animals and plants conservationists are most concerned with. It also builds an unquantifiable sense of place and connection in community. People set foundations and build community along the way. Relationships with each other and the places, systems and other animals are deepened. A goal in Waihe'e is to one day see the water return to the area. Building the wall is in preparation for a return of that water. This area, once a breadbasket for Maui might one day be celebrated as it once was. Mahalo to everyone who came out today

Destructive ghost nets threaten not only cetaceans and pinnipeds but can also smother coral reefs and fish. On Maui, Pacific Whale Foundation is the dedicated Marine Debris Rapid Response organization. Last week our Conservation Team responded to a large ghost net on the shores of Waihe’e beach. The team, with the help of our partner, Hawai'i Land Trust removed around 1,281 pounds of net that otherwise could have threatened marine life. Great job team and thank you Hawai'i Land Trust! 🙌   #ghostnet #ghostgear #maui #mauihawaii #PacificWhaleFoundation #marineconservation 

Kohala Farmland Forever Protected! Hawai‘i Land Trust is grateful to local Kohala farmers, USDA NRCS, and private donors who enabled the protection of this land increasing Hawai‘i's food sustainability. Island Harvest's 28-acre parcel is producing ulu, citrus, and a variety of other foods as well as providing great jobs to our local community. Learn more at www.hilt.org/puehuehu

Today some 100+ intergenerational members of the Hui Mālama Loko I'a (HMLI) and members of the public led by Hawai'i Land Trust (HILT) Maui Educator and Steward Kia'i Collier and team built 1,000 linear feet of fishpond wall at the HILT's Waihe'e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge. In terms of physical size that's about 3,000 cubic feet of stone. HMLI together moves mountains. Lines of people pass stones in unison, master builders guide collective hands and muscles to lock stones and set foundations. It is well known today that restoring Hawaiian cultural sites can often improve ecosystems and ecosystem services and draw back the native animals and plants conservationists are most concerned with. It also builds an unquantifiable sense of place and connection in community. People set foundations and build community along the way. Relationships with each other and the places, systems and other animals are deepened. A goal in Waihe'e is to one day see the water return to the area. Building the wall is in preparation for a return of that water. This area, once a breadbasket for Maui might one day be celebrated as it once was. Mahalo to everyone who came out today

The August 2023 Maui fires, the deadliest in the recorded history of Hawaiʻi, have both highlighted and accelerated long-running conflicts in Lahaina over land, water, and development. One of the most significant of these is the ongoing loss of lands from local and community ownership to offshore investor ownership and the multiple negative impacts that has on Lahaina, Maui Komohana, and Hawaiʻi as a whole. Expansion of community ownership of real estate in West Maui is one of the few solutions that promises to make homeownership more accessible and build families’ wealth. Expanding ownership of real estate at the local level can have beneficial consequences at family, community, and statewide scales – and land loss can lead to the opposite. Land sales patterns from other post-disaster communities indicate the possible scale of the problem that could unfold here. Kahālāwai Consulting's report outlines opportunities to expand community ownership of real estate to respond to the needs of Maui Komohana residents and serve as a model for future efforts throughout the pae ʻāina. The Lahaina community is organizing in this manner with the intent of advancing community real estate ownership to ward off disaster capitalism, and protect real community interests, for generations to come. Read the study at hilt.org/resources

Join us for a very special community Volunteer Day on Saturday, June 22, 2024 at Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge! Loko iʻa practitioners from all over the pae ʻāina will be in attendance for the Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa Annual Gathering and our goal will be to build 1,000 feet of kuapā for Kapoho Loko Iʻa Kalo. Email brenda@kuahawaii.org to RSVP