Hawaiʻi Environmental Education Symposium 2017

Elizabeth Pickett shares lessons learned from the youth stewardship program she runs called Ocean Warriors.

Much of what HWMO does falls under the category of “environmental education.” Talking about wildfire prevention requires making the connection that our built environment is intertwined with the natural world. From June 8 through 10, the Hawaiʻi Environmental Education Alliance hosted a symposium for it’s sixth year to gather environmental educators from across the state. HWMO attended the symposium, which was held at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Kilauea Military Camp, on June 9. The theme this year was climate change, a topic that has numerous intersections with wildfires in Hawaiʻi. 

The day began with a sobering, yet very informative talk from Dr. Chip Fletcher, a scientist from UH Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. His talk gave insight on a multitude of factual examples of how climate change has already taken Hawaiʻi by storm, no pun intended. Of those many examples, increased drought and shifts in vegetative cover were highlighted, conditions that will continue to increase wildfire risk statewide. Throughout the rest of the day, various educators shared examples of how they had used climate change as a framework to teach valuable lessons about the environment. Elizabeth Pickett, HWMO’s Executive Director, is not only a wildfire educator, but she is also youth environmental stewardship educator through the Malama Kai Foundation Ocean Warrior’s program. Elizabeth gave a presentation about the program and shared lessons learned on how to best encourage youth to become environmental leaders in their community.

HWMO’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, also gave a presentation on behalf of Hawaii Wildfire. His presentation highlighted various youth products that HWMO has produced for educators including our very own K-8th grade curriculum, kNOw Fire. Several educators from across the state were on hand for the presentation, some of whom enthusiastically expressed that they were willing to integrate the curriculum into their own work. 

Wildland Urban Interface Conference 2017

Conference talks ranged from a variety of topics - there was something for everyone this year.

Each year, wildfire professionals from across the nation and even from other countries gather in Reno for the Wildland Urban Interface Conference sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. HWMO and its partners from Hawaii Fire Department and Guam Department of Agriculture Forestry and Soil Resources Division were represented at this year’s event from March 19-23. HWMO’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, spent several days in Nevada with the snowy slopes of Lake Tahoe punctuating the landscape. The Peppermill Resort played host to the event where several hundred firefighters, outreach specialists, scientists, planners, conservationists, insurance professionals, and others with a stake in wildfire protection gathered. During the first two days, Pablo took part in a workshop held by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA National Fire Academy. The workshop covered various strategies for developing Fire Adapted Communities, including many that HWMO has been implementing in Hawaii. A major theme throughout the workshop and the rest of the conference was the need for “shared responsibility” to tackle wildfire issues. It indeed takes a village — all stakeholders must play a role in wildfire protection. 

Forging new nationwide partners through Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network fun and games. 

Cooperation earns FAC Learning Network the grand prize.

Simtable demonstration simulating fires and evacuation procedures.

The conference itself was filled with amazing networking opportunities and speakers. The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network staff invited outreach and prevention specialists from across the nation to take part in various activities and get-togethers forging new partnerships and learning opportunities. HWMO is now connected to specialists from California to Colorado to Montana to Idaho to New Mexico to the East Coast…the list goes on! It was not all business — there were fun and games…literally. Many of the learning network members hit the arcades on the first night and, as a collaborative effort, won enough tickets for the grand prize: a new tiger mascot for the group!

Presentations and workshops covered a wide array of topics: Fire Adapted Communities, Fire Learning Exchanges, SimTable demonstrations, Fire Operations in the Swamp, a Presidential Transition and What it Means to the Wildland Fire Community, and more. Lessons learned from the Fort McMurray and Blue Cut fires were shared by those who led suppression efforts during the harrowing experiences. WUI 2017 was an incredible event and HWMO is extremely grateful for being a part of it this year. We thank IAFC for the opportunity to be ambassadors for this year’s conference.

PRiMO Wildland Fire Risk Mitigation Strategies Workshop

Breakout groups discussed strategies they would use to mitigate wildfire issues during a simulation exercise.

HWMO and PFX collaborated to offer a half-day workshop at the PRIMO conference on March 20 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, Oahu.  The workshop was entitled Wildland Fire Risk Mitigation Strategies for Pacific Islands and included an overview of strategies, tools, and resources for assessing risk and determining priority areas for wildfire protection activities.

