Today, April 22, is Earth Day.
The first Earth Day in 1970 sought to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues that were being ignored by government, industry and the public. Initially a nationwide grass roots demonstration supported by some 20 million people, Earth Day aimed to show people how everyday actions impact the environment.
Within a decade of that first Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had been created and Congress had passed the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among other environmentally conscious legislation.
Forty-six years later, Earth Day is still celebrated throughout the U.S. and the world and it still highlights the threats to the very land we all depend on for survival. Earth Day Network, operator of www.earthday.org, estimates more than one billion people in 192 countries will take part in Earth Day-related activities around the globe.
In West Hawaii, Earth Day is being celebrated in a variety of locations and ways from 6,300 feet up at Pohakuloa Training Area to Honaunau.
On Saturday, West Hawaii students invite the community to a first-ever Earth Day Summit at Kealakehe Intermediate School. The summit
Though held on Earth Day and featuring a service project at the school’s garden, organizers of the event hope it will be the first of many summits bringing together students and adults to find ways to solve problems using the assets already in the community — whether environmental-, social- or health-related, explained Kahakai Elementary School teacher Bill Chen, who along with Kealakehe Intermediate School teachers Mathieu Williams and Anya Nazaryan and students are organizing the event.
The summit began as a student project to promote environmenal awareness with Earth Day activities like tree plantings, however, the teachers pushed their students to take it further and the event morphed into a summit where people will come together to tackle a variety issues. More than 100 people had signed up to attend as of mid-week and the students have been working hard to promote the event via social media.
“It’s the Earth Day Summit, but more of a community engagement summit,” Chen said. “It’s not a culmination event — we want this to be a jumpstarter for more collaboration in the future.”
The day will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with service work at the school’s garden, said Chen. Volunteers will be clearing land and removing weeds, planting new trees and seedlings, many of which will be native, and decorating recyclable pots to store or put seedlings in.
Once the garden is spruced up, attendees will take part in the “design thinking process” at the school’s library through 1 p.m.
“It’s an innovative way to analyze issues in the community by looking at assets in the community and what’s working and apply that to some of the problems we have,” Chen explained.
There will be a variety of “issues” to tackle including homelessness, literacy, and health problems like alcohol abuse. People will be able to self-select what issues they want to discuss, Chen said.
“The process involves them looking at the assets of the community that are already there — what is great that we can apply to these problems — and then after that they find solutions,” Chen said.
By the end of the day, organizers want participants to “commit to something publicly” and build on that to develop plans for the next summit event. They also hope it will connect Big Island kids to their community, so that they feel empowered to make a difference.
“One of the problems that I see happening on the Big Island is a lot of these kids end up growing up and leaving the island and others have no connection to our community,” Chen said. “We are trying to build that connection to the community so they feel engaged and viable to solving issues here, not just leaving it.”
Kealakehe Intermediate School is located at 74-5062 Onipaa St. in Kailua-Kona.
Info/RSVP: www.westhawaiistudents.org.
Ahead of Saturday’s inaugural Earth Day Summit at Kealakehe, Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park will celebrate Earth Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the South Kona park.
The National Park Service celebrates the importance of taking care of our aina (land) and our Earth by offering attendees to opportunity to take part in a fun honu (turtle) craft activity, as well as learn how proper disposal of trash and recycling helps protect our precious lands, waters and animals.
The event will be held at the park visitor center. It is free and the entry fee to Puuhonua O Honaunau is waived this week during National Park Week.
Info: www.nps.gov/puho
Make the trek today up Daniel K. Inouye Highway to Pohakuloa Training Area in the saddle of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea for the Army’s annual Earth Day Celebration. The 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. event will highlight the Army’s local stewardship efforts to care for natural and cultural resources at the installation.
During the event, the Army’s Pohakuloa Natural Resources and Cultural Resources teams will share highlights from their programs. The staff includes more than 50 professionals dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered and threatened plants and safeguarding cultural resources at PTA.
The Natural Resources team will share interactive displays focusing on management of threatened and endangered species, as well as games and garden tours.
During the garden tours, visitors will have the opportunity to view some of the unique plants managed at PTA, such as the spiny popolo kumai, one of Hawaii’s few spiked-leafed native plants. There will also be a series of talks on the ecology and natural history of Pohakuloa.
The Cultural Resources team will also present a variety of interactive displays showcasing efforts to manage and preserve cultural resources at PTA. Visitors will have the opportunity to take a virtual, interactive tour of a lava tube and see the tools and technology Army archaeologist’s use. Visitors can also try on archaeologists’ cave equipment, such as helmets, headlamps, and knee pads. Keiki can become archaeologists-in-training during a mock dig activity and a petroglyph learning experience.
There will also be a talk story about the history of the Saddle Region, as well as a station where attendees can explore Army Fire and Emergency Services, which will have fire equipment, vehicles and a hands-on exhibit focusing on wildland fire prevention and suppression.
This event is open to the public. Visitors must show current photo identification at the main gate.
Kona Coffee Living History Farm will celebrate the concept of sustainability that was practiced by Kona coffee pioneers and is still important during “Hands on History” this Earth Day when “Sustainability in the Kitchen Garden” will be explored.
During today’s presentation at 11 a.m., visitors to the farm will learn about life in Hawaii during the 1920-40s, experience the methods used for farming and the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle, while walking through the coffee and macadamia nut orchards, touring the historic farmhouse and visiting with the donkey and chickens. Along the way, costumed interpreters will be available to “talk story” and answer questions.
“Hands on History” activities, normally held every Wednesday but extended for the Earth Day holiday, are free with farm admission.
Info: 323-3222, www.konahistorical.org.
An Earth Day campus beautification project is planned today at Konawaena High School.
Parents, alumni and students are needed to take part in the project to plant indigenous plants like papa ilia pau o hiiaka, ti and lauae fern in both the student and teacher parking lots. Work will take place from 2:30 to pau or sunset, whichever comes first.
Snacks and water will be provided. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, gardening tools, hat and sunscreen. Sign up online at www.konawaenahs.org/parents.html or simply show up at the event.
Info: Gloria Krier Matthews, parent involvement coordinator, 313-6023.
Hawaii Community College-Palamanui will celebrate Earth Day next weekend.
The day gets underway at 7:30 a.m. April 30 with a work party to remove fountain grass and spread mulch that the college said will prepare the ground for restoration of indigenous and edible plants as part of the Palamanui Campus Community Landscape Project. That will be followed by various speakers and presentations, music and potluck lunch, and more discussion through 3 p.m.
“In addition to Earth Day, and noting that International Firefighters Day is on May 4, we also will acknowledge and give appreciation to our local firefighters who protect us and the aina,” said HCC-Palamanui Director Marty Fletcher. “As part of our Earth Day service on April 30, a small team will be assigned to remove invasive plants from the station of our neighboring Volunteer Fire Company 7 Bravo, located at the corner of Kaiminani Drive and Ane Keohokalole Drive [sic].”
Organizers are trying to make this a zero-waste event, so attendees are encouraged to bring their own water bottles, plates and utensils. Paper items will be available for those who forget, along with plenty of ice cold wer.
Those who are interested in volunteering at 7:30 a.m. can contact Fletcher at 969-8804 or kmfletch@hawaii.edu. Attendees are also encouraged to bring gardening gloves and tools.
Info: 969-8803. ■