The Kaua‘i Conservation Conference will be hosting a free two-day event this weekend at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center. Saturday night will host keynote speakers Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Dr. Wade Davis of the
The Kaua‘i Conservation Conference will be hosting a free two-day event this weekend at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center.
Saturday night will host keynote speakers Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Dr. Wade Davis of the National Geographic Society.
Thompson, who is well-known for his ocean navigations on the Hokule‘a, has been a leader in the revival of the traditional voyaging arts in Hawai‘i and Polynesia, according to the Polynesian Voyaging Society Web site.
In 1980, Thompson became one of the first to help in reviving the art of long distance ocean voyages, or wayfinding, since the 14th century, when wayfinding ended in Polynesia.
Davis, an Explorer-In-Residence for the National Geographic Society, has degrees in anthropology and biology, and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University, according the National Geographic Web site. Davis has traveled to Hawai‘i many times and has joined Thompson for a voyage that was captured in the documentary, “The Wayfinders.”
The theme of the second conference since 2006 is “Community-based Conservation.”
“There is a statewide conference, but Kaua‘i is the only neighbor island that does something like this,” said Jackie Kozak, one of the event coordinators. “A lot of local people just can’t go to the statewide conference.”
Kozak said the theme “Community-based Conservation” was chosen for a specific reason.
“We’re realizing in order for us to tackle the environmental challenges, we need to come together as a community,” Kozak said.
From 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the KCC Performing Arts Center, the conference will focus on people working or volunteering in the environmental field and but is open to the public.
Friday’s conference will feature keynote speakers Chipper Wichman, chief executive officer and director of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, and Pauline Sato, public awareness and action coordinator for The Nature Conservancy, according to a press release from the Kaua‘i Conservation Conference.
Breakout sessions with a panel discussion format addressing topics including environmental education, engaging volunteers, restoration, marine protection, cultural connection, sustainability and agriculture will follow.
Kozak said all of the panels will have interesting and eclectic personalities to discuss the various topics.
On Saturday afternoon, there will be two optional educational and restoration field trips to north and south shore.
A Community Conservation Gala from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday evening at the KCC Performing Arts Center will feature an educational poster display, hula, music, book signings and a new feature film by Chiefess Kamakahelei students.
According to the press release from the Kaua‘i Conservation Conference dated March 28, both Thompson and Davis “will offer a local and global perspective on how culture and the environment are deeply connected, and both are in danger of losing diversity.”
Mona Abadir, co-founder of the Honu Group, invited Davis to speak at Hawai‘i’s 2006 International Cultural Summit and was so moved by his speech that she offered the Honu Group and the Princeville Center as his sponsors for the gala.
“His message then and now is both timely and powerful,” Abadir said, according to a press release. “We thought it was important to bring him to Kaua‘i to participate in this meaningful Conservation Conference. Saturday night with Wade Davis and his friend, Hawai‘i’s cultural treasure Nainoa Thompson, is a night not to be missed.”
Along with the Honu Group, the conference is also sponsored by the Garden Island Resource Conservation and Development Inc., Kilauea Point Natural History Association, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, A&B Foundation and Grove Farm Foundation. The conference was also the recipient of the Anne Knudsen Grant through the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
Details
The Kaua‘i Conservation Conference is free and open to the public. Participants are urged to register for the Friday daylong conference and the Saturday afternoon field trips, but registration is not required for the Saturday evening gala. For more information, go to kauai.conservation.conference@gmail.com or call 246-0091.
• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com.
