Residents of the Garden Island celebrated Earth Day this past Friday by working on projects, such as cleaning up beaches and planting trees around the island. At Waipa, nearly 100 individuals turned out to volunteer at a 1,600 acre ahupua‘a
Residents of the Garden Island celebrated Earth Day this past Friday by working on projects, such as cleaning up beaches and planting trees around the island.
At Waipa, nearly 100 individuals turned out to volunteer at a 1,600 acre ahupua‘a on the North Shore, just past Hanalei. Participants there worked in the garden, cleaned the auwai (taro irrigation ditch), and worked to restore native forest.
Little did they know that this was just a warm-up — they’ll be asked to return in a few months to work on a new project which will have an even greater positive impact on the area. Over the last six months, The Waipa Foundation has been quietly putting the pieces in place for a major environmental restoration project that will improve the health of Waipa stream by clearing acres of hau bush that are choking much of the stream near the ocean and replanting a diverse native forest.
“How can the o‘opu make it through that tangled mess?” asked 8-year-old Kawaiola Torio of Kalihiwai, who waded in the cluttered Waipa stream last week. “I want to help make it easier for them to get back up the river.”
The Waipa Foundation is a nonprofit organization which works to perpetuate traditional culture and maintains stewardship of the ahupua‘a, which is owned by Kamehameha Schools. The project The Waipa Foundation is currently working on is designed to reduce stress on native fish on their travels from the ocean to the mountain.
“The hau tends to be very invasive in this stream, like many other streams in the area, and their roots have completely clogged the channel, turning it into a swamp in many places,” said Stacy Sproat, executive director of The Waipa Foundation.
The work being done at Waipa is being noticed by others outside Kaua‘i.
“Few other organizations have such a holistic approach to restoring the environment and supporting the community at the same time,” said Eric Co, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “This is a forward-thinking group led by young leaders who see that restoring this stream closely ties in with their work helping taro farmers, feeding kupuna, and providing an economic spark for the local economy through local agriculture and the farmers market. The stream brings together the community and its resources.”
The Waipa Foundation’s approach was recently recognized by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation which awarded the foundation with a grant for stream restoration through a funding partnership between the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, NOAA’s Restoration Center and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. The partnership’s Community Stewardship Grant funds grassroots restoration efforts that serve to provide an environmental as well as community benefit.
“The Waipa Foundation not only made a very compelling case that restoring this stream would protect habitat for native species, but they were also extremely passionate about making this coastline a better place for the community,” said Josh Stanbro, director of the environment and sustainability program at Hawai‘i Community Foundation. “We know that the families that fish and play along the coast are more likely to take responsibility for caring for and maintaining the area after having a hand restoring it as volunteers.”
The project has also received funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through The Hawai‘i Fish Habitat Partnership and was recently named one of the 10 Waters to Watch in a national list put out by a national habitat restoration group.
Those who are interested in volunteering with The Waipa Foundation or supporting the foundation’s efforts are encouraged to go to their website at www.waipafoundation.org.
