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2015

2015

  • Launched Imua Maunalua, a community planning project, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International–Hawaii, Hawaii Kai Chamber of Commerce, DLNR, and NOAA. Imua Maunalua brings the community together to take collective action to plan the future of Maunalua Bay. Visit the IMUA MAUNALUA website to learn more and get involved!
  • Partnered with Liquid Robotics and Aloha Aina to welcome the Wave Glider®, the world’s first hybrid solar and ocean powered robot, into Maunalua Bay
  • Held Citizen Science Day huki in partnership with the National Office of Marine Sanctuaries and Liquid Robotics.
  • Presented 2015 Good Neighbor Award by C&C of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services in recognition of MM’s voluntary environmental commitment to clean up our neighborhood and prevent storm water pollution.
  • Led 32 hukis with close to 2,000 community volunteers and students

2015

2014

2014

Huki at Wailupe Beach Park

2014

  • Launched Adopt a Plot.
  • Partnered with C&C Parks and Recreation and one of our partner schools, Holy Nativity School, for Annual Arbor Day Tree Planting Celebration at Kawaikui Beach Park.
  • Led 29 community hukis with 3,000 community volunteers, including over 1,800 students.
  • Mālama Maunalua’s run-off reduction projects won Scenic Hawai’i awards: a project with Holy Nativity School and the Koko Head District Park site each won in their categories.
  • Awarded one of the City & County of Honolulu’s competitive Grants-in-Aid grants
  • Participated in the creation of two independent films featuring Mālama Maunalua. The short films provide valuable information about our organization, our mission, and the value of community service.
  • Implemented ongoing projects to reduce urban and rainwater run-off at 21 community sites across the Bay, with support from 8 new Volunteer Leaders and/or community groups.
  • Created a Native and Invasive Algae Consortium….
  • Held “Heal the Bay” symposium
  • Organized first joint Huki – International Coastal Clean Up event at Maunalua Bay.
2013

  • Kept the invasive alien algae in check in more than 28 acres of Maunalua Bay.
  • Led 42 community hukis (invasive algae removals), including educational hukis where 1,300 students learned about algal species, sediment runoff and community conservation.
  • In the first retrofit of a commercial center on Oahu, worked with Koko Marina Shopping Center to install rain gardens and multiple filters that significantly reduce pollutant runoff from the parking lots.
  • Created a showcase for controlling run-off at Koko Head District Park in partnership with the EPA and three divisions of City and County. What was a major source of sediment and pollutant runoff is now a healthy watershed site, complete with a rain garden and a siltation basin.
  • With Kona Brewing Company, transformed the large brewing tank in front of the building into a rain catchment system that has already captured tons of water and directed it to plantings rather than carrying sediment and pollutants into Maunalua Bay.
  • Received the Duke’s Live Aloha Award once again for measureable progress toward restoration.
  • Produced seven informational videos, including the Protect the Bay series, to convey the importance of conserving Maunalua Bay.
  • Installed our 8th (check) rain garden in the Maunalua Bay region, at Holy Nativity School.
  • Worked with DLNR DOCARE and the fisher hui to pilot a process for more rapid and thorough responses to reported violations in Maunalua Bay by providing direct access to officers for improved communication, investigation, and prosecution.

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2012

2012

2012

  • Community volunteers are vigilantly managing, monitoring clearing algae. While some invasive algae are reappearing, re-growth is limited and we are containing and monitoring it.
  • Launched Pulama Wai program with six community pilots to determine whether the community would commit to reducing sediment and pollutant run-off.
  • Created a menu of projects that neighborhoods and schools could undertake—ranging from building rain gardens to keeping major ditches in the storm drain system free of debris.
  • Created a Homeowner’s Assessment Guide which individuals can use to reduce run-off from their homes and yards.
  • Developed a multi-year program to reduce run-off with the Leadership Club of Kalani High School. Worked with City and County to implement erosion control and a rain garden demonstration site at Koko Head District Park .
  • In Koko Head, neighbors and students have adopted a swale at Koko Head Elementary School to keep it free of trash and sediment that would otherwise flow into the storm drain system. A hui of Niu Valley residents and the City and County partnered throughout the year to clean Niu Stream, which is a major contributor of sediment into the Bay.
  • Created a “multiplier effect” with the Volunteer Leader program to recruit and train experienced volunteers to lead other volunteers, thereby significantly increasing the number of volunteers participating every year in MM projects.
  • Expanded the educational huki curriculum to increase awareness about the problems and solutions for Maunalua Bay.
2011

Huki – Invasive Alien Algae Removal

  • Successfully completed the NOAA-funded Maunalua Bay Reef Restoration Project (The Great Huki).   Final numbers of acres cleared exceeded target.   26 acres were cleared and over 2.9-million pounds were removed by the contractors.
  • Community Volunteers alone removed 91,500 lbs, clearing another acre and bringing the total to 27 acres cleared.
  • All invasive alien algae was turned to productive use as an enriching soil amendment on local farms.
  • Aired Public Service Announcements to raise awareness of fishing regulations.
  • Community Monitoring Protocol established in partnership with The Nature Conservancy scientists, to maintain a close watch on the 27 acres that have been cleared.
  • Community Hukis continue – to preserve and extend the gains of the Great Huki.

