Cancer support group meets
A cancer support group meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Teshima’s restaurant in Honalo. Those newly diagnosed with cancer and cancer survivors are welcome, as well as interested caregivers and supportive family members.
For more information, call Shirley at 323-2732.
Ping offering talk, healing circle
Qigong Master Zou Ping from the medicine-less hospital and Hexianju QiGong Centre in China is offering an introductory talk and healing circle on Tuesday at Daylight Mind Coffee Co., 75- 5770 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona. The talk is from 6 to 8 p.m. and there is no charge.
Family Read Aloud Program planned
Friends of the Libraries, Kona will host a free family Read Aloud Program, “Books are Building Blocks,” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Kailua-Kona Public Library. Registration will take place from 4:30 to 5 p.m. in front of the library.
The guest speaker will be fitness instructor Susie Villasenor, who will play the role of Mrs. Captain America. She will share her story with young readers about finding health and fitness.
For more information, email folk@folkhawaii.com or visit folkhawaii.com.
Big Island Medical Reserve Corps seeks volunteers
Big Island Medical Reserve Corps will hold orientation meetings for existing and prospective volunteers.
Natural disasters, disease pandemics, large-scale accidents, bioterrorism events or a major public health emergency may overwhelm local hospitals and health care professionals. Government agencies that would lead a disaster response and recovery may ask citizens to help with relief efforts.
The mission of the Big Island Medical Reserve Corps is to establish a local team of medical and nonmedical volunteers who can contribute their skills and expertise in these circumstances.
Volunteers are asked to attend periodic meetings, participate in disaster preparedness exercises and assist with nonemergency community health activities.
Orientation meetings will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. May 30 in Hilo and from 10 a.m. to noon June 6 in Kona.
For reservations or more information, contact Jason Dela Cruz at 974-6010 or jason.delacruz@doh.hawaii.gov.
Free aikido workshop planned in Hilo
Senior aikido instructor Takashi Nonaka Sensei, 9th Dan, Ki Society, will oversee a free public workshop from 8 a.m. to noon May 31 at Waiakea Recreation Center in Hilo.
The workshop is hosted by Hilo Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido. Registration begins at 7:15 a.m. Ki lecture and training will begin at 8 a.m. followed by Ki-Aikido at 9:15. Children’s class for those 6 to 12 years old will begin at 10:30 a.m. followed by a promotion ceremony.
To reserve a spot or for more information, contact David Kaneshiro at 430-1691 or email davidkaneshiro@aol.com.
Kona Soil and Water Conservation District recognizes land users
Kona Soil and Water Conservation District recently honored three land users — Makapueo Farms, Home O Kahaluu Farm and Waiono Native Forest Preserve.
Owned and managed by Kaipo Sheen, Makapueo Farms grows coffee on about 200 acres on many different parcels. Sheen became a cooperator in 2007 and started his coffee business on an 8-acre parcel. His land had virtually no soil, not an unfamiliar site in Kona. Sheen, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, applied mulch by the truckload and eight years later has established 4 to 5 inches of soil.
Makapueo Farms now manages acres of coffee for other land users and manages additional leasehold land. It has opened two coffee shops, one at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel and one in South Kona, to sell the coffee it produces.
Richard Fowler along with his wife Roswitha, his daughter Angelica and her husband Richard have created Home O Kahaluu Farm on almost 9 acres. They became cooperators in 2010 and have incorporated agro-forestry practices to develop a seed farm for native species. Their premier crop is pili grass, a native grass that is traditionally used for thatched roofing. Home O Kahaluu Farm also uses it as conservation cover and others are planning to use it in buffer zones between land parcels. Other crops include coffee, lilikoi, pumpkins, pineapple, turmeric and papaya.
Waiono Native Forest Preserve was the vision of Pam Parker, which she started to make a reality in 2010. She wanted a forest in which her grandchildren could romp. After planting well over 3,000 native tree and shrub species on 16 acres she is well on her way to providing it. Like many land users who have raw land, Parker first had to get through the Christmas berry and guava that were infesting her land. With that completed, planting could begin. Grasses continue to be a maintenance challenge but as the trees continue to grow, expand their canopy and naturally reproduce, invasive grasses will become less and of a problem.