This expedition into Kahuku’s isolated refuge of rare plants is offered Feb. 26, March 18 and April 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants should meet near the Kahuku gate. They should park and meet inside the gate near
Assistant police chief is guest speaker
Assistant Police Chief Paul Kealoha will speak to the Rotary Club of Kona Makna during the club’s meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Teshima’s Restaurant in Honalo. Lunch is $18 per person.
Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations and helps build goodwill and peace in the world.
Rotarians and interested individuals are welcome to attend.
For more information, contact Ken Obenski at 987-8431.
Traffic safety group meets Feb. 9
Kona Traffic Safety Committee meets at 5 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Community Halau, Building G of the West Hawaii Civic Center. The committee creates an opportunity for concerned members of the community to meet with county and state officials who can help mitigate traffic safety problems.
There is plenty of parking in the makai parking lot next to Building G.
Hawaii Prep hosts family learning events
Hawaii Preparatory Academy will launch a series of monthly Ohana Nights beginning Wednesday at the Energy Lab in Waimea.
Ohana Night at the Energy Lab, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month, provides hands-on learning opportunities for families in the areas of energy and water conservation, energy generation, water clarification, zero waste, food sovereignty and green chemistry. The fee, which covers all materials, is $15 per family per evening or $50 for all four evenings in the series.
The first Ohana Night will feature Dr. Dilafruz Williams, Stanford Fellow and professor at Portland State University, who will present “Learning Gardens and Sustainability Education: How Parents and the Community Can Support Academic Achievement in the Garden.” As part of the presentation, families will take home 1 pound of worm castings to use in their own gardens.
Williams has been studying the effects of ecology-based education on academic achievement, social skills acquisition and nutrition for more than 20 years. As a parent and former public school board member, she values education that builds relationships with nature and humans, she said. She is the co-founder of Portland (Ore.) Public School’s Sunnyside K-8 Environmental School and co-founder of Leadership in Sustainability Education, where she established a master’s level academic program, initiated and designed learning gardens at several schools addressing local farm-to-school food and nutrition issues and integration into major curricular goals for kindergarten through eighth grades.
Future Ohana Night at the Energy Lab events will feature:
c March 14: Bill Wiecking, director of the Energy Lab at Hawaii Prep, will present “Solar Energy: Applying Energy Lab Technology at Home.” Families will bring a list of home appliances to aid in calculations and will take home sketches of home systems.
c April 11: Angela Kang, Hawaii County recycling specialist, will present “Zero-Waste Your Home and Office.” Families will make an alkaline battery capture bucket or sew a reusable bag.
c May 9: Deacon “Dr. Beachcomb” Ritterbush will present “Connecting to Nature Through Beachcombing.” Families will create beachcombing art.
For more information, contact Koh Ming Wei at 881-4266 or mwkoh@hpa.edu.
Four book clubs
meet in February
Free book clubs are meeting during February at Kona Stories book shop in Keauhou Shopping Center. The groups are free and open to everyone.
The Culinary Book Group meets from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday. Tiare Tolzmann is starting a culinary book group to focus on cookbooks and culinary memoirs. The February theme is chocolate. Participants are asked to bring their favorite dish featuring chocolate as well as a printed recipe to share with the group. For more information, call Tiare or Joy at 324-0350.
The Second Tuesday Fiction Group meets from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 14. The group will be discussing the book, “A Dog’s Purpose,” by W. Bruce Cameron. “A Dog’s Purpose” is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog’s many lives, but also a dog’s-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man’s best friend. Attendees are asked to read the book in advance of the meeting and come prepared for a discussion. Bring a favorite Valentine pupu or beverage to share.
The Lesbian Book Club meets from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 21. The woman-identified group meets every month to discuss books and independent films. This month the group will be discussing the book, “Pages for You,” by Sylvia Brownrigg. Attendees are asked to read the book in advance of the meeting and come prepared for a discussion. Bring a pupu or beverage to share.
The Just the Facts Group meets from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 28 to discuss nonfiction titles. This month the group will be discussing “Cleopatra,” by Stacy Schiff. Attendees are asked to read the book in advance of the meeting and come prepared for a discussion. Bring a pupu or beverage to share.
For more information on the clubs, call Brenda or Joy at 324-0350.
Kona Outdoor Circle seeks collectibles
Kona Outdoor Circle is seeking items to resell at its collectibles booth at its Pua Plantasia plant sale on Feb. 11. It will use the funds raised from both plant sales and collectibles to fund its beautification, education, and advocacy work.
Collectibles chairwoman Jeanne Cooper is looking for dishware, glassware, artwork, Hawaiiana, jewelry, CDs, silver items, antiques, anything that might be a treasure for a purchaser.
Items may be dropped off in the office at the upper level of the Kona Outdoor Circle building at 76-6280 Kuakini Highway, which is open from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily, or call Cooper at 329-3079 for pickup or questions. All donations are tax deductible, so donors should leave a note with their name, address and phone number so a receipt may be sent.
The sale is from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Feb. 11 at Old Kona Airport Park’s Makaeo Events Pavilion.
OHA to discuss land settlement Feb. 10
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will hold a community meeting to inform its beneficiaries of the latest updates on the Kakaako land settlement proposal. The public is invited to attend a meeting scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 10 at the West Hawaii Civic Center.
The tentative land deal proposed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie would give OHA 30 acres of property in Kakaako valued at an estimated $200 million. If approved by the Legislature, this agreement will resolve claims relating to OHA’s share of public land trust revenues from Nov. 7, 1978 to June 30, 2012.
More information on the Kakaako land settlement proposal is available at oha.org/kakaako. The public may email comments or questions to Kakaako.comments@oha.org.
National park offering two programs
Two adventurous programs offered by Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will introduce a captivating landscape, biodiversity and history of the park’s southernmost section to intrepid hikers.
“People and Land of Kahuku” is a two-mile, three-hour expedition through pastures, a quarry, an airstrip and the 1868 lava fields of Kahuku. Rangers will explain how people lived on the vast Kahuku lands, from the earliest Hawaiians through today. Participants will walk in emerging native forest, hear about Kahuku’s history of violent earthquakes and eruptions and the residents who survived them, and find out how Hawaii Volcanoes National Park plans to restore the native ecosystem and protect Kahuku’s cultural sites.
The hike is offered Feb. 12 and 18, March 11 and 25 and April 15 and 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Participants will meet near the Kahuku gate, which is located off Highway 11 between mile markers 70 and 71 on the mauka side of the highway. They should park and meet inside the gate near the ranch buildings. Boots, rain gear and long pants are recommended. No advance registration is required.
“Kipukaakihi” is a challenging 1.5-mile, five-hour adventure to see some of the rare plants and wildlife that inhabit this treasured kipuka. Participants must be prepared to scramble over fallen trees, lava rock and slippery, wet terrain. They should wear sturdy hiking shoes, long pants, sunscreen and a hat, and bring rain gear, garden gloves, a day pack, insect repellent, lunch and water. This forest stewardship program provides opportunities to help protect this rainforest by pulling up invasive kahili ginger and other invasive non-native plants throughout the kipuka. Because of the fragile nature of the region, the program is limited to 15 people and preregistration is required. To sign up, call 985-6011.
This expedition into Kahuku’s isolated refuge of rare plants is offered Feb. 26, March 18 and April 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants should meet near the Kahuku gate. They should park and meet inside the gate near the ranch building.
