Kaho'olawe

Sunrise over Haleakala from Kaho'olawe

It's hard to explain a place like Kaho'olawe. A place that's been ravaged for so long by bombs and artillery and bullets that in many ways it no longer resembles a place at all. Covered in thorny, invasive kiawe trees and scrubby fountain grass the red hard pan shines through in warning. No rain comes here, the hot hard pan chases the clouds away like bothersome children. The wind whips the red dirt around and around the lava rocks and dry stream beds and eventually out to sea. On land, only hope thrives.

We drive our trucks around the red roads, searching for a place to plant or a place to dig or maybe just a place to weed. These places are sparse because unexploded ordnance litters the island, preventing us from even entering most areas, let alone dig.

The Bell Stone sacred area

In ancient days, Kaho'olawe was known for being the navigational center of the Hawaiian islands. All long voyages began there. Not long ago, the island was used by the military to test bombs and weapons for many, many years. Throughout its history, Kaho'olawe was sparsely populated and after World War II, the islands' only resident leased the land to the military for testing. By that time, Kaho'olawe's plant life had been devastated by feral goats and red dirt swirled and was blown away even then. Local protesters led the fight to reclaim the island in the 1970s, some even lost their lives doing so. Today, the island seems more like a long-lost cousin forgotten or never known. It's cultural significance has not been forgotten, however and there is a strong effort to restore the island.

Crater left by bomb activity

It is an uphill battle with one of the biggest challenges being that only about 10% of the island has been completely cleared of ordnance, making most of the land and coastal areas a real danger. Few out-plantings have been successful with little water and even less soil.

Shadows of our youth

Maybe the youth we brought to see this place will be the ones to save it. One thing is for sure, there is a future for Kaho'olawe. To learn more about the island or to find out how you can volunteer to make a difference, visit: http://kahoolawe.hawaii.gov/. I went there as a team leader for Kupu's summer gateway program. 

Sunrise on Kaho'olawe

Sustainable Camp Eats

Rare and endangered ahina'ahina (silversword)

My HYCC team spent five days camping and doing conservation work at Kona Hema, an 8,000 acre nature preserve stewarded by The Nature Conservancy in south Kona. 

Ancient camp site high above the coastline

We spent most of our work hours fixing the 25 miles of fencing that keeps damaging pigs, goats, and sheep out of the preserve. 

The gorgeous ohia lehua

We also found some time to admire the pristine forest around us, including the biggest koa tree in the world and many rare and endangered plants. We were able to pick plums (non-native) an I attempted to make a pie with them, see pictured. How lucky is that? 

Plum pie attempt, topped with instant oatmeal packets

I've harped on this before and I'll do it again, it has been super important to me that my team eats as sustainably as possible on our camping trips being that we are a conservation group and all. Luckily KTA has a slew of locally grown and made products, so I've done all my shopping with them. In case you're wondering where else to find local food products in the Kona area, Sack n Save and Costco also have plenty of choices. The farmers' market wasn't an option (this year) because I only had a credit card to buy food with. 

Meals with a * by them were made using locally grown or produced ingredients. A list of locally made products I purchased for this trip is below the menu. 

Day	Meal
Monday	*Dinner: Spaghetti & salad
Tuesday	*Breakfast: Portuguese sausage, eggs, rice
	Lunch: sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies
	*Dinner: Pork adobo with veggies & rice
Wednesday	Breakfast: Yogurt, oatmeal, fruit
	Lunch: sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies
	*Dinner: Burgers w/sweet potatoes & chips
Thursday	*Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
	Lunch: sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies
	*Dinner: Beef stew & rice
Friday	Breakfast: oatmeal, yogurt, fruit
	Lunch: sandwiches, chips, fruit, cookies

Locally made products purchased for this camping trip at KTA:

Grass-fed beef (ground and stew meat)

Pork belly

Eggs

Lettuce

Sprouts

Cucumber

Bananas

Kale

Yogurt

Sweet potatoes

Taro

Bread

Pu'uwa'awa'a Camping and Conservation

Sunset from the Lake House at Pu'uwa'awa'a

Last week I spend five days camping with four teenagers with Kupu, a youth conservation organization at Pu'uwa'awa'a, a few miles north of Kona on the upper road to Waimea.

