Wiliwili Festival 2019

Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative each year throws a huge festival to bring people from all over the island and many visitors to Waikoloa to see their beautiful dry forest preserve and learn from various community groups about ways they can take action for the environment. HWMO set-up a booth this year with information on wildfire preparedness (including many Ready, Set, Go! action guides) and goodies for the kids (plus, a pachinko game and a “guess how many chili beans in the jar” game).

Learn how you can help restore the native forest of Waikoloa: https://waikoloadryforest.org/

Festival in full swing.

Many visitors took native plants home with them.

Showing some ohia love.

HWMO booth with keiki playing pachinko.

New Year's Firewise Communities Potluck and RSG! Workshop

Community bonding is an important part of the wildfire solution. HWMO gathered Firewise Community members from a variety of different communities on Hawaii Island for a night of fun and learning on January 15 at Tutu’s House in Waimea. Along with an in-depth Ready, Set, Go! wildfire preparedness presentation, community members also mingled to meet each other and share about community successes and struggles dealing with wildfire. As an ice-breaker, we had a jan-ken-pon (rock, paper, scissors) tournament where community members faced off in one-game elimination matches. The winner was Diane Makaala Kanealii from Kailapa who then faced the winner of the Hawaii Fire Department tourney — and she beat them, too! The catch — each time a winner beat their opponent, that opponent had to join all following matches as a “fan” of that winner. By the end, the winner collects everyone as a fan for them, cheering and rooting them on. Mahalo The Nature Conservancy in Waimea for teaching us this fun spin on a classic!

Did we mention the super delicious make-your-own-taco bar! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the meal and came out to Tutu’s House.

Firewise Community members meeting each other.

Full room for the evening.

Sharing laughs.

Jan-ken-pon tourney begins.

Rock, paper, scissors...what will it be?

Paper beats rock.

The championship - Diane Makaala Kanealii wins it all!

Ready, Set, Go! wildfire preparedness workshop.

Coming together as a community is the way to go.

2018 Fairmont Orchid Employee Health and Safety Fair

HWMO’s Tamara Hynd cruised over to Fairmont Orchid to share wildfire preparedness information with employees of the South Kohala resort on October 5. With the recent large wildfires in August, the timing was ever the more important to share tips on Firewise landscaping and other home and family preparedness options, including ReadySetGo!

Waianae Coast Disaster Readiness Fair 2018

HWMO’s Pablo Akira Beimler traveled to Waianae to set up an outreach table at the Waianae Coast Disaster Readiness Fair. The event was organized by the Waianae Coast Disaster Readiness Team who is doing incredible work in the community to better prepare Waianae residents for emergencies. At the Waianae Mall event on June 2, we handed out ReadySetGo! wildland fire action guides, Firewise Communities information, keiki swag, and more.

PTA Earth Day 2018

It may have been freezing cold up in the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, but that didn’t stop HWMO and other organizations committed to protecting the environment from educating youth from all over the island. HWMO set up a booth at the Pohakuloa Training Area on April 20th to teach keiki of all ages about the mauka to makai (summit-to-sea) impacts of wildfire.

Puuwaawaa Bio-Cultural Blitz 2018

Pablo Akira Beimler leads students through an activity to learn about the mauka to makai impacts of wildfire.

Our dry forests are so critical to the health of our leeward areas in Hawaii. It’s no wonder that so many organizations working to protect the dry forests came together on March 9th at Puuwaawaa to outreach with hundreds of students. Puuwaawaa was formed over 110,000 years ago and is home to a rich diversity of native plants and animals — which are all at risk of devastating wildfires that have burned through the area before. HWMO held a booth to talk about the mauka to makai (summit-to-sea) impacts of wildfire with smiling and interested keiki from all over the island.

Wiliwili Festival 2018

HWMO having a blast with Ocean Warriors students while teaching wildfire preparedness lessons through the ReadySetGo! program.

A brushfire quickly grew into a large one during the Wiliwili Festival, most likely started by a lightning strike from several days ago.

