Fall 2026 Hoaʻāina Event Series

The Fall Hoa‘āina Event Series includes three community-based mālama ʻāina workdays hosted by The Kohala Center (TKC). Volunteers are invited to build meaningful relationships with ʻāina through hands-on, culturally grounded practice. These intergenerational gatherings are rooted in ʻike kupuna and take place on ʻāina stewarded by TKC in North Hawaiʻi at Niuliʻi and Keawewai, and the Hāmākua Coast at Nāmoku.

We view ‘āina as “who” not “what” and as our first kumu, or source of learning. Thus, TKC’s stewarded ‘āina are important kumu, both teachers and sources, hosting volunteers alongside our staff practitioners working daily to improve the total well-being of land and people in balance.

Each workday creates a safe learning environment where keiki, ʻōpio, mākua, and kūpuna engage in stewardship activities such as:

• kilo (place-based observation)
• invasive species removal
• native planting
• lauhala harvesting and processing
• environmental monitoring
• mālama of culturally significant sites

These activities are designed to strengthen pilina with place as foundational to becoming hoa or “beloved companion” to ‘āina.

TKC currently has secured funding for our Spring Hoa‘āina Event Series consisting of 3 hoaʻāina stewardship days between March and May 2026. We are seeking Kamehameha Schoolʻs sponsorship to host a second event series of 3 additional hoa‘āina experiences in fall 2026 between August and November. Our hoa‘āina events consistently fill up within minutes of opening up for registrations necessitating a waitlist. Funding from Kamehameha Schools will allow for greater access by the community to stewardship experiences on a more regular basis. This fall series will allow us to serve 36–45 additional participants, extend restoration and monitoring efforts, and maintain momentum for mālama ʻāina during a critical seasonal window for planting, harvesting, and site care.