In my ten and a half years with Hui o Ko'olaupoko I have been blessed to meet and work alongside so many inspiring and selfless community members.  The time has come for me take a step back and focus more on my family, so I will be stepping down from my role as Executive Director by mid-summer. But, don't panic, I'm not going far!  I plan to step into a lesser role of Project Manager, which will allow me to work part-time. Because of this, HOK is in a unique position to have a seamless transition while hiring a new Executive Director. If you or anyone you know has a desire to further our mission through ecosystem restoration and storm water management, please direct them to the position announcement posted on our website.

Me ke aloha pumehana, 
 Kristen Nalani Kane

WE'VE GOT SOME BIG NEWS!
 
Beginning in early February, HOK will begin work to clear the final acre of mangrove remaining on the He'eia Estuary Restoration Project on He'eia State Park property!  

The final acre of mangrove lines the stream and northern portion of the bridge. The removal work is estimated to take four to five weeks and will be immediately followed by out-planting of native species. We welcome volunteers of all ages to be a part of the restoration efforts by joining one of our organized events.

The mangrove trees will be cut by hand (no machinery in the mud flats), the trunks will be removed whole to be used for offsite hale building projects, and the canopy and prop-roots will be cut to ground level and burned in compliance with the Department of Health: Clean Air Branch burn permits and regulations. Native out-planting will begin immediately after the mangrove removal work is completed.  
 
For more information on this project and research supporting the removal of mangrove in Hawaii, please visit our website. If at any time you have questions or concerns please call HOK staff at 808-381-7202.  
 
We are excited to begin the final phases of mass invasive species removal and we look forward to working with the community to help the area return to a native species dominated estuary.
 
Me ke aloha pumehana, 
 the Hui o Ko'olaupoko Staff and Board

As 2018 comes to an end, the Staff and Board of Directors at Hui o Ko'olaupoko want to send a huge aloha and mahalo to every volunteer, grassroots activist, and conservation hui we have had the opportunity of collaborating with and working alongside this year. Without a well rounded community network and support system, the massive projects that nonprofits like ourselves take on would not be possible. 
 
We are so grateful to the 1,270 volunteers who have joined us in the field this year, and to the countless others who have supported HOK in various ways such as Plant Foster Parents, technical assistance, and monetary support- we could not do it without your help! Together we have worked almost 7,500 hours in the field, and we still have one more month to go! 
 
We wish everybody a joyful holiday season and encourage you to give gifts that keep on giving. Whether that means volunteering for a cause that is close to your heart or choosing to make a monetary donation, HOK would be honored to be a part of your holiday giving.  
 
Visit our calendar for a list of upcoming volunteer opportunities or check out our Giving Tree to see how your monetary donation will be put to good use. 

For the past two years, HOK has participated in a special effort to collaboratively improve and track environmental clean-up efforts across the Hawaiian islands. The Hawaii Environmental Clean-up Coalition (HECC) consists of 11 organizations that conduct and promote these clean-ups so that volunteers and community members can easily get more involved, and that data from the efforts can be recorded in a central location.


​HECC's efforts include dozens of beaches, parks, reefs, and urban areas in the main Hawaiian Islands and directly supported coastal restoration projects through community stewardship and activism.

CLICK HERE to check out how much of an impact the cleans-ups have had and to see who might be working in your neighborhood. The HECC would like to extend big mahalo to the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and the Hawai'i Community Foundation for funding this endeavor and to all of the HECC partners and volunteers for all their tireless efforts to keep our island ecosystems thriving!

​Hui o Ko'olaupoko is happy to welcome four new board members to the team. Jenna, Danny, Elizabeth, and Jordan are all residents of Ko'olaupoko with varying education and interests in the environmental sector.  We are excited for this opportunity to expand and collaborate with new stakeholders.

Board Members for HOK are voluntary positions and they provide mission-based leadership and strategic governance to HOK staff. Board members act as ambassadors, representing HOK to stakeholders and the communities we serve. Are you interested in joining our board? We still have a few spaces to fill. Send and email with a recent resume to info@huihawaii.org and we will respond with the date of our next meeting.  

Click here for more info on our 
current Staff & Board of Directors.

"Octinoxate" refers to the chemical ((RS)-2-Ethylhexyl (2E)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-enoate under the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry chemical nomenclature registry; that has a chemical abstract service registry number 5466-77-3; whose synonyms include but are not limited to ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, octyl methoxycinnamate, Eusolex 2292, Neo Heliopan AV, NSC 26466, Parsol MOX, Parasol MCX, Parsol MOX, and Uvinul MC80; and is intended to be used as protection against ultraviolet light radiation with a spectrum wavelength from 370 nanometers to 220 nanometers in an SPF sunscreen protection personal care product.
     "Oxybenzone" refers to the chemical (2-Hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-phenylmethanone under the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry chemical nomenclature registry; that has a chemical abstract service registry number 131-57-7; whose synonyms include but are not limited to benzophenone-3, Escalol 567, Eusolex 4360, KAHSCREEN BZ-3, Uvasorb MET/C, Syntase 62, UV 9, Uvinul 9, Uvinul M-40, Uvistat 24, USAF Cy-9, Uniphenone-3U, 4-methoxy-2-hydroxybenzophenone and Milestab 9; and is intended to be used as protection against ultraviolet light radiation with a spectrum wavelength from 370 nanometers to 220 nanometers in an SPF sunscreen protection personal care product.

