LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 27, 2012




VISITING WETLANDS
A GREAT EXPERIENCE

RAMSAR WORLD WETLANDS DAY
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
9 am To 1:30 pm

Kailua United Methodist Church
1110 Kailua Road

For the fifth year in a row, Ho`olaulima is Kawainui, a consortium of NGOs, federal/state/county agencies, businesses, and faith & cultural organizations will be celebrating the designation of the Kawainui-Hamakua Marsh Complex in Kailua as a RAMSAR Wetland of International Importance. The event will be held on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012, from 9 am to 1:30 pm at Kailua United Methodist Church, 1110 Kailua Road.

In addition to the international theme on visiting wetlands, this year's focus here in Hawai`i will be on children, youth & young adults as they help foster the future of Hawai'i for their own children & grandchildren.

Students from several different schools will be presenting their work on cultural & environmental themes, there will briefings by the Department of Land & Natural Resources on their efforts to update the 1994 Kawainui Marsh Master Plan as well as information about the two remediation/restoration projects at the southern end of the Marsh. Another draft master plan dealing with cultural and educational resources will also be available that day for public comment and discussion.

All activities, live entertainment, educational & cultural exhibits, and Marsh tours are FREE. A variety of local businesses and food vendors will have their products for sale.

A special viewing of DLNR's recently-released documentary, "The Rain Follows the Forest," will be shown shortly after 11 am followed by a discussion conducted by Guy Kaulukukui, DLNR's First Deputy

Once again, Kama`aina Kids will be bringing their Camp Timberline Climbing Wall as well as setting up a booth providing information about their various programs.

Confirmed live entertainment will be provided by musician/singer Keale featuring new original music honoring Kawainui Marsh; Na Kupuna O Koolau, our talented singing & dancing kupuna from the Moku of Ko`olaupoko; and Hawaii Loa, Windward O`ahu's talented trio, featuring Hawaiian steel guitarist Eddie Palama.

Tour pre-registration is strongly suggested since there are only about 100 seats all totaled available. Call Kaimi Scudder at 263-8008 or send him an e-mail at email@ahahui.net. Be sure to include complete contact information. NOTE: There is a maximum of six people per reservation.

There will be a HI-5 Collection Drive at the event held by the Windward Ahupua`a Alliance. All HI-5 donors will receive a free malassada coupon for every 20 containers brought in. Drop off containers at the Welcome Desk and pick up the malassada coupon. WAA, a 501c3 organization, will also be selling malassadas to raise funds for its various programs.

WAA will also be collecting donations of sealed & wrapped toilet paper, napkins, paper towels, laundry/bath/dish soaps, sealed cans of cleanser, canned & packaged pet food, and other kinds of unopened/unwrapped household goods at the Welcome Desk to give to area non-profits serving homeless/at-risk individuals & families. All donors will receive a free malassada coupon.

Food vendors include Camille's on Wheels, Island-Style Catering, Kahuna Dogs, Maria Bonita's, and The Curb Truck.

Hui ku Maoli Ola Native Hawaiian Plants will be at the event selling a variety of plants. Nature photographer Nate Yuen will be offering a selection of prints for sale.

Ho`olaulima is also looking for volunteers ages 15 on up to help out with a wide variety of tasks ranging from event set-up on Friday afternoon starting at 4 pm & early Saturday morning to working with exhibitors & vendors to helping with the parking, the HI-5 Drive & household goods donations to the post-event clean-up.

For more information about the event or to volunteer, contact Shannon Wood at 224-4496.


WE DEFINITELY NEED YOUR SUPPORT IN TWO VERY DIFFERENT WAYS!

The Windward Ahupua`a Alliance has two very different opportunities coming up over the next two weeks for you to find out out more about our organization and what we're doing to make Hawai`i a better place in which to live, work & play. k.

The first event is on Saturday, February 4 - see above for more information. WAA needs three people each willing to work a two-shift to help with our malassadas sales fund-raiser: 8:30 am - 10:30 am - set-up & sales; 10:30 am -12:30 - sales; 12:30 - 2:30 pm - sales & breakdown/cleanup. Lunch and a plant will be given to all volunteers working with WAA. And of course, FREE malassadas.

We're also going to have a WAA information exhibit next to the malassadas booth which I need to staff which is why we need help at the sales booth. We can talk about the organization throughout each shift and what its needs are and how you can contribute to its future.

The second event is on Sunday, February 12, from 12 noon - 1:30 pm. Unlike the February 4th community outreach event, what we'll be doing on this day is getting together at a casual restaurant in urban Honolulu for a hosted meet-up over lunch to talk about what WAA needs in the way of leadership.

If you would like to volunteer on Saturday, February 4th, please call me by 5 pm, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, at 224-4486. If the call goes to voicemail, please leave your phone number and a good time to return your call.

If you want to attend the luncheon, then please e-mail me at info@waa-hawaii.org no later than Thursday, February 9 by 9 pm. NOTE: Check out the various positions WAA is seeking to fill.