This year's Wiliwili Festival was an eventful one (as it always is!) The festival, put on by our friends from Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative, hosted hundreds of residents and visitors who wanted to learn more about how to conserve the precious dry forests of Hawaii. HWMO set up an informational and activities booth. A group of Malama Kai Ocean Warriors students stopped by to join us for outreach help, while learning the ins and outs of the ReadySetGo! program. They also spent time creating beautiful works of art as part of a statewide wildfire prevention bookmark contest. Our booth was set-up in the workshop tent, so we also witnessed a number of great presenters from different organizations. Waikoloa Fire Management Action Committee's Wayne Awai presented on the village's Firewise efforts and successes. 

Ironically, during all of this wildfire outreach, a wildfire broke out only a few miles mauka of the event. The fire grew quickly, unfortunately burning through ohia forest. We must do everything we can to protect our precious native dry forests from the growing wildfire threat. Help do your part by learning how you can prevent fire: http://www.hawaiiwildfire.org/lookout

2018 CTAHR Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Fair

Hundreds of keiki visited the many outreach booths, including HWMO's, at this year's event.

We traveled to Oahu to talk to over 500 students about wildfire and its impacts on our watersheds, ocean, and critical protein source (fish) due to post-fire erosion and runoff. On February 9, the keiki came from various schools in Central Oahu to the Pearl City Urban Garden Center as part of University of Hawaii CTAHR’s Agriculture and Environmental Awareness weekend. We had so much fun being around such engaged and enthusiastic youth — they were also quite knowledgable, as well. Even within a short 5-minute span with each class, the students learned a lot about how wildfire impacts our watersheds and they were able to connect the dots right away. They also quickly pointed out that the best way to cut off this cycle was to stop it at the source: to prevent wildfires!

Mahalo UH CTAHR for inviting us to join this year!

Na Kilo Aina Nohona

Keiki having fun dressing up as wildland firefighters at Na Kilo Aina Nohona.

On October 12, HWMO staff members Elizabeth Pickett, Melissa Kunz, and Orlando Smith set-up a wildfire prevention activities table at Na Kilo Aina in Honokoa. Various other community organizations, agencies, and businesses joined in on the fun by hosting groups of keiki to learn about stewardship of the aina.

 “Na Kilo Aina practices place-base awareness that emphasizes pilina or relationships. This encompasses the holist interactions of our communities with our environment speaking to the wealth of our lands and waters as well as the wealth of our families and community members. In building and strengthening a community of observers we remember who we are through listening to our aina and activating all senses of kilo working towards Aina Momona: productive and thriving communities.” - Honokoa (Kailapa Community Association)

The event was hosted by Honokoa, a Firewise Community in Kawaihae. For the 5th year in a row, they held the camp which brought in dozens of bright-eyed participants. At HWMO’s table, keiki visited to learn about wildfire prevention measures they could take with their families. They also got to dress in real wildland fire gear to experience what it would be like to be a wildland firefighter. Keiki drew creative wildfire prevention signs, as well.

Since 2016, the community has been a certified Firewise Community with the help of HWMO. They have done an amazing job creating a culture of fire awareness in the community and have even taken large steps towards greater overall hazard resilience. For example, they are in the final stages of completing a large pavilion that can serve as an evacuation shelter during emergencies. 

Thank you Kailapa Community Association for inviting us to the camp and for all of your efforts this year in reducing wildfire risk!

Parker Ranch 4th of July Rodeo 2017

Melissa Kunz of HWMO talking to visitors about the upcoming Firefighter Chili Cook-Off.

August 26 is just around the corner. What’s so special about that date? HWMO is having its first major fundraiser that day. Save the date!

The Firefighter Chili Cook-Off will showcase four teams of local firefighters who will go face-to-face in a chili competition judged by none other than Sam Choy, one of the founders of Pacific rim cuisine. There will, however, also be a people’s choice award winner. That’s where you come in! Come join us for a barn-good time by trying the different chili recipes using local ingredients from the island. The event’s very first sponsor was Parker Ranch, a long-time friend of the organization. 

Parker Ranch was gracious enough to not only provide a beautiful space for the event, but they also let us have a booth right near the grandstands for the extremely popular 4th of July Rodeo and Horse Races event. HWMO’s team set-up a booth to sell tickets for the event, while also distributing hundreds of invites to visitors. The Chili Cook-Off was also announced several times on the PA for the hundreds of visitors to hear.

We hope you can join us for the Firefighter Chili Cook-Off. Tickets are available now — don’t miss out!

Mahalo nui loa, Parker Ranch!