Partner Meetings

Aina-Based Education Systems Mapping Workshop

Posting and discussing input on challenges and opportunities of ʻaina-based education in Hawaii.

Across Hawaii, more and more emphasis is moving towards ʻāina-based education (environmental education, learning systems rooted in the land, etc.). However, there are many challenges that ʻāina-based educators face (as well as opportunities for these alternative education systems to blossom).

On October 26 in Waimea, Hauʻoli Mau Loa Foundation invited several groups working in the ʻāina-based education world on the Big Island to provide a workshop space to better understand those challenges and opportunities. Pablo Beimler represented HWMO at the meeting and gave his input coming from the wildfire education perspective. The participants shared their experiences with one another through a novel input collection process that will be presented as a “systems map” in 2017. 

Aina-Based Education Systems Mapping Workshop
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Waikoloa Fire Management Action Committee First Meeting

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Presenting the new Fire Management Action Committee along with Board President Amy Swan (third from left) and GM Roger Wehrsig (third from right).

The Waikoloa Village Association recently took a major leap in sustaining wildfire preparedness actions by creating an official Fire Management Action Committee. Our dear friend and HWMO Fundraising Committee, Mark Gordon, stepped into the role of chairperson and recruited three other residents to be a part of the committee: Wayne Awai, Beverly Brand, and Dave Faucette. Each member will bring a unique toolset and knowledge of the area to the table.

On August 25th, the committee met for the first time at the Waikoloa Village Association conference room. HWMO’s Pablo Beimler joined the committee, as well as Board President Amy Swan and WVA General Manager Roger Wehrsig, for a discussion on the Firewise Communities Recognition Program. The group decided to work with HWMO to achieve Firewise certification for 2016, scheduling a community hazard assessment for mid-September as a next step.

Big mahalo to Ms. Swan, Mr. Wehrsig, and the entire Fire Management Action Committee for inviting us to be a part of the discussion and continuing a long-standing partnership between HWMO and the Waikoloa Village Association.

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Big Island Wildfire Coordinating Group (BIWCG) Meeting - Aug. 2016

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Ed Teixeira, new director of Hawaii County Civil Defense. Photo Credit: West Hawaii Today

Through quarterly meetings with the Big Island Wildfire Coordinating Group (BIWCG, for short), our emergency response agencies keep each other abreast of the latest departmental news, lessons learned, equipment purchases, and upcoming trainings. Through BIWCG, Hawaii County has seen greater collaboration amongst the response agencies.

HWMO is proud to be a long-time member of BIWCG, which met again at the Hawaii County Civil Defense emergency operations center on the morning of August 17th. The meeting was set-up primarily as a meet-and-greet with new Hawaii County Civil Defense director Ed Teixeira, who stepped into the role of newly-retired Chief Darryl Oliveira. Mr. Teixeira was formerly vice director of Hawaii State Civil Defense and offers a wealth of knowledge about emergency response, including with wildfires. 

Much of the meeting was dedicated to a great discussion facilitated by Melissa Kunz, HWMO staff member and PFX Coordination Assistant. Melissa asked each fire expert at the table about their “best practices” for fuelbreak creation. Bottom line: try to make them as wide as you can without creating vulnerabilities (such as incomplete maintenance, not mowing grasses low enough, placing them in the wrong location, etc.)

HWMO’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Pablo Beimler, gave an update on the Firewise Communities progress being made on the Big Island and Maui. We will be conducting assessments in mid-September for Waikoloa (Hawaii Island), Kahikinui (Maui), and Waiohuli HIkina (Maui) and are coordinating with our emergency response partners for assistance during those events. 

NAAEE Community Climate Change Meeting

HWMO's Executive Director, Elizabeth Pickett, is co-authoring a book about environmental education and climate change as part of her Community Climate Change Fellowship with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), which was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EE Capacity. 

Elizabeth Pickett meets with another Community Climate Change fellow in Port Townsend, Washington.

The intersection of art and climate change.

Example of an illustration from the work session.

On the weekend of August 5th, Elizabeth sat down and worked with another fellow at a coffee shop next to the Point Townsend (Washington) ferry dock to have the book illustrated as one of the final steps toward publication. In the book, Elizabeth highlights the community-based work of HWMO as making important strides towards local hazard resilience. 

As the climate changes and drought episodes increase, wildfire mitigation is becoming increasingly important in Hawaii. HWMO is prioritizing its programming accordingly.

2014 Community Climate Change Fellows.

Community Climate Change Fellows gathered at a conference.

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Pu'u Wa'awa'a Field Tour

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Wildfire management in Pu'u Wa'awa'a was an important focus for many of our organization's founding board members.  Now, over 16 years later, we still find the area of utmost priority and continue to build our relationship with the area's managers and nearby community members. DLNR Division of Forestry & Wildlife own and manage most of the land in the area and have been putting great effort into restoring the watershed, while also taking measures to protect critical habitat from wildfire. 

