NARFE meets Saturday in Kona
All active and retired federal employees are invited to attend the Saturday meeting of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association beginning at 11 a.m. at Daylight Mind Coffee Co., 75-5770 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona.
Guest speaker will be Debbie Washburn, clinical director of North Hawaii Hospice, and Inez Schultz. She will speak on supportive care and hospice. Lunch from the menu will follow the meeting.
For more information or to reserve a space, contact Mary at 883-9363 or kekoa815@yahoo.com or Marcia at 882-7959 or mwishnick@earthlink.net.
Park offers free entry and stewardship opportunity
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park invites everyone to volunteer and help protect the native Hawaiian rainforest on National Public Lands Day on Saturday. Everyone gets in for free, and volunteers at the park will receive a free pass to use on another day of their choosing.
In honor of National Public Lands Day, the largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands in the United States, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is offering the Stewardship at the Summit program from 9 a.m. to noon. Participants should meet volunteers Paul and Jane Field at Kilauea Visitor Center, then head into the forest to remove Himalayan ginger from the summit of Kilauea.
While pretty and fragrant, Himalayan (also called kahili) ginger is one of the most invasive plants in the park, and on Earth. It is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as one of the 100 World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species.
The park strives to protect the rainforest habitat of native birds and plants, but Himalayan ginger takes over the native rainforest understory, making it impossible for the next generation of forest to grow, and it crowds out many native plants, including painiu (a Hawaiian lily), amau fern and others. Wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes and long pants. Bring a hat, sunscreen, raingear, snacks and water. Loppers and gloves are provided. No advance registration is required.
Every year on National Public Lands Day, all fee-charging national parks offer free entry. Many parks and public lands across the nation organize stewardship projects and special programs on that date to raise awareness about why it is important to protect public lands.
Shoebox program kicks off Saturday
Operation Christmas Child Shoebox kick-off event is Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Living Stones Church, 76-6224 Alii Drive, and refreshments will be served. A second event is from noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Naalehu Assembly of God, 95-5678 Mamalahoa Highway. Lunch will be served. Pastor Devon Rachae, who received an OCC box as a child, will discuss the program at this family event.
For more information or to reserve shoe boxes, contact Cindy Eilerman at 301-707-2328 or cynriccol@yahoo.com.
National collection week is Nov. 16 to 23. For more information, visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.