in

Search Results for: Kiawe

Shearwaters Return to Mokio

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020

Shearwaters Return to Mokio

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

For the first time in years — maybe decades, maybe centuries, no one’s quite sure — fuzzy Uʻau kani, or Wedgetailed Shearwater, chicks hatched in the Anapuka area within Mokio Preserve. The successful nesting of the indigenous seabirds indicates that the past 12 years of work of the Molokai Land Trust is paying off and the native ecosystem is recovering, as crews clear acres of dense kiawe and remove deer, cats and mongoose.

Adult Uʻau kani have gray-brown and white feathers, a long, hooked beak and a wingspan of more than three feet. Clumsy on land, the birds live most of their lives on the wing at sea, and come onshore only to breed.…

Drawing a Seabird Map

Wednesday, July 11th, 2018

Drawing a Seabird Map

 

Molokai’s high elevation forests are full of secrets, surprises and rare, native species. Thought to be extinct on Molokai until recently, the endangered Newell’s shearwater, or ‘A’o, is a seabird that may also nest deep in the shelter of Molokai’s forest.

Right now, though, no one knows for sure.

Molokai is home to many native and endangered seabird species but biologists aren’t sure how many or where many of them are nesting. A new mapping project seeks to shed light on the state’s seabird population and represents the first comprehensive survey of Hawaii seabirds to date. Anticipated to last three years, the project is kicking off on Molokai this summer.…

Homesteaders Remember their Roots

Wednesday, November 4th, 2015

Homesteaders Remember their Roots

When homesteaders first took up residence on Molokai lands, they had to start from the ground up. Families worked hard together to put in roads and set up large wooden tanks to catch the rainwater for drinking and farming. They combined labor and resources to sow crops and purchase farming equipment.

Ninety years later, Ho`olehua’s fertile lands are inhabited by their thriving descendants, who own homes, grow crops and use the infrastructure put in place by their ancestors.

Last week, the Ho`olehua Homestead Association remembered its history at the homestead’s 90th anniversary celebration. For three days at the Lanikeha Community Center, hundreds of homesteaders gathered to share generations of stories and snapshots of the first families who got the chance to restore both the land and their people.…

Hot Soups Hit the Spot

Wednesday, March 11th, 2015

Hot Soups Hit the Spot

After a week of torrential rains and whipping winds, island residents cozied up to steaming bowls of homemade soup at the Molokai Arts Center (MAC)’s fifth annual Soup’ R Bowl event last Saturday night.

Nearly 20 artists of all levels crafted ceramic bowls for the hundreds of people who showed up at the event, held at the Molokai Community Health Center. Guests could choose from 578 different bowls to eat soup from and later take home.

“One of the things that I appreciate about ceramics as an art is that it’s really functional,” said MAC Development Director Helen Kekalia. “I think this event highlights the functionality of art.…

Molokai Food Hub in Operation

Thursday, February 12th, 2015

Sust`aina ble Molokai News Release

Sust`aina ble Molokai’s newly launched Molokai Food Hub is seeking locally grown fruits and vegetables.  In January, we officially became the vendor for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) for Maunaloa Elementary School.  This is a federally funded snack program, which allows students to receive a snack of a fresh fruit or vegetable two to three times per week.  As the vendor, we are aiming to provide as much Molokai-grown fruit and vegetables as possible, so please call or email us if you would like to be a supplier (560-5410 or harmonee@sustainablemolokai.org).

The program is open to growers who can provide 60 servings of fresh fruit or vegetable (minimum serving size of 1/2 cup), and they will be paid fair market value. …

Veterans Center Nears Completion

Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

Veterans Center Nears Completion

After nearly 10 years of permitting delays, funding shortages and the loss of more elderly members each year, the Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans (MVCV) say they are finally nearing completion of a long-awaited veterans center to call their own.

“This building has come a long way,” said Vice-Commander Longie Dudoit. “Where we are today, we’re pretty close. But now it takes more than talk… We’ve all got to pitch in and help.”

Dudoit said he plans for the building to be complete by the end of this year. The 3,000-square-foot facility includes a certified kitchen, meeting area, space for VA services and a planned museum.…

Capitol Hill Gets a Taste of Molokai

Wednesday, July 30th, 2014

While this week, Molokai celebrates food in the Dispatch “Taste of Molokai” issue, last week, food from Hawaii was celebrated in Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill – and Molokai was represented. Pacific Hawaii, a gourmet sea salt company on Molokai founded by Salt Master Nancy Gove, was invited to the first-ever event.

Called “Hawaii on the Hill,” the special Taste of Hawaii event highlighting Hawaii-made or grown products in the nation’s capital was the first of its kind this year. Washington, D.C. often hosts states to highlight their products, and on July 23, Hawaii was showcased for the first time. An invitation-only open house for Congressional members of friends of the State of Hawaii, the event was attended by over 500 VIPs.…

Molokai Gold a Buzzing Business

Wednesday, July 30th, 2014

Molokai Gold a Buzzing Business

The lure of creamy, golden honey from a local business is giving people across the islands bees on the brain. If you haven’t heard the buzz, Molokai is home to the best honey in Hawaii—that’s according to judges at the 2013 Hawaiian Natural Honey Challenge.

Molokai Gold, a year-old honey company run by beekeepers Micah Buchanan and Marshall Joy, is whipping up raw, unfiltered and natural honey.

“It was my honor and privilege to receive your beautiful honeys and prepare them for the Formal Judging and Public Tasting,” registrar of the Honey Challenge Pattie Rechtman said of Molokai Gold in a letter to Joy.…

Protect Your Home From Brush Fire

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

Protect Your Home From Brush Fire

Community Contributed

By Denise Laitinen

Because the top three causes of brush fire in Hawaii are human-caused — arson, fireworks and human error — it’s crucial that folks do what they can to protect their property from brush fires. Fortunately, the national Firewise Communities program offers free and easy suggestions Molokai residents can take to reduce their risk to brush fire. With Molokai’s history of large brushfires, and recent case of intentionally-set fires in Kalama`ula, it is especially important to always be ready to protect your property from fire.

“Firewise teaches people how to prepare for a fire before it occurs,” said Denise Laitinen, the Hawaii Firewise Communities Coordinator.…

Honoring Hawaii’s First Homestead

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Honoring Hawaii’s First Homestead

Beginning in 1921, a selected group of hardy Hawaiian families began building a life in Kalama`ula. They cleared kiawe, constructed homes and infrastructure, planted gardens and raised livestock. It was difficult work, but because of their success, more than 6,000 Hawaiian Homesteaders now live around the state, according to OHA Chairperson Colette Machado.

“They had to make do and… they overcame that and succeeded,” said Machado. “If it wasn’t for the Kalama`ula demonstration, [Native Hawaiians] wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Last week, the descendants of Hawaii’s first 42 homesteaders in Kalama`ula gathered to celebrate 90 years since the establishment of the Kalaniana`ole Settlement, as it was known.…