Society for Range Management Fall Meeting and Field Tour

The paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy/girl) culture has thrived in Hawaii for more than a century. With each passing year, greater knowledge of best management practices are used and shared to ensure ranching is done in a sustainable manner. Since HWMO’s inception, our organization has worked closely with various large and small ranches in Hawaii to assist them with fuels management expertise and funding for pre-suppression tools (helicopter dip tanks, lines to draw water closer to communities/sensitive natural areas). Our very own board president, Mark Thorne, Ph.D., is the grazing extension specialist for University of Hawaii College of Tropical and Human Resources (UH CTAHR). 

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Dr. Clay Trauernicht talks wildfire and its relationship to climate change in the Pacific.

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Pablo Beimler shares about HWMO's efforts to alleviate the socioeconomic issues of wildfire in Hawaii.

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Morning rainbow to kick off the field tour of Kapapala Ranch.

On October 27-28, Mr. Thorne and other Hawaii rangeland specialists hosted a Fall Meeting and Technical Tour in Volcano for the Society for Range Management, a “professional scientific society and conservation organization whose members are concerned with studying, conserving, managing and sustaining the varied resources of the rangelands which comprise nearly half the land in the world.” Several presentations covered topics ranging from livestock as a fuels management tool, invasive species effects on island plant communities, and climate/socioeconomic relationships with fire. Dr. Clay Trauernicht spoke on behalf of the Pacific Fire Exchange and UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension to showcase his new research on climate change’s effects on fires in the Pacific. HWMO’s very own Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, shed light on the socioeconomic issues of wildfire in Hawaii and what HWMO is doing to alleviate them. 

On the second day, Kapapala Ranch, a large ranch in Volcano, hosted a field tour through their beautiful pastures and native forests. Aside from morning rainbows, views of Kilauea crater, and clear skies, there was much to ponder and discuss in regards to proper range management in the unique climatic/topographical region that Kapapala Ranch is located in. Water storage and fire were just some of the many topics where lessons learned were shared across the regions. On the way out, a flat tire from old fencing on a dirt road made for a comical situation in which several participants, including Mr. Thorne, labored to remove the fencing remnants with all of their might as others cheered on. Just another day out in the field. 

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Future rangeland managers?

The general theme that kept emerging during the event: conservation and rangeland management can and must coexist if we are to solve our growing environmental issues across the islands (and around the world). 

The event was dedicated to the life of Matt Stevenson, a beloved range professional we lost in 2016. His contributions to the field were tremendous. He will be missed.

HEEA Symposium

Environmental education, according to the U.S. EPA, is “a process that allows individuals to explore environmental issues, engage in problem solving, and take action to improve the environment. As a result, individuals develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues and have the skills to make informed and responsible decisions.”

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HWMO's information booth was a hub for wildfire curricula information.

HWMO takes pride in the environmental education programs we share statewide, placing heavy emphasis on the “take action” part of the above definition. We hope through our educational programs that people are moved to action to become wildfire ready. 

Pablo Beimler, Community Outreach Coordinator for HWMO, flew to Oahu for the Hawaii Environmental Education Alliance (HEEA) Symposium on July 13th at the Hawaii Pacific University downtown campus at Aloha Tower in Honolulu. The symposium was a gathering place for environmental educators from across the islands to share lessons learned, support innovative teaching methods, and create new networks.

Presentation topics of interest included:

* Branding for Good: Lessons learned on branding as a non-profit, especially relevant for our organization.

* ARTSEED - A Honolulu Museum of Art program that integrates art and science in a real world context. Students’ artwork were featured in the new editions of the Oahu Botanical Field Guide.

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HWMO poster board.

* MECO - Engaging with Local Government - A presentation by Kuhea Asiu who shared best practices for getting involved in the political process and how to “infiltrate” to increase environmental action.

* Inquiry-Based Field Science - HWMO’s former Planning Assistant, Ilene Grossman, shared about her new efforts of bringing science to the hands of keiki and the community. 

* Waimea’s own Seri Niimi-Burch shared success stories of Foodcorps from across the islands.

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An environmental educator stops by to pick up Native Firewise Plant bookmarks.

Pablo held an informational booth with a poster board displaying the diverse environmental education methods HWMO uses to promote awareness and catalyze action among Hawaii residents and youth. He made great connections throughout the day and shared HWMO’s curricula with various educators. 

