Who do you share your vital resources/time with? Who would you risk depending on for community sharing and protection in hard times?

My husband has helped me to reconnect with the ʻāina. He is a passionate mahi ʻai (farmer). He has reminded me how important it is to be sustainable by growing food. When I first started dating my husband, he proudly showed me his backyard where he grew ʻuala, kalo, māmaki, ʻōhiʻa ʻai, ʻōlena, and papaya. He would make me smoothies with the papaya from his trees. We would make tea from the māmaki leaves and ʻōlena root. I loved harvesting from the yard. He also had his own compost bin. Growing and harvesting from the yard made me realize how unsustainable my lifestyle was. Instead of buying packaged produce, we could be harvesting and gathering from our own land. Instead of throwing food waste into the trash, it could be going into the compost bin to make soil.

The neighbor would bring by food to my husband sometimes. This type of community sharing became unfamiliar to me. Sharing with neighbors was so prevalent as a child, but as I grew older this gesture was so uncommon. I believe mostly because my community was changing. Kailua was slowly losing this sense of community and resource sharing as the influx of tourism grew. However, Hoʻokuaʻāina has brought back community sharing to Kailua. Hoʻokuaʻāina is a non-profit organization that perpetuates Hawaiian culture through the cultivation and preparation of kalo. I rely on them for ancestral foods like kalo and ʻulu. My husband and Hoʻokuaʻāina have really shown me how to be resourceful and sustainable.

Which individuals who’ve been described in Kaiāulu stand out most to you? What about the way Vaughan describes them makes them stand out?

In Kaiāulu, Vaughn refers to the values and teachings of Kahoʻohanohano Pa quite often. Pa was a master lawaiʻa (fisherman). Pa, and other master lawaiʻa, had extensive knowledge of spawning cycles, weather conditions, moon cycles and tides. The knowledge that Pa passed on to future lawaiʻa ensured that the traditions of Hawaiian fishing can be continued to be passed down. Pa stands out to me because he reminds me of the kūpuna in my life.

My tūtū had so much knowledge, but yet I did not learn it. Only after she passed away did I learn about the knowledge she carried. However, that knowledge was never passed down to my mother or her siblings either. My tūtū took her knowledge with her when she passed. I wish I could turn back time so that I can listen to her moʻolelo again. I wish I had known how much value her words had. As a child, I did not understand how important those moments were.

Why should your issue rise to the top?

Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death is affecting our native forests at an alarming rate. Currently 10% of ʻōhiʻa forests are being lost each year due to Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death. If the spread of this disease continues at this rate, we could see the loss of 90% of ʻōhiʻa forests within a decade. Not only is the ʻōhiʻa important to Native Hawaiian culture, the species is also important to the Hawaiʻi ecosystem. Without the ʻōhiʻa trees, Hawaiʻi would lose its main source of fresh water. The ʻōhiʻa forests collect rainwater and sustain the underground aquifers which provide us with fresh water. Fresh water is not an unlimited resource. If the forests are not healthy, the quality and availability of freshwater is limited.

This segment from PBS Hawaiʻi features J.B. Friday (UH College of Tropical Ag and Human Resources), Kehaulani Kekua (Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai), Lisa Keith, PhD (USDA Agricultural Research Service), Marian Chau, PhD (Kalehua Seed Conservation Consulting). This dicussion of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death provides insight on what it is, what is being done about it , and how you can help.

For even more information about Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, visit https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/rod/

Annotated Bibliography Entry #6

Miner, Meghan. “The cultural significance of ohia lehua.” Hawaii Magazine, Hawaii Magazine, 24 Apr. 2018, www.hawaiimagazine.com/content/cultural-hawaiian-significance-ohia-lehua.

This article written by Meghan Miner and published by Hawaii Magazine discusses the importance of the ʻōhiʻa lehua tree in Native Hawaiian culture. The article explains the effects the disease Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death has had on the Hawaiian cultural practice of lei making. The article further explains how hula halau (hula schools) changed the way they create lei for the Merrie Monarch Festival, an annual hula competition. This article provides insightful information on Native Hawaiian cultural and religious practices, which is important to support the argument that the ʻōhiʻa tree is significant to the Hawaiian people.

