Honokaa Elementary School will host its yearly Open House/Chili & Rice Night on Wednesday, Sept. 5. And it’s alL free, free, free! This event is hosted by the School Community Council (SCC) and sponsored by HEA, the Honokaa Elementary Association.
Honokaa Elementary School will host its yearly Open House/Chili & Rice Night on Wednesday, Sept. 5. And it’s alL free, free, free! This event is hosted by the School Community Council (SCC) and sponsored by HEA, the Honokaa Elementary Association.
This is the occasion for community and parents alike to hear what is happening this school year for our Honokaa Elementary keiki. Please come at 4:15 p.m. for assembly at cafeteria where the principal has a short message to share. Follow to your child’s home room and then visit the SFA, Success For All. Dinner starts at 5:45 p.m., back in the cafeteria. During dinner, SCC will make their presentation and the HEA T-shirt design contest voting as well as assorted community partners sharing their resources.
Please remember that open house is a time for your child to introduce you to their teacher and give you a tour of their class. Open house gives students an opportunity to proudly explain what they do in class. If you have concerns, or need more time with the teacher please make an appointment for another day. Please pick up a form ASAP at the office for the dinner count.
Any questions? Please call Hilda Yagong at 775-8820, ext. 225.
—————
A special Hamakua Community Development Plan Steering Committee Meeting is set for Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. in Papaikou. Please feel free to let all your community groups, organizations, friends and family know about the meeting. Mahalo again for all the community support! They look forward to seeing you at this next CDP Steering Committee meeting and as the Hamakua CDP process moves forward!
It’s time for the Queen Lili‘uokalani Festival put on each year by Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center, QLCC, this Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Queen Lili‘uokalani Gardens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festivities include cultural activities, demonstrations, craft booths, floral rain, mass hula, taiko drumming, children’s games, Urasenke Tea Ceremony, ono local-style food booths, local entertainment and the queen’s court.
—————
The Kohala Center reports the following: “a new team of superheroes sweeping across Kohala Mountain. Their mission? To seek justice for the mountain’s threatened rain forests. Who are these brave, tireless, wet, and muddy superheroes, you ask? They are the Ginger Ninja, and they’re hot on the trail of a beautiful yet evil villain known as kahili ginger. A traditional Hawaiian proverb states: ‘Hahai no ka ua i ka ulula‘au,’ or ‘The rain always follows the forest.’ Knowing this, Native Hawaiians took great care to minimize the clearing of trees and forestland and to use only what they needed, for they knew the absence of vegetation would reduce essential rainfall.
“The culprit: kahili ginger, which threatens to displace tens of thousands of acres of native rain forest ground. Today, the Kohala Watershed Partnership, under the fiscal management of the Kohala Center, cares for and protects the watersheds and ecosystems of Kohala Mountain on north Hawaiii Island. The mountain is home to a number of unique plant and animal species found nowhere else in Hawaii or the world. Yet the mountain’s lush rain forests, watersheds, and unique organisms are under threat from invasive plants and animals, resulting in a chain reaction of native species loss, soil degradation, and sediment runoff that makes its way into the ocean, adversely impacting marine life.
“One such unwelcome invader is Himalayan ginger, which was imported to Hawaii from India in the early 20th century as an ornamental plant. It earned the local name ‘kahili ginger’ due to its resemblance to traditional Hawaiian ceremonial poles. Over the years, the ginger has spread aggressively across the wetter parts of the state.
“Although it is beautiful and fragrant, kahili ginger creates a dense, solid cover on the forest floor, completely displacing the native moisture-retaining mosses, ferns, seedlings and shrubs typically found in a Hawaiian rain forest,” explains Melora Purell, Kohala Watershed Partnership coordinator. “As a result, topsoil washes downstream into the ocean, smothering our vibrant coral reefs and degrading coastal ecosystems.”
Controlling the spread of the kahili ginger requires cutting stems and dosing the cuts with a squirt of herbicide that rots the ginger’s roots. But who is going to do all that work? Enter the Ginger Ninja. Four Hawaii Island high school students were selected for paid Ginger Ninja internships this summer: Justen Kawamoto, 17, of Waimea; Ben Purell, 16, of Waimea; Kaliko Pajimola, 17, of Waimea; and Alan Bond, 16, of North Kohala.
Three days a week, they and other staff and volunteers hiked to worksites on the windward slopes of Kohala Mountain. At elevations of 3,000 to 4,000 feet and an average annual rainfall of 160 inches, conditions are usually wet, muddy and cold. The Ginger Ninja gained a deeper appreciation of their local environment, the impact that invasive species can have on it, and an opportunity to be part of the solution.
“Being in the forest is relaxing, and coming from hunting experience it’s good to be cutting the ginger to give back,” says Kawamoto. “It’s not really a hard thing to do, and it’s revealing when you see what you started with and you see what you end with. We can definitely see the difference (our work) makes.”
The Ginger Ninja program is just one of many Kohala Watershed Partnership initiatives focused on protecting the watersheds and communities of Kohala Mountain. To learn more, visit the website. You can also support the Ginger Ninja and the Kohala Watershed Partnership’s critical environmental protection, education and community outreach programs by making a tax-deductible donation.
Carol Yurth’s column is published every Sunday and spotlights activities on the Hilo-Hamakua coast. She welcomes items for her column. Reach her by mail (46-1240 Kalehua Road, Honokaa HI 96727) at least 10 days before the requested publication date, call her at 775-7101, or e-mail waiukahe@interpac.net.