CNH Wildland Fire Conference & PFX Field Tour to Kokee

Every two to three years, Hawaii plays host to the California-Nevada-Hawaii Wildland Fire Conference. This year, the Garden Island of Kauai was the host of the conference that attracted fire experts from across the Hawaiian Islands and from California and Nevada. The three-day conference from April 12-15 at the Poipu Sheraton was a great way to share lessons learned from across the Pacific. 

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Elizabeth Pickett, HWMO, shares information on Community Wildfire Protection Plan update for Kauai.

On the first day, Mayor Carvalho kicked off the proceedings with a rousing rendition of the U.S. National Anthem and Hawaii Ponoi. A number of speakers followed, touching on topics ranging from drought predictions (Derek Wroe, NWS) to local knowledge for effective fire management (Clay Trauernicht, University of Hawaii CTAHR) to native ecosystem restoration at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Rhonda Loh, NPS). Our very own Elizabeth Pickett gave a talk on HWMO's recent statewide CWPP and public education efforts. 

Representatives from the Wildland Fallen Firefighters Foundation gave a very moving talk to share about their amazing work to support firefighters and their families who are either recovering from injury or loss of life. 

The second day of the Conference was a field tour organized by Pacific Fire Exchange's Clay Trauernicht and the newest member of the HWMO/PFX team, Melissa Kunz. Patrick Porter, District Forestry Manager for Kauai Division of Forestry and Wildlife, helped lead the caravan up to Kokee, otherwise known as Waimea Canyon.

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Elizabeth Pickett shares copies of community input from CWPP meetings.

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Field tour attendees soak in the beauty of Waimea Canyon.

A group of a couple dozen conference attendees stopped at various view points and the site of the large 1,000+ acre fire that scorched a eucalyptus forest a few years ago. DOFAW is taking advantage of this post-fire moment to plant rows upon rows of koa trees for sustainable harvest moving into the future. This unique project will give forest managers an idea of the feasibility of post-fire conversion of previously non-native forest into a native forest for the purpose of sustainable harvest. 

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Kauai Division of Forestry and Wildlife plan to have slash piles hauled out for biomass.

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New koa plantings will replace a formerly non-native forest, taking advantage of a large, destructive wildfire that wiped out acres of eucalyptus.

On the final day of the conference, Dan Dennison of DLNR spoke about the media's role in Fire Incident Management and touted the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign set to be released by HWMO and its many statewide partners this month. Each County Fire Department also gave updates. The general message from each one: the number of wildfires this year in Hawaii are set to surpass last year's numbers by a significant margin. 

We want to thank our partners from DOFAW and the CNH Forest Fire Council for letting us share our recent efforts and to thank Pacific Fire Exchange for a great, informative field tour!

Stay tuned for a video of the field tour on our YouTube page!

Wildland-Urban Interface Conference and RSG Award Ceremony 2016

Every year, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) holds the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Conference at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. 

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The conference was a great space for sharing lessons learned with people from all over the world.

Pablo Beimler, HWMO's Community Outreach Coordinator, ventured out to Reno for the week of March 6th, to attend the conference. Hundreds of people from various U.S. states and countries, representing every level of private and public sectors joined together for the exciting and valuable event. 

For the first two days of the conference, Mr. Beimler attended the Hazard Ignition Zone Training hosted by NFPA and taught by long-time HIZ expert Pat Durland. The training gave an in-depth look at how fire interacts with landscapes and structures at the individual home level. A number of great discussions emerged during the training that gave fresh new ways to look at fire issues around the home. Trainees worked in groups towards the end of the training to conduct mock home assessments, sharing lessons learned from back home.

During the rest of the conference, which occurred on March 8th through March 10th, Mr. Beimler networked with a number of people to discuss lessons learned and to promote HWMO's work. Most notably, Mr. Beimler worked with Crystal Beckman, a Fire Information and Education specialist from Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation, to build on a working group they had helped start at the 2015 event. They were able to pull in a number of other outreach specialists from around the states to create a group that would continue to share resources throughout the year and into the future. 

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Pablo Beimler shares HWMO's Ready Set Go! Leadership Award with Hawaii FD's (from left to right) Chief Gantry Andrade, Chief Darren Rosario, Captain Bill Bergin, and BC Jerry Lum.