Annotated Bibliography Entry #5

“Metrosideros Polymorpha .” Native Plants Hawaii – Metrosideros Polymorpha, University of Hawaiʻi, 2009, nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Metrosideros_polymorpha.

Native Plants Hawaiʻi (NPH) is a web page managed by the University of Hawaiʻi. The webpage is partially funded by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative State Research and Education and Extension Service (CSREES) for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Institutions. This webpage serves as a searchable database of endemic and indigenous plants of Hawaiʻi. The web page provides a wide array of data on Metrosideros polymorpha, ʻŌhiʻa lehua. The data provided on NPH is helpful to understand how the ʻōhiʻa tree was used culturally by Native Hawaiians and what native species rely on the ʻōhiʻa. This web page is a source for scientific data and historical facts as well as other sources.

Annotated Bibliography Entry #4

“Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death.” College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Apr. 2020, cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/rod/.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources is a web page partially funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the Renewable Resources Extension Act and the Smith-Lever Act. The website provides introductory and straight-forward resources from university researchers on the topic of Rapid Ohia Death (ROD) and summaries for general readers about how to prevent ROD from spreading and steps that can be taken to report signs of ROD in nearby forests. The resource page serves as a central hub for finding other informative resources and Q&A topics to help with understanding the ROD situation as it impacts Hawaii and its watersheds. This resource serves as a helpful reference for general factual information and as a source through which to express the involvement the general community can have in preventing further ROD spread.

Annotated Bibliography Entry #3

Yamanaka, Katie Young. “The Forest for the Trees.” Hana Hou!, Apr. 2020. https://hanahou.com/23.2/the-forest-for-the-trees

The article which appears on Hawaiian Airlines flights and online on its website poses the question, Can new technology help save Hawai‘i’s native ‘ōhi‘a? The article expresses the ‘Ōhi‘a Challenge that occurred as a global call to help solve ROD by developing a technology that could help scientists identify early warning signs of ROD to help manage the spread of the fungus. The article by Young identifies the global need to help solve an issue for the native trees in Hawaii. The article focuses also on the technologies that were developed such as tools for sampling the tree and drones developed to survey the area. This article is helpful for the overall argument of the paper to explore the importance of global efforts to solve ROD as well as the importance in emerging technologies to help protect native Hawaiian plants.

Annotated Bibliography #2

Clark, Cassie. “Kupu Unveils ‘The ʻŌhiʻa, The Story of Hawaiʻi’s Tree’ -Hawaiian Airlines.” Kupu, 27 Nov. 2019, www.kupuhawaii.org/kupu-unveils-%CA%BBohi%CA%BBa-story-hawai%CA%BBis-tree-hawaiian-airlines-flights/?fbclid=IwAR1wmrWEG7A8DeFrW28I1axNOY-sYlajSzYvjyARPd7i79nIxHz0bBd18zc.

This article shared by Kupu Hawaiʻi, a youth corps that engages young adults in service around conservation and sustainability, provides details about the short film The ʻŌhiʻa, the Story of Hawaiʻi’s Tree, which was shared by Hawaiian Airlines on their domestic flights. This short film highlights the cultural and ecological significance of ʻōhiʻa and the impact of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death. The short film features speakers from the USDA Forest Service, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Kupu Interns and Program Coordinator. The article identifies preventative measures to halt the spread of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death. The article presents general information about the ʻōhiʻa tree such as species types and the role of ʻōhiʻa trees in Hawaiʻi’s ecosystem. The article provides information on other sources that may be utilized in the argument of the paper.

Invasive species have changed Hawaiʻi’s ecology. A new disease caused by a fungus
(Ceratocystis), also known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD), has killed many native ʻōhiʻa trees. There is currently no known cure. Therefore, it is important that the spread of ROD be contained. There are preventative measures in place to reduce the spread of the disease, such as cleaning vehicles and clothing before and after use, leaving infected wood in place and avoiding injuring trees. In order for these measures to be effective, people need to be made aware of the disease and its impact on the ʻōhiʻa forests.