Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 12, 1 December 2013 — Kākoʻo ʻĀina Awards [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kākoʻo ʻĀina Awards

The Nature Conservancy presented its Kāko'o 'Āina Award to a coalition of community partners who are working to create a moun-tain-to-the-sea restoration project in He'eia in Windward O'ahu. Honorees and their representatives at the Nov. 1 ceremony were: • Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic

Club, Mahealani Cypher, whose Ko'olaupoko Ahupua'a Boundary Marker Project with the state Department of Transportation is now being implemented statewide, and who helped create Kāko'o 'Ōiwi and Māhuahua 'Ai o Hoi to perpetuate traditional land stewardship practices and customs. • Papahana Kuaola/Hui Kū Maoli Ola, Rick Barboza, whieh has introduced 80 species of native Hawaiian plants to the landscaping market, restored 60 acres of native landscape and created an educa-

tional site with outdoor classrooms, contemporary heiau and 57 small lo'i kalo (taro patches). • Kāko'o 'Ōiwi, Jerry Kaluhiwa, whieh has cleared 10 acres of natural wetland of invasive weeds and created 2 acres of lo'i kalo with high walls to capture storm-water flow and prevent excess runoff and sediment from reaching the fishpond and bay below. • Paepae o He'eia, Hi'ilei Kawelo, whieh has restored 3,000 feet of He'eia Fishpond's 7,000-foot-long wall and since 2006 has removed

Kōko'o 'Āina Award recipient organizations were presented 'ōhi'a wood 'ō'ō, a traditional Hawaiian digging tool, crafted by Mark Hee. From leftare: Jo-Ann Leong, Mahealani Cypher, Hi'ilei Kawelo, Rick Barboza, Jerry Kaluhiwa, Jono Blodgett and Charlie Reppun. - Courtesy: īhe Hature Conservancy

37 tons of invasive algae and cultivated, harvested and sold 2,000 pounds of fish. • Hawai'i Division of Aquatic Resources, Jono Blodgett, whose invasive species team cleared 138,000 pounds of invasive algae from roughly 12 acres of reef in Kāne'ohe Bay and seeded the reefs with invasive-algae-eating native sea urchins, whieh it raises at a Sand Island facility. • Hui Ulu Mea'ai, Charles Reppun, a group of loeal farmers promoting sustainable agriculture that uses invasive algae from Kāne'ohe Bay for fertilizer and eompost, restores lo'i kalo and advocates for farmers' water rights. • Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, Jo-Ann Leong, whieh since 2005 has supported the work of the Super Sucker reef restoration project and whose graduate student first experimented with using native sea urchins to prevent invasive algae regrowth.

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