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Pablo Beimler (left) representing HWMO poses with other winners of the RSG! Awards: Aubrey FD, Flower Mound FD, and Austin FD.

The highlight of the conference for HWMO was the Fire Adapted Communities Reception and Ready, Set, Go! Award Ceremony on the eve of March 9th. HWMO was a proud recipient of this year's RSG! Leadership Award for Career Departments. Mr. Beimler graciously accepted the award from the IAFC President and shared the honors with Hawaii Fire Department representatives who were in attendance: Chief Darren Rosario, Assistant Chief Gantry Andrade, Captain Bill Bergin, and BC Jerry Lum. We could not be happier to be a recipient of the award and what better way to share it than with our long-time partners who have been so supportive of our RSG! outreach effort

Hawaii Conservation Conference 2015

Every year, scientists, resource managers, educators, and interested community members from all over the Pacific flock to the Hawaii Conservation Conference (HCC) to learn about what's new in the conservation world and to meet others doing interesting and impactful work to protect Hawaii's precious natural resources.

On August 3rd to the 6th, this year's HCC took place in Hilo primarily on the University of Hawaii campus. Although Hurricane Guillermo threatened to make a pass during the week, that didn't stop event organizers from upholding the event and sure enough, Guillermo only brought much-needed rains and some surf. 

On Tuesday, Pablo Beimler, representing HWMO, gave a talk to a number of people about the organization's work in South Kohala and North Kona and how the lessons learned there created a foundation for our work across the State and spurred the growth of our non-profit. The talk was well received with some people even asking for fire history maps and Kaleo the Pueo stickers immediately afterwards. Mahalo to Chad Wiggins (The Nature Conservancy) and Lani Watson (NOAA) for inviting us to speak this year!

Our talk wasn't the only one focused on wildfire issues. In fact, a number of talks this year either focused on or mentioned wildfire as a primary threat to their efforts:

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Creighton Litton (UH Manoa) talks wildfire in Hawaii and its impacts on carbon emissions.

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Puuwaawaa management plan workshop full of fruitful discussion.

- Creighton Litton, stepping in for Clay Trauernicht, gave background on the wildfire situation in Hawaii using much of HWMO's fire history work and tying wildfires and their effects on carbon emissions.
- South Kohala Coastal Partnership's "Didi" Diaz-Lyke spoke about HWMO's recent involvement in their fuels reduction efforts at a couple sites along the Waiulaula watershed. 
- Melora Purell of the Kohala Center explained how wildfire changes soil surfaces by making them hydrophobic and thus creating a volatile environment for native plant regeneration (and surface runoff that smothers coral reefs).
- Sierra McDaniel of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park outlined the growing threat of wildfires in connection with climate change and how the major drought is impacting the native forest and creating fire hazards.
- During a group discussion about the outreach aspect of the Puu Waawaa management plan, wildfire was listed as one of five major topics to prioritize.
- Wilds Pihanui Brawner of Hawaii Forest Industry Association explained the importance of fire mitigation through fuels management at his site in Kaupulehu.
- We also connected with Lehua Luna Nursery during the community booth event that was open to the public. They were nice enough to hand out Ready, Set, Go! Wildland Fire Action Guides to those interested in learning what native plants would help protect their home from wildfire.

As a product of the event, we were able to connect to a variety of new contacts opening the door to a number of partnership opportunities. Of course, we couldn't have gotten to this point without the solid foundation our partners have built for us - something that ran right along with this year's theme of the Conference: collaboration.

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Community members from South Kona share their lessons learned establishing community-based subsistence fishing efforts.

One of the sessions that stood out among the rest was the "Ka Ulu O Kakou - Growing Together to Expand Community Partnerships in Hawaii" forum. Community members from around the West side of Hawaii Island had the opportunity to share their stories about successful collaborations amongst their communities. Many had great lessons to share on how to build community and grassroots level participation in conservation efforts. These stories came at no better timing. Only a day before the session, Governor Ige signed into law a historic ruling that created "the State's first Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area in Haena." Those community members involved in the efforts celebrated in at the session and were commemorated the next day with the HCA Innovation Award.

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Community members from the Haena efforts recognized with HCA Innovation Award.