Edith Adkins (center) shares management maps with the group.

The group prepares to examine DOFAW's fuelbreaks and priority wildfire hazard areas.

DOFAW land managers tasked with protecting Pu'u Wa'awa'a's native forests invited HWMO's technical advisors to discuss and brainstorm next steps toward achieving some of the more challenging fire mitigation goals along the highway and community boundaries. HWMO technical advisors provided their expertise in addressing the WUI-based issues in the area. Neighboring land managers from private estates were also invited to be a part of the tour.

HWMO's staff, Board of Directors, and Technical Advisors with DLNR DOFAW and adjacent land managers.

On July 20th, 2016, a group of HWMO staff, Board of Directors, and Technical Advisors teamed up with DOFAW representatives at the beautiful Pu'u Wa'awa'a preserve. Because of HWMO’s long-standing history of wildfire management in Pu'u Wa'awa'a, our team had plenty to share in terms of lessons learned and input that will help DOFAW work towards their wildfire management goals. It was an exciting day to be out in the field and another strengthening of the invaluable bond between HWMO, its partners, and DOFAW to protect special places such as Pu'u Wa'awa'a.

Puuwaawaa Field Tour with HWMO Technical Advisors 7/20/16
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Kauai Annual Brushfire Mitigation Meeting

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Captain Daryl Date gives an update on KFD's latest news.

At least compared to 2015, Kauai was off to a quieter start in terms of brushfire activity. There were 69 brushfires to date (by June 9th) for 2016 compared to 122 by the same date in 2015. However, with the possibility of increased drought statewide, especially in leeward areas this summer, Kauai Fire Department and its partners are on guard for what could be a busy season. 

KFD invited HWMO, National Weather Service, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Department of Hawaiian Homelands, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and various large landowners ranging from coffee growers to seed companies to helicopter pilots to discuss wildfire preparedness and mitigation on June 9th. National Weather Service’s Derek Wroe gave a presentation on the current drought predictions. He warned that La Niña, which has a good chance of occurring by the end of the summer, doesn’t necessarily mean more rain. Typically, the tradewinds tend to be steadier during La Niña events in Hawaii, but that doesn’t necessarily mean more rainfall and could potentially intensify drought conditions

Pablo Beimler gave a presentation on behalf of HWMO on the input collected for the Kauai Community Wildfire Protection Plan update, which will be completed and signed by the end of July. He also shared information on the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign, asking for partnership on the collaborative statewide effort. 

The final portion of the meeting involved a great discussion amongst all of the large landowners and agencies regarding wildfire suppression resources. Each representative let KFD know what resources they had available (access roads, water supplies, large equipment) should a wildland fire occur on their property or on adjacent lands. This type of information sharing was a great example of the collaboration needed to address the shortfall of wildfire suppression and mitigation resources on Kauai. 

Kauai Annual Brush Fire Meeting and Presentation 6/9/16

Hawaii County Drought Committee Meeting

Kevin Kodama, Hawaii Drought Commission, gives an update on recent drought predictions. 

Drought is an issue that requires all hands on deck to address. Drought affects everything from agricultural yields to cattle health to rainwater catchment to wildfires. Although recent rains have helped alleviate some of the current drought pressures, mostly on the east sides of the islands, droughts will most likely persist on the leeward sides through the summer (and potentially extend back on to the windwards sides).

National Weather Service, Hawaii Drought Commission, Department of Agriculture, Department of Hawaiian Homelands, Department of Water Supply, Hawaii Fire Department, One World One Water, and HWMO representatives gathered at the DHHL Waimea headquarters on June 7th to discuss current drought conditions and what each group was doing to take action.

On the wildfire side, HFD has recently purchased a few tankers for brush trucks to tap off of during wildland fires. Parker Ranch, as reported by Neil Fujii of the Hawaii Drought Commission, had placed fire risk reduction as a top priority and was hoping to add more dip tanks on their lands. HWMO’s Pablo Beimler shared about the Firewise Communities efforts being made statewide and asked for partnership on the Wildfire & Drought Look Out! campaign. Melissa Kunz, PFX Coordination Assistant, shared new PFX resources for large landowners.

For the last half of the meeting, participants added input to the Hawaii Drought Plan update. The facilitators and contractors writing the plan from One World One Water led participants through a series of topics including climate change implications, monitoring needs, drought risk and vulnerabilities, drought committee and response actions, and drought mitigation and preparedness. One World One Water plans to have the update ready by Summer 2017.