Pulama Wai – Every Drop Counts

  • Launched sediment run-off reduction pilot projects that will cumulatively have an impact on Maunalua Bay and will build awareness across the region.
  • Partnered with Hawaii Kai Rotary, Interact Club of Kaiser High School, PRB Hawaii landscape architects, Songscapes landscapers, Kaiser High School and Hale Ka Lae to install a Rain Garden demonstration site at Kaiser High School in heavily eroded area.
  • Launched first neighborhood Pulama Wai project in Koko Kai/Portlock.
  • Partnered with Kona Brew to turn site into a showcase for run-off reduction.
  • Partnered with Waldorf School on a weekly clean-up activity aimed at reducing what goes into storm drain
  • Published a handbook for reducing run-off in Maunalua Bay with UH Sea Grant. (Downloadable via “Resources” menu)
  • Created a home/property Water Runoff Assessment Tool for owners seeking to reduce run-off. (Downloadable via “Resources” menu)

Ho`o Nui I`a – Making Fish Abundant

  • Produced an educational PSA that aired on Channel 16, KHON, and Hawaii Goes Fishing through 2011.
  • Installed seven signs at Bay access points to encourage compliance with existing regulations.
  • Completed Survey of 58 Experienced Maunalua Bay fishermen.

Growing our Community

  • We were joined by 1,350 new volunteers.
  • Produced Maunalua Bay Heritage Festival.
  • Hosted the Maunalua Bay Science Symposium.

2011

Paiko Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary..Invasive Acanthophora Salicornia Gorilla Ogo Foreground

More Initiatives

  • Began building a Volunteer Leader program to make and sustain improvements in the Bay over the long term.
  • Trained and deployed eleven Volunteer Leaders in the last 10 months.
  • Engaged 1,000 volunteers
  • Incorporating conservation education in our community and school “huki” events to increase awareness among the students who come out to remove invasive alien algae.
  • Created a Property Run-off Assessment Guide for homeowners who want to make improvements on their own properties and assist others in doing so.
  • With UH Sea Grant, we published a Watershed Handbook for the Maunalua Region that highlights the problems of run-off and provides solutions that groups and individuals can undertake.
  • Produced and aired two thirty-minute segments for Hawaii Community Television (Olelo 52).
2010

2010

  • Launched The Great Huki project. Created 75 jobs and removed more than 2.0 – million pounds of invasive alien algae with partners The Nature Conservancy and Pono Pacific.
  • Established four community huki sites and attracted 4,500 volunteers.
  • Developed the Every Drop Counts campaign to educate residents and businesses how to reduce run-off of damaging sediment and pollution from yards and commercial areas.
  • Developed Public Service Announcement to encourage compliance with fishing regulations. Aired on television stations throughout 2011.
  • Attained independent non-profit 501(c)(3) status.
  • Implemented region-wide community outreach, and obtained media coverage on at least 75 occasions.
  • Awarded NOAA’s Environmental Heroes Award.
  • Developed a plan to reduce sediment and pollutants from Wailupe Watershed, a major watershed that is both the last unlined stream in the region and a significant contributor to damaging run-off in Maunalua Bay.
  • Expanded the fund development team and built new partnerships with 8 local businesses.
  • Recipient of a $5,000 gift from Duke’s Waikiki annual fundraising for non-profit organizations.

2010

2010

2009

2009

Awarded, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, the American Recovery and Reinvestment grant from NOAA, one of only 50 projects in the country and 2 in Hawaii, out of more than 800 proposals.

  • Removed 48 tons of invasive alien algae from the Bay with 1,000 students and approximately 2,000 volunteers.
  • Updated the Maunalua Bay Conservation Plan.
  • Established partnership with Whole Foods and received a gift of $4,800.
  • Created and installed a Maunalua Bay exhibit in the Whole Foods cafe, renamed the Mālama Maunalua Community House.
  • Engaged more than 2,000 people at Mālama Maunalua events.
  • Expanded marine monitoring program and added land-based water quality monitoring.
  • Supported 12 university and agency studies in the Bay and its watersheds, including hydrography, coral health studies, marine resource assessments, invasive species monitoring, stream and groundwater monitoring.
  • Doubled the number of contributors and supporters.

Learn More about The Great Huki

2009

2008

2008

  • Developed a Regional Watershed Plan to guide restoration and management for the 10 watersheds of Maunalua Region.
  • Mapped the location of the storm water systems that are the primary conductors of sediment and pollutants and identified the government agencies responsible for each system.
  • Completed the Pakini (creel) Survey with The Nature Conservancy to collect catch data, understand current harvesting practices and identify causes and sources of fishing violations.
  • Doubled the invasive alien algae removal rate.
  • Trained hundreds of volunteers in removal.   Monitored cleared areas to determine that, once cleared, the areas stay cleared.
  • Received the Kako`o `Aina (Supporter of the Land) award from The Nature Conservancy.
  • Motivated scientists to contribute an estimated $250,000 of marine studies in Maunalua Bay.
  • Doubled the number of contributors and obtained grants from Department of Health and Hawaii Tourism Authority.

2008

Adopt A Stream
2007

  • Launched volunteer invasive alien algae removal project. Initial year’s pull was 1,200 pounds.
  • Launched a Maunalua Bay Makai Watch program.
  • Built strong network of agency and NGO partnerships. Gained agreement from the US Army Corps of Engineers to use ecologically sound practices in developing their flood management plan for Wailupe Stream (the last major stream was not lined in concrete).
  • Held 50 outreach events and signed up 250 volunteers.
  • Trained 30 students over three weekends on the Hokule`a voyaging canoe with Polynesian Voyaging Society and Hui Nalu Canoe Club.
2006

2006

  • Formed organization and hired a full-time coordinator.
  • Funded by small group of Maunalua Bay residents.
  • Worked with scientists from University of Hawaii, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) and The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii (TNC) to identify the extent and major causes of deterioration in Maunalua Bay.
  • Developed the Maunalua Bay Conservation Action Plan with key partners, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hui Nalu Canoe Club, TNC and NOAA.
2005
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