To conclude, there were a number of accomplished keynote speakers at this year's event:

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Learning hei is much more difficult than it seems. 

- Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele, president of the Edith Kanakaole Foundation who blended "native and western education background" to become a "foremost Hawaiian culture expert."
- Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, accomplished conservationist who was primarily known for his "groundbreaking work on forest fragmentation in the Amazon, coining the term 'biological diversity', predicting the first global extinction rates, conception of debt-for-nature swaps, and co-founder of the public television series 'Nature.'" During the talk, he explained that there was a bright side to the significant portion of CO2 coming from ecosystem destruction: that it justified the importance of conservation and that it gave everyone the ability to make a difference by planting something.
- Kamanamaikalani Beamer, president and chief executive officer of The Kohala Center, who gave a powerful speech about how people could change and create structures.
- Senator Brian Schatz, who was not able to give a speech in person because of his need to be in Washington presented a video message congratulating Haena community members for their conservation efforts and the people responsible for bringing the international conservation conference (IUCN) to Hawaii next year.
- DLNR Chair Suzanne Case, who spoke of her support for adaptive game management plans and on a plan to take 10,000 acres from UH on Mauna Kea for conservation purposes.

Wildland-Urban Interface Conference 2015

This year's conference spanned three days at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. The venue played host to a wide-range of people involved in the wildfire community: fire chiefs, outreach coordinators, agency directors, community action group organizers, you name it! 

After an unfortunate plane cancellation and rescheduling, Pablo Beimler was still able to fly from Hawaii Island to Reno to represent Hawaii Wildfire at the conference. Mr. Beimler shared an exhibition booth with the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange (http://gpfirescience.missouristate.edu/) to showcase HWMO's work and our new wildfire prevention mascot: Kaleo the Pueo. 

On the second day of the conference, a very special ceremony was held to commemorate this year's Wildfire Mitigation Award winners. The awards were chosen and presented by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the USDA Forest Service (USFS). 

Lo and behold, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization was one of the recipients for the Wildfire Mitigation Innovation Award! Mr. Beimler joined the stage to accept the award on behalf of HWMO, an exciting moment for our whole organization. We couldn't of done it without the great support of our incredible staff, Board members, Technical Advisory Committee, community members and partners!

To round off the conference, Andrew Phelps of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, gave a unique presentation about how the key principles of improv acting can apply to emergency management. He even called upon some volunteers to help act it out! 

For a more in-depth read about the conference, check out this article: http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060016025

Banner photo: The Wildfire Mitigation Awards, one of which was awarded to Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization

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Above: Pablo Beimler accepts the Wildfire Mitigation Innovation Award on behalf of Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization.

9th Nahelehele Dry Forest Symposium 2015

In the spirit of tradition, Hawaii Wildfire set-up a poster presentation for this year's Nahelehele Dry Forest Symposium at the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kailua-Kona on February 27th. 

Many great speakers gave presentations at this year's symposium. We certainly noticed a common theme throughout the presentations: wildfire. Nearly every presentation mentioned wildfire as a severe threat to dry forest preserves. To highlight the wildfire issue, our partner and Wildfire Extension Specialist, Clay Trauernicht from University of Hawaii, College of Tropical and Human Resources, gave an animated and exciting presentation to the crowd of nearly 150 people ranging from researchers to land manager to interested community members. 

This year, our poster board, designed by Pablo Beimler and written by Mr. Beimler, Elizabeth Pickett, and Ilene Grossman, emphasized the importance of collecting agency and community input before moving forward on wildfire mitigation projects. Here's an abstract from the poster board:

"Addressing the wildfire issues that persist on the Hawaiian Islands requires collaboration and communication among diverse parties due to the cross-field, cross-jurisdictional nature of wildfires. For years, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization has been a model for thoroughly engaging its partners and community members in each step of the collaboration process. One of the key reasons HWMO’s projects have been relevant and successful is that the organization only moves forward on projects that are directly driven by stakeholder’s needs. HWMO makes every effort to collect input from land managers, planners, County/State/Federal agencies, local communities, and any other parties affected by wildfire in order to truly understand what is needed on-the-ground. Our display visually highlights the plethora of input we have gathered from the past couple of years, primarily through the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) process."
 

Banner photo: Hawaii Wildfire's poster board showcasing word clouds of community input.

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