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HCC Palamanui Wildfire Preparedness Field Tour

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Frank Sayre (HWMO Board Director - left) listens in as Mark Thorne (HWMO President-right) speaks to Calley ONeill (HCC Palamanui Landscape Designer)

Hawaii Community College's new campus in Kona, known as the Palamanui campus, will be a hub for academics on the west side of Hawaii Island. The state of the art facilities are a step into the future for Hawaii, but coming from a wildfire perspective, we want to ensure those facilities are guarded from the imminent threat of wildfire in the area. In late January, a wildfire burned near the south side of campus and threatened a number of homes there. 

 

HWMO President and UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension Specialist, Mark Thorne (right), gives a lesson on fountain grass.

On February 12th, HWMO Board and Staff met with HCC Palamanui officials on a wildfire preparedness field tour. HWMO's Pablo Beimler (Community Outreach Coordinator), Mark Thorne (Board President), Sam Patten (Board VP), and Frank Sayre (Board of Director) were shown around the campus by HCC Palamanui's Calley O'Neill (Landscape Planner), Marty Fletcher (Director), and Jeff Newsome (Chief of Safety and Security). 

HWMO representatives noted that the greatest threat to the campus facilities was the large swath of fountain grass that surrounded all sides of the campus. Of most concern was the seemingly endless field of fountain grass, mixed with ekoa, on the south end. We recommended a multi-mitigation, low-cost fuelbreak that would prevent fire, dust, and seed threats. 

In general, the campus is working to strive towards a landscape that fits accordingly to cultural and ecological contexts. Not only will the campus have a beautiful agricultural and restorative landscape, but it will also complement Firewise goals. We are excited to be in close partnership with the new campus and we cannot wait to see how they will transform the landscape into a sustainable, reduced fire-threat zone.

Oahu Wildfire Information and Education (OWIE) Meeting - January 2016

OWIE representatives discuss coordinated inter-agency El Niño wildfire prevention and preparedness messaging.

Between 2005 and 2011, Oahu had an average of around 600 wildfires annually, according to new research co-published by HWMO, UH CTAHR, U.S. Forest Service, and CEMML.

This figure might see a major jump this year with the strengthening of El Niño and the intensifying of a drought to go along with it.

Pablo Beimler met with Oahu Wildfire Information and Education (OWIE) group members on January 26th at the Federal Fire Department Headquarters in Pearl Harbor to discuss an outreach campaign to get the word out there about the drought and preventing/preparing for the potential uptick in wildfires. Representatives from Honolulu Fire Department, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Hawaii CTAHR Cooperative Extension, NOAA National Weather Service, Federal Fire Department - Navy, and U.S. Army-Garrison were present at the meeting. 

Hot dog, Sparky, rearing up for a busy wildfire period.

Derek Wroe, of NOAA NWS, gave an update on the El Niño outlook, which does not look good for Hawaii. This El Niño, which will go down as on the top 3 worst on record, has already significantly impacted the leeward and windward sides of Oahu. In December, there was less than 30% of normal rainfall in most areas, with January looking even worse. We'd be lucky to have a solid rainfall event for the rest of the winter!

With spring break on the way, fire activity could be on the rise.

OWIE members had an excellent discussion on ideas for reaching out to the public - plenty of exciting news to share once event details come to fruition and can be publicized. 

Wai 2 Kai Meet-and-Greet

Over the past year or so, HWMO has built a strong partnership with the South Kohala Coastal Partnership and UH Sea Grant in order to address mauka to makai wildfire issues through the Wai 2 Kai program. Last year, HWMO helped provide funding to the program for fuels reduction in two key areas for Waiulaula watershed restoration efforts: Ke Ala Kahawai O Waimea Streamside Trail of Waimea and behind the Waimea Center. We also held a joint-workshop for large landowners and managers interested in wildfire preparedness. Sierra Tobiason, coordinator for these efforts (and HWMO Technical Advisory member) who recently moved away from the islands, was an incredible partner through these efforts and HWMO was sad to see her go.

Ke Ala Kahawai O Waimea Streamside Trail of Waimea, before fuels reduction.

Ke Ala Kahawai O Waimea Streamside Trail of Waimea, after fuels reduction.

New coordinator Lisa Ferentinos gives a presentation about her background in conservation and restoration.

However, those shoes were recently filled by Lisa Ferentinos, who is a great addition to the partnership, with her years of experience coordinating similar efforts. HWMO's Pablo Beimler was able to join Lisa, Didi, and Julia of Wai 2 Kai and partners from Surfrider Foundation, Waimea Nature Park, Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative, and The Nature Conservancy for a meet-and-greet at the Spencer House in Waimea on January 20th. The future looks very bright for the partnership and HWMO will help in whatever capacity it can to help them achieve wildfire protection goals.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of protection.””
— Chief Eric Moller, USAG-P, FES