Reef Safe Alternatives:

​http://safemama.com/cheatsheets/sunscreen/

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/anti-aging/tips/g2339/safe-natural-sunscreen/?slide=1

http://www.refinery29.com/best-sunscreen-oxybenzone-free

Articles:
www.haereticus-lab.org/

http://www.popsci.com/hawaii-sunscreen-ban-coral#page-2
 
http://www.vogue.com/article/reef-safe-sunscreens-oxybenzone-free-sea-turtles-environment-stream2sea

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/28/sunscreen-damage-coral-research-oxybenzone
 
http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2017/04/scientists-think-they-know-what-killed-coral-reefs-it-was-us/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/28/sunscreen-damage-coral-research-oxybenzone

https://news.fastcompany.com/your-sunscreen-may-be-killing-coral-reefs-4036231

https://www.facebook.com/BanToxicSunscreens/posts/1442448255816132
 
https://bantoxicsunscreens.com/2017/04/21/the-hawaii-oxybenzone-boom-campaig
n-wake-up-legislators-the-world-is-watching/?UPDATE

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28qWIPeOkvI

https://www.facebook.com/thecoverupdoc

Hui o Ko'olaupoko is pleased to announce that Gary Karr has joined our team as the Development Director.

The majority of the Development Director's part-time position will be focused on implementing fundraising strategies, writing grant proposals, and development of future projects and partnerships.  

Mr. Karr was born in Honolulu, raised in Ko'olaupoko, and lives in Kāne'ohe today.  Mr. Karr received a BA from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UH) in Environmental Studies. While at UH he interned at Oceanic Institute (OI) and was subsequently hired in 1980 as a Permit Specialist progressively moving into positions of increased responsibility. Mr. Karr worked at OI until 2008 culminating as Director of Communications. During his career, Mr. Karr has authored and submitted numerous successful proposals to government agencies and eleemosynary organizations resulting in large and small grants for OI and other groups. In addition to securing funding, he has managed projects including: execution, personnel, fiscal oversight, and reporting. Since leaving OI, Mr. Karr worked for the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council and for RCUH's Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research assigned to NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office. In 2016, he returned to OI and currently serves as Training and Education Department Director. Mr. Karr will contunue in his role at OI while working part-time for Hui o Ko'olaupoko.

We are happy to have a new team member on board and are excited to see what adventures lie ahead for HOK.

Gary can be reached at  
info@huihawaii.org
so reach out and say hello!

There are a lot of ways that we already go green in our house, like composting our food waste, recycling our recyclables, and using the laundry water to water the garden but, I’m almost embarrassed to say that remembering to bring my bags in the grocery store has been one of the hardest green habits for me to develop. I always remember them when I am at the checkout when its already too late. Moving back to the islands after living in Georgia and South Carolina for nearly a decade reminded me how Hawaii as a state is much farther along than other parts of the country in making it a plastic free state. In the south most grocery stores still default to using a plastic bag if you don’t tell them differently. It’s exciting to live in a state where plastic free is becoming the norm and legislature is there to support it. Now that we at HOK are doing this plastic free challenge I am going to fully commit to bringing my own bag and say no thank you even if it’s a paper bag. How am I going to stay fully committed? I’ve decided that if I forget my bags in my car again, then I have to carry everything out and bag it in the car. I’m sure this will get old quickly and I’ll have my BYOB habit down in no time!

Did you know:
. Americans use about 100 billion plastic bags per year
. You can drive one mile with the oil required to make just 14 plastic bags
. It’s estimated to take 500+ years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill.

So, stock up on some truly reusable shopping bags. Keep some in your car or purse so you will always have them on hand.  Post your challenge wins and fails with #HOKplasticfreechallenge for a chance to win each week.

​Sunday is grocery day at my house, and it’s kind of a family affair. Not only do we like to do the grocery shopping together, but we also take time to plan our menu (so we know exactly what to buy) and prep lunches and snacks for the week. We have been in this routine for quite a few years now and it definitely helps keep us on track with healthy meals and snacks but it took time make it an easy routine.
 
It also took time to make bringing our own bags part of the routine. In the beginning, even if I remembered to bring bags sometimes I’d forget them in the car. Countless times I’ve stepped up to the register, reusable bag on my arm (or in my purse), watched my groceries be bagged and THEN remembered that I had my own bag. Then along came my husband, I had to buy some ‘manly’ reusable bags to get him onboard and now he even uses the bags to pack his daily lunch. WIN!
 
So yesterday, as we were in the checkout line, I ran outside to grab a box of cookies from the hypnotizingly cute little Girl Scouts, and then met my husband at the car. As we were loading the groceries I noticed it...a plastic bag, GASP! There it was mixed in with 4 of our 5 reusable bags, and all it had in it was the 2 packs of ground turkey. I held up the bag towards my husband with a questioning look (he knows about the month of mini challenges) and he said it was for the meat with an apologetic look. I’ll blame the bagger ;) because I would have chose to use our own bag to separate meat rather than use a plastic bag. So there we have it, challenge FAIL. 
 
Next time I’ll try not to get distracted by the Girl Scout cookies!