Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Wednesday, March 9, 2016

EDMUND C. OLSON HAS MADE a $2 million gift to The Trust for Public Land to permanently endow the position of Hawai`i State Director. “The Edmund C. Olson Trust Fellow endowment will ensure that the leadership of The Trust for Public Land in Hawaiʻi is never compromised,” said Will Rogers, President and CEO of the national organization. “This unprecedented gift is an extraordinary testament to the success of our local team in saving some of Hawai`i’s most precious and endangered places for people to enjoy – and to the skills of Lea Hong, Hawai`i’s state Director for nearly ten years.

      “After a long and successful career in contracting and self-storage businesses, Olson became a major landowner in Hawai`i in 2000 with acquisition of former sugar lands on Hawai`i Island and later on O`ahu. Since then, he has championed stewarding land for positive change through sustainable agriculture, conservation, clean energy and community,” a TPL press release stated.

      Olson was first introduced to The Trust for Public Land by Ka`u community members and former TPL project manager Josh Stanbro (now with Hawai`i Community Foundation). They convinced him to make a sizable donation to purchase and protect Honu`apo Fishpond and Estuary next to the Hawai`i County's Whittington Beach Park. Olson later joined the board of The Trust for Public Land in 2006. Since then, he has been a key supporter of the protection of Kawa, as well as Kauhola Point in North Kohala and Honouliuli Forest Reserve on O`ahu. He has donated conservation easements dedicating thousands of acres of land that he owns on Hawai`i Island and O`ahu to agriculture or conservation, ensuring these lands will never be developed. He also invested in successful campaigns to establish open space land conservation funds on Hawai`i Island and O`ahu that have generated tens of millions of dollars for land conservation.
      “The Trust for Public Land has earned my support,” Olson said. “They bring national expertise to bear with dedicated local focus to deliver conservation that honors our local culture and ensures that future generations of Hawai`i’s people will always be able to connect with the land they love.”
      Hong, who was recently named Islander of the Year (environment) in Honolulu Magazine, said, “Ed loves the land or `aina that sustains us. A big mahalo to Ed for this tremendous legacy. I am so pleased and humbled that I and my successor state directors will henceforth be known as the Edmund C. Olson Trust Fellow.”
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KA`U COFFEE GROWERS and residents are invited to a free coffee berry borer conference at Courtyard King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel a week from today on Wednesday, March 16. The conference brings together researchers, cooperative extension, farmers and stakeholders for a whole-day learning event. The day will be comprised of short presentations followed by Q&A panel sessions. Panels will consist of CBB scientists, educators and farmers with first-hand experiences. 

      Registration begins at 7:45 a.m., and doors remain open throughout the event, ending at 5:15 p.m.
      See hawaiicoffee.weebly.com or call 808-322-4892 for more information and to register by Monday, March 14.
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NOMINATIONS FOR HAWAI`I’S FILIPINO Entrepreneur of the Year and Young Filipino Entrepreneur of the Year are due a week from today on Wednesday, March 16. The project of Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawai`i honors business owners who demonstrate excellence and made meritorious contributions to Hawai`i’s community.

      Presentation of nominees and awarding ceremonies will be held on O`ahu Saturday, April 16 at Ala Moana Hotel. All nominees are required to attend.
      For more information, call Sam Acosta at 808-306-1428.
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SEN. MAZIE HIRONO QUESTIONED U.S. Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell on progress to combat Rapid `Ohi`a Death at a Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee hearing. Hirono also called for robust funding for the USFS as Congress reviews the President’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget request. Rapid `Ohi`a Death, first observed as impacting 15,000 acres of Hawai`i Island’s `ohi`a forest in 2014, now has spread over 30,000 acres.

      “We depend on the expertise and what the Forest Service brings to the table,” Hirono said. “The `ohi`a makes up 80 percent of our native forests and is ecologically and culturally the most important native plant in Hawai`i. On-the-ground personnel are trying to answer several critical questions about this disease, including transmission and resistance. We still need the resources to do the proper investigations and research.”

      Tidwell acknowledged collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and the University of Hawai`i and laid out the need to continue research into the cause of Rapid `Ohi`a Death and eradication methods. Hirono also thanked Tidwell for the Forest Service’s commitment to Hawai`i’s Collaborative Landscape Proposal, Island Forests at Risk.
      The USFS Fiscal Year 2017 budget includes more than $32 million for invasive species research and continued funding for Island Forests at Risk.
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VOLCANO SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES students present Dina Kageler’s original musical Archipelago! tomorrow at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      Free; park entrance fees may apply.

NA`ALEHU SCHOOL HOSTS its annual Math & Science Night tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the gym. The Ka`u community is invited to see examples of student work, as well as participate in fun, hands-on activities. Make a windsock, be a soil sleuth, peruse science fair projects and more. Local artist Don Elwing will set up a gallery featuring dozens of his award-winning art pieces made from Kamilo Beach marine debris.

      Kamehameha Schools Kealapono division will teach participants how to make koko, or a holder for water jugs, and Three Mountain Alliance will also share information about the Ka`u forest and watershed.
      Free dinner for all will be served, including hotdogs and water. For more information, call 939-2413.

MARY GOODRICH, A MEMBER of Volcano Village Artists Hui, leads a photography tour to Footprints Archaeological Site tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The tour is in conjunction with the hui’s current Sightlines exhibit at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants meet at the gallery and carpool to the site. Registration is required at 967-7565.

JAPANESE STAB BOOKBINDING is the topic of a workshop Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Susan O’Malley shares her skills. Call 939-7033 for more information.

KA`U'S COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER Maile David meets with her constituents Monday, March 28 at 6 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. David will answer questions about local issues.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.