EXECUTIVE BOARD
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Terms of office start immediately except for President & Treasurer

PRESIDENT - The (new) person in this position will represent the organization & be its principal spokesperson. I will stay in office until the transition is completed no later than December 31, 2012.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - The person in this position will assume the position of the organization’s president no later than January 1, 2013. In the meantime, s/he will be working with me on public policy & advocacy issues plus overseeing scientific, legal, economic & political research in support of WAA’s positions. S/he will also share media responsibilities.

ADMINISTRATIVE VICE PRESIDENT - The person in this position will immediately begin to oversee a wide variety of internal administrative tasks plus the planning & coordination of public service projects and outreach & educational special events.

SECRETARY/ASSISTANT TREASURER - The person in this position will take Meeting Minutes and keep all the records organized as well as work with the Treasurer to keep the financial records up-to-date. .

TREASURER/FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR - The person in this position will oversee all financial tasks & responsibilities as well as head the FINANCE COMMITTEE which will raise funds through writing grants, donor drives, and special events. S/he will take over from the current Treasurer no later than June 30, 2012.

CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS GEEK - This person will oversee the production of the e-newsletters and maintain the websites, blogs, and social media sites. Working with the President or Administrative Vice President, the Chief Communications Geek will also be responsible for generating press releases.

CHIEF LEGAL BEAGLE - This person will provide legal counsel to the Executive Board and its members on any legal issue coming before it.

CHIEF ENTREPRENEUR - This person will establish business options & opportunities for the organization to underwrite both its operating costs as well as its long-term capital investments.

OTHER BOARD MEMBERS NEEDED WITH SPECIFIC EXPERTISE

NATURAL SCIENCE SPECIALIST - This person needs to have a strong background & working experience in natural science whether land or marine. S/he may be asked to testify if needed.

CULTURAL & SOCIAL SCIENCE SPECIALIST - This person needs to have a strong background & working experience in social sciences and cultural fields. S/he may be asked to testify if needed.

CHIEF FOODIE - This person not only makes sure that all community-based volunteers eat well but also that the Executive Board gets something to eat during its meetings.

OTHER BOARD MEMBERS - Two seats will be open to anyone who wants to become part of WAA’s leadership. One of the seats will be set aside for a college student.

Again, the deadline is for stepping forward is SATURDAY, MARCH 3. If you want to volunteer to be a leader or have someone in mind, please contact me directly by phone or by e-mail. Voicemail: 808/247-6366; Cellular: 808/224-4496 (personal); E-mail: info@waa-hawaii.org.



WINDWARD AHUPUA`A ALLIANCE
WHO WE ARE & HOW WE GOT HERE

The Windward Ahupua`a Alliance, a 501c3 Hawai`i non-profit corporation, was established in July, 2002, to create the Ko`olau Greenbelt & Heritage Trails System in order to restore, protect & provide public access to the mauka lands on the Windward side of O`ahu along the base of Na Ko`olau as well as to support locally-owned sustainable economic activities in the more developed areas. Its mandate, however, has expanded over the years well beyond these important regional issues.

Here is a list of the issues/concerns/policies/activities - arranged alphabetically - in which WAA has been involved since its beginnings. WAA doesn’t work on all of them all of the time, but in any given year, all of them have been on its organizational List Of Things To Do.

Animal protection & ownership responsibilities including low-cost spay-neuter programs
Budget & taxation policies at all three levels of government
Climate change, greenhouse gasemissions, rising sea levels
Community-based service projects & information fairs
Cultural & performing/media arts development & support
Eco-tourism development issues & concerns
Environmental policies at all three levels of government
Expanded public participation in governance issues
Field trips & planned excursions highlighting economic development
Food & fuel security issues & concerns
Fund-raisers - malasadas & plant sales, HI-5 drives
Grant applications & financial support drives
Internal leadership recruitment & training
Kawainui Marsh remediation & restoration policies & projects
Land & water use protection/conservation issues - all levels of government
Locally-owned sustainable economic development - high tech, media, bio-medical, sports
Lower & higher education - all aspect
PLANT Campaign
Professional trainings, classes, conferences, & meetings<
Public infrastructure issues & concerns
Recreational activities planning & implementation - hiking, camping, fishing
Renewable energy planning & implementation
Social equity issues impacting the under-served & homeless/at-risk
Solid waste management policies - landfills, illegal dumping & recycling
Sustainable workforce/affordable housing planning & development
Transit-Oriented Development - Aloha Stadium, Iwilei & Kaka`ako
University of Hawai`i inter-collegiate athletics
WAA’s business & economic development planning & implementation

All of these activities are clumped into seven different areas. NOTE: All of these require significant administrative support.

1. Public policy & advocacy work with elected officials & administrators at all three levels of government;

2. Scientific, legal, economic & political research to support policy positions;

3. Public outreach & educational special events;

4. Public service projects;

5. Ongoing communication activities such as newsletters, columns & social media;

6. Fund-raising through grant-writing, donor drives & special events;

7. Entrepreneurial activities to underwrite the costs of operating the non-profit.