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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Mud-Caked Classroom

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

Mud-Caked Classroom

Local farm brings lessons of the `aina to life

A handful of Kilohana Elementary school students stared down uncertainly into the thick, gloopy mud of the lo`i kalo below them.

“Come on, ladies, let’s go! Jump in!”

Kilohana educational assistant Teon Simmons was trying to coax them into the lo`i, where three of their schoolmates were already wading and pulling weeds from the ankle deep muck. Wedged in the middle of the patch, farm owner Jo-Ann Simms was teaching the students how to gently swing long bunches of weeds to shake excess mud back into the lo`i.

Jo-Ann understood the hesitance to dive into the dirty, tedious task, a job she’s been doing since she was a kid.…

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Students Earn GIS Certificate

Friday, January 30th, 2015

UHMCM News Release

University of Hawaii Maui College, Molokai (UHMCM) is proud to announce that in the Fall 2014 semester, four of our Agriculture students successfully earned a certificate in Geographic Information System (GIS) in Ecosystem Management.  These students are Kristen Coelho, Patricia Pali, Kawaila Purdy and Tyson Pactol.

To earn this certificate, students must pass the Introduction to GIS as well as GIS in Ecosystem Management.  Both classes required the students to collect an intense amount of localized geographic data through a computerized software and use the data for in-depth analysis, planning and mapping.

GIS is a useful skill in today’s world and frequently used in many careers.…

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Bottles for Change Campaign

Friday, January 30th, 2015

HoloHI News Release

A Hawaii educator plans to run and bike 750 miles around Hawaii in 31 days to launch school-based conservation initiative called Bottles for Change that challenges keiki to help reduce Hawaii’s plastic footprint.

A new study estimates that there are more than 250,000 tons of plastic floating in oceans around the world, destroying marine habitat and contaminating our water and food supply. Lindy Shapiro, founder of the nonprofit Bodhi Education Project on Maui, plans to take an unprecedented, coastal expedition around the Hawaiian Islands named holoHI (the Hawaiian word “holo” means to run or ride on) – kicked off before sunrise on Jan.…

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Controlled Fire Planned for Kalama`ula

Thursday, January 29th, 2015

Maui Fire Department News Release

Between Feb. 2 and Feb. 7, Maui County Fire Department will employ prescribed, or controlled, fire in the Kalama`ula area. This multi-agency effort will be an exercise to satisfy national requirements to be certified as a Type 3 Incident Management Team, provide live fire training to personnel and remove hazardous levels of overgrown plant material.

During these dates, controlled fires may take place between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The live training will be conducted north of the old Kalama`ula area and west of the Kalama`ula Mauka subdivision. The burn area will consist of 60 acres total, broken down into separate blocks to be burned each day of the exercise.…

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Investigation of East Molokai Crash Continues

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

More details on a Jan. 16 forced emergency aircraft landing in east Molokai have surfaced in a preliminary report recently released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

According to the report, a privately owned Cessna 172 carrying a pilot and three passengers “collided with terrain” in Ualapue on Molokai’s east end around 2 p.m. that Friday. There were no casualties, although one passenger was rescued in serious condition and the other three with minor injuries.

The plane was owned by Hawaiian Night Lights, LLC. Pilot Michael Richards, a certified flight instructor, was giving a flying lesson to a Japanese citizen while her parents accompanied them in the plane.…

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Christmas Bird Count

Wednesday, January 21st, 2015

Christmas Bird Count

Community Contributed

By Josiah Ching

As part of the 115th annual National Audubon Society’s Christmas bird count, a small group of dedicated volunteers set out to conduct a survey of the bird population on Molokai. The national survey is both the longest running citizen science survey as well as the longest running wildlife survey to date. The local survey is organized by Arleone Dibbon-Young, a Molokai-based wildlife biologist. She has been instrumental in not only protecting the endangered Nene population on Molokai, she has also compiled years of data on Molokai’s avian population and has a wealth of knowledge regarding Molokai’s history.…

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Ikehu Molokai Energy Update

Wednesday, January 21st, 2015

Ikehu Molokai News Release

Aloha and Happy New Year!  We want to express our gratitude to the entire community for welcoming us in the past with great warmth and hospitality, and engaging as partners in planning for the Ikehu Molokai renewable energy project.  Our vision for the project reflects those sentiments and values embraced by residents and expressed at many community meetings for a healthy, sustainable, and energy independent island. Success of the Ikehu Molokai project will only be accomplished as a long term collaboration between community groups, residents, and the Ikehu Molokai planning team.

As you know, the Ikehu Molokai project has been proposed to convert the island’s electricity to renewable energy.  …

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4 Survive Emergency Landing in Halawa

Friday, January 16th, 2015

4 Survive Emergency Landing in Halawa

 

A privately-owned single-engine Cessna 172 carrying a pilot and three passengers made a forced landing near Cape Halawa last Friday afternoon, according to the Maui Fire Department. Ian Gregor, Public Affairs Manager for the Federal Aviation Association, said the plane “reportedly lost engine power.”

The aircraft was reported to have landed in the trees at an elevation of about 3,000 feet. Maui Fire Department personnel airlifted passengers as well as pilot and plane owner Michael Richards from the crash site to a landing zone at Pu`u O Hoku Ranch.

One unidentified female passenger was taken by Medevac to Maui Memorial Hospital in serious condition.…

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Addressing Overfishing

Thursday, January 8th, 2015

Community Contributed

By `Aha Kiole O Molokai Members

Since statehood, the people of Molokai have relied on state government to manage Molokaiʻs ocean resources. We are currently witnessing profound shortagesin our subsistence gathering sources, which island families rely heavily on. We have fewer income opportunities and higher costs of living than most of the other islands.

From the early 90s, an effort to slow down the noticeable losses from our once rich ecosystems was begun. Management by the DLNR has not yielded positive outcomes in terms of maintaining sustainable and healthy nearshore fisheries.

Out of necessity and concern for our families, Molokai has independently generated its own island-wide conservation effort. …

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Hunters Discuss Safety Concerns

Wednesday, December 24th, 2014

When the Dispatch published a story earlier this month about a bullet being shot through a west end home, Molokai kupuna and hunter Yama Kaholoaa was concerned for the safety of Molokai residents and called the island’s hunters together.

“[This] is not to make rules and regulations… but to be responsible and teach our children and grandchildren about safety,” Kaholoaa told the group that responded to his request to meet.

The west end homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Dispatch a bullet had been shot at night through his house at the north end of Papohaku Beach. Being a hunter himself, he said while the incident left him and his wife shaken up, he did not want to press charges but instead hoped the dangerous mishap would raise awareness of hunting safety.…

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