View from the top of the puu

We spent most of our time planting native trees, removing invasive species, and collecting seeds.

Sunrise from the Lake House at Pu'uwa'awa'a, nene geese in the water

I've learned so much already, it feels so good to get this chance to give back to the 'aina.

Mountain views for days

Not to mention all the amazing places we've been privy to, and all the rare species of plants and animals we've seen.

Sunrise again and more nene

Of course, my first priority when it comes to camping is food. Because we are a conservation group, I feel it's important to try to eat as sustainably as possible. The menu below shows a break down of what we prepared each day, the meals that are starred were made with locally grown or produced products. I was able to purchase locally grown/made meat, fruits, vegetables, tortillas, eggs, shoyu, and tofu. Most of the meals went over pretty well with the team, except the tofu curry, they were not so hot on meatless meals.

Day	Meal	KP
Monday	*Dinner: Fish Tacos*	Cook: N, A
		Clean: J, J
Tuesday	*Breakfast: burritos*	Cook: Gwen
		Clean: N, A
	Lunch: sandwiches, chips, fruit	Gwen
	*Dinner: Teri beef stir-fry w/ rice*	Cook: J, J Clean: Gwen
Wednesday	Breakfast: bagels/yogurt/fruit	A, N
	Lunch: sandwiches, chips, fruit	Gwen
	*Dinner: Kalua pork sandwiches w/ slaw & sweet potatoes*	Cook: A, N Clean: J, J
Thursday	Breakfast: bagels/yogurt/fruit	J, J
	Lunch: leftovers, chips, fruit	Gwen
	*Dinner: tofu curry with rice*	Cook: Gwen Clean: N, A
Friday	Breakfast: bagels/yogurt/fruit	J, J
	Lunch: sandwiches, chips, fruit	Gwen

Sustainable Sunday: Kuleana

My husband is one of those people that gets things done. He runs a business, works on all of our vehicles, builds things like stairs and benches. He never procrastinates and always finishes projects that he starts.

I'm not one of those people.

I'm one of those people who plants a garden and forgets about it. I'm one of those people who is happy to check off half the things on a to-do list. I'm one of those people who does lesson planning one day at a time. Pacing guides scare me as a teacher. I'm one of those people who has an embroidery project I work on once a year, a painting left unfinished, an inbox full of emails yet to be responded to, and a journal full of great ideas left hanging in great idea land.

Sometimes I beat myself up. Why can't I be more efficient? Get things done? Finish projects? Yesterday was a reminder that there is a bigger picture. We have a bigger kuleana to worry about.

Kuleana means responsibility in Hawaiian. For the past year I have been participating in a program called Ka Hua that has been specially designed for new teachers to help us implement culturally relevant teaching practices in our classrooms. Although I've been living in Hawaii for more than six years, participating in Ka Hua and learning more about the Hawaiian culture has opened my eyes to an entirely new way of thinking and living. Our focus this year for Ka Hua is kuleana, responsibility.

Kuleana is more than to-do lists and projects. It's our kuleana to take care of the 'aina (land), to live aloha, loving and taking care of each other. And so I ask you, on this Sustainable Sunday, what is our kuleana when it comes to food practices?

Making an effort to shop at the farmer's market, grow a garden, and buy local eggs means much more than deeming ourselves "Real Foodies." It's our kuleana.

With that in mind, I hope that this Sustainable Sunday series will help all of us fulfill our kuleana of taking care of the land, taking care of our bodies, and living aloha.

*Big Island folks: Did you know that ALL store brand milk (Mountain Apple brand, Meadow Gold, Lucerne (Safeway), Wal-Mart brand, Costco, etc) is locally sourced? It's true and it's fantastic! By the way, you should know that NONE of these brands are organic. Please see reader comments below for more information on the local milk situation. Mahalo Doug and Lori!