Volunteers are needed for a Saturday workday at Harold H. Higashihara Park.
The Friends of Higashihara Park will gather for a second day of work to address more needs at the park and its Kamakana Playground while following COVID-19 protocols.
Volunteers will be doing a series of tasks, including waterproofing the wooden playground structures, weeding the park grounds, making repairs and painting and adding mulch to areas from 8 a.m. to noon. Registration gets underway at 7:30 a.m. at the Hawaii County park off Kuakini Highway, north of Honalo. Children younger than age 12 will not be permitted due to liability reasons.
“We’re hoping to take care of some of the items we couldn’t complete in November, but our focus will be on major vegetation removal and cleanup, as well as repairs to the existing playground equipment,” organizers said.
The Lions Club of Kona — under which the Friends of Higashihara Park falls — has cared for and added to Kamakana Playground since the playground’s establishment in 1997. In 2021, the club formally joined forces with the county Department of Parks and Recreation by forming the Friends of the Park group.
The first cleanup was hosted in November 2021 as a kickoff for the project. More than 100 volunteers lended a hand that day.
The group’s goal goes beyond repairing and improving the playground, but also giving the entire park some much-needed TLC. In addition to the playground work, the group hopes to resurface basketball and tennis courts, add bleachers and seating along the hillside, replace an existing skatpark area with a new “flow + street plaza style skatepark” and add a comfort station.
Fundraising is ongoing for the projects expected to top $2.1 million. To date, the group’s GoFundMe effort has raised $1,900 of a $5,000 goal. T-shirts will be for sale for $30 Saturday with proceeds going toward the effort.
According to Alyana DeBina, a committee member of the Friends of Higashihara Park, generations to come will be able to play and imagine at the beloved playground thanks to the work of the community today.
“We know that we can gather the workforce to get this project done through community volunteers, because that is how the playground was originally built, and there is a deep love for this park by the people of Kona, many of which played there as a child and want to have it around for their children,” organizer said.
Volunteers for Saturday’s event should bring their own container for drinking water, as bottled water will not be provided. Light snacks will be provided.
Participants must wear covered shoes and are advised to bring sunscreen, bug spray and gloves.
The event is in need of leaf rakes, shovels and hoes; chainsaws and extension saws; sanders and extension cords; wisk, deck and wire brushes; spare redwood for repairs; and wheelbarrows.
For more information, contact Mary at (808) 339-8290, Debbie at (808) 938-1987 or Alayna at (808) 987-6519. To sign up, text Alayna.
The effort can also be followed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KonaLions-CommunityFoundationonpark