Hawai‘i Conservation Week highlights Pacific action

HONOLULU—With Hawai‘i Conservation Week and the Hawai‘i Conservation Conference coming up, locals and visitors will have the opportunity to learn about conservation in Hawaii and across the Pacific from various perspectives, including traditional Hawaiian approaches.

2010 Hawaii Conservation Week boasts a variety of events from invasive algae removal to guided interpretive nature hikes. Dr. Samuel M. ‘Ohukani’?hi’a Gon III, Senior Scientist and Cultural Advisor at The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, will return for a second appearance in the Natural Treasures of Hawai‘i Lecture Series with his presentation “Hula and the Natural World” on Wednesday, July 28. 

Conservation Week culminates with the Hawai‘i Conservation Fair on Saturday, July 31 at the ING DIRECT Café, where marine debris artist Susan Scott will present her latest work, middle school students will give short dramatic performances, and the short film Huliau will be screened. Local conservation groups will provide a variety of games and activities that teach about Hawaiian ecosystems and how to protect them. The full Conservation Week calendar can be viewed at www.hawaiiconservation.org/2010hcw.asp.

From August 4 to 6, conservation scientists and Hawaiian cultural practitioners will join together at the Hawai‘i Convention Center for the 2010 Hawai‘i Conservation Conference. This year’s theme is Pacific Ecosystem Management and Restoration: Applying Traditional and Western Knowledge Systems, featuring speakers from across the Pacific. Aroha Te Pareake Mead, Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy and Associate Dean of Maori Research at the University of Wellington, New Zealand, will give a keynote presentation and will also serve as a panelist during the “Indigenous Women in Conservation” luncheon panel presentation. Others on the panel include Julie Leialoha (DLNR Division of Forestry & Wildlife), Kalei Nu‘uhiwa, and Melia Lane-Kamahele (National Park Service). The Honorable Togiola T.A. Tulafono, Governor of American Samoa, will also give a keynote presentation.

A free public HCA Open House will take place on Thursday, August 5 from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The evening will be jam-packed with entertainment including live music by Kupa‘?ina, silk aerial dancing by Samadhi Hawai‘i, a hula performance, and community marketplace featuring local vendors.  Attendees will have a chance to check out the conservation poster and art exhibits on display in the conference exhibit hall and hear from Rick Barboza of Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a nursery that specializes in native Hawaiian plants. At 6:30 p.m. award-winning wildlife photographer and biologist Jack Jeffrey will enchant with images of rare Hawaiian birds and stories of his adventures in the field, a lecture not to be missed by photography buffs and bird lovers.

July 25 to 31: Hawai‘i Conservation Week

August 5: Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance Open House
4:30-8 p.m., Hawai‘i Convention Center