The nation’s largest celebration of environmental education, National Environmental Education Week, is April 14-20. It is held each year the week before Earth Day and inspires environmental learning and stewardship. This year’s theme, STEM: Engineering a Sustainable World, focuses on
The nation’s largest celebration of environmental education, National Environmental Education Week, is April 14-20. It is held each year the week before Earth Day and inspires environmental learning and stewardship. This year’s theme, STEM: Engineering a Sustainable World, focuses on engineering sustainable solutions for a healthier planet and people.
Here on Kauai we’re lucky to celebrate environmental education as a part of our malama aina philosophy year round, and building a more sustainable and healthy island home is becoming a growing interest for residents. However, this week does have some unique offerings.
April 18-20 Malama Kauai is holding its fourth annual Earth Day Rising Festival. The Earth Day weekend event includes a three-day campout, a Waipa workday, live music, DJs, local food and workshops that build community knowledge exchange around aina stewardship and homesteading techniques. This is an ohana centered event that welcomes and includes children as an integral part of our community. Proceeds from the event benefit Malama Kauai’s community projects including the Kauai School Garden Network, Kauai Food Forest, Kalihiwai Community Garden, Kilauea Agricultural Park and Hawaiian Charter School Food Program.
Kauai Community College’s Sustainability Club is also hosting an Earth Day festival on Monday, April 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the college lawn. The celebration will be a positive solution-filled event honoring Mother Earth with the spirit of aloha. There will be food, music, prizes and educational sessions on composting, electric vehicles, poi pounding and voting.
Kauai Farmers Union is also back in action, providing educational opportunities for sustainable family farms and local food producers. Their next meeting is Wednesday, April 9, at 6 p.m. at the Anahola Clubhouse (3900 Kawelo St.). They will be held the second Wednesday of each month moving forward.
Environmental education isn’t limited to sustainability at home and on the farm. There are many opportunities on Kauai to build a sustainable career that helps malama aina and your personal finances. This summer Malama Kauai is hosting the first session of our Green Careers Certificate program for young adults 18 to 30 years old. The program is offered free of charge thanks to generous donations from The Garden Isle Foundation and Lihue Court Townhomes and aims to provide green careers for our island’s young adults.
In addition to environmental and career development education, students will obtain a 100-hour internship with a local business in the areas of sustainable agriculture and food production, conservation, water, energy, waste, green building, nonprofit management, and other environmental sectors.
Some of the organizations participating in the internship program include Kauai Juice Co., Tasting Kauai, Surfrider, Lihue United Church Community Garden, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Nani Moon Meadery, Kokee Resource Conservation Program, Zero Waste Kauai, Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, Apollo, and Hoouluwehi — The Sustainable Living Institute of Kauai, among others.
We’re lucky to have so many businesses and nonprofit organizations working together to ensure that our community has meaningful access to hands-on environmental education. What will you learn this month to malama aina?
• Megan Fox is a program manager for Malama Kauai. For more info on these events and other environmental education programs, visit www.malamakauai.org. (808) 828-0685 x12
