PO‘IPU — The Makauwahi Cave Reserve, more commonly referred to as The Sinkhole, is about time, David Burney said. “What we see here is the passage of time — more than anyone can imagine,” he said. “It speaks with a
PO‘IPU — The Makauwahi Cave Reserve, more commonly referred to as The Sinkhole, is about time, David Burney said.
“What we see here is the passage of time — more than anyone can imagine,” he said. “It speaks with a loud voice … let it speak to you!”
He and his wife, Lida Pigott Burney, hosted several dozen community members Sunday at an appreciation day and dedication of a nature trail to the reserve in Maha‘ulepu.
The guests and volunteers were immersed in the spirit of the reserve, listening to the dripping of water from the cave roofs which effectively melded with the pule offered by Mama Ane Kanahele and Ke Kula Ni‘ihau o Kekaha as well as Kumu Sabra Kauka and her Island School halau performing in the natural amphitheater of the sinkhole.
“Grove Farm has more than 200 leases in the area,” said Marissa Sanbloom, vice president of Grove Farm Co. “Of all of those, this one is the most rewarding because of what it has to offer.”
The event served as a time to pay tribute to those who made the reserve a reality, David Burney said.
When David Boynton invited Dave Burney on a special tour, there was something else which was more pressing, and Boynton was gone, Burney said in his tribute to five people who are now deceased.
Adena Gillin, a neighbor of the reserve, asked the Burneys to always place plastic bags — “what’s those?” he joked — over the cars’ mirrors to prevent the Brazilian cardinals from crashing into them. Just days before the Sunday event, a cardinal ran into a car mirror.
LaFrance Kapaka-Arboleda embraced the Burneys and relayed the stories told to her by her ancestors, noting that only by relaying the stories to others will the spirit of her ancestors continue to live.
Dr. William Klein was the head of the National Tropical Botanical Garden who noted the reserve was a “world-class place.” If he were alive today, Burney said the reserve would undoubtedly be a part of NTBG.
Dr. Bill “Pila” Kikuchi did miracles with the scores of paperwork that needed to be filled out before any of the work could begin at the reserve.
There were many tales of contributions by the “thousands of people” who have volunteered over the past two decades, Lida Pigott said.
In recognition of all the work, she singled out Jason Cabot, an Eagle Scout with Boy Scout Troop 83. For his Eagle project, he spearheaded work on the nature trail surrounding the reserve.
David Burney said while the work has been shared by a stream of volunteers, the most important fact is not their efforts so much as the reserve itself.
“This is not about us,” he said. “We got to figure out how to let go, and give back to the community.”
