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Tradition for Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi revolves around days in which the collective communities that we are all a part of celebrate the things that our work is dedicated to. In April, it’s Earth Day. For more than a decade, SCH has treated Earth Day, and now Earth Week, as a way to gather communities to clean up, restore, celebrate, and connect.
This year, the months leading up to Earth Week brought destruction and tragedy to the communities across Hawai‘i in the form of severe flooding and other devastating impacts from historic rainstorms. It was also a time when we got to see the beauty of connectedness as people who were once strangers to each other, united to support in ways that made a significant difference. Groups like Lāhui Foundation worked tirelessly to facilitate recovery. We saw first hand from our own efforts, that even those who couldn’t directly help flood victims wanted to find ways they could contribute through donations or coastal cleanups.
For our Earth Week efforts from April 18 - April 25, our work spanned from Haleʻiwa to Kahuku to Lāʻie to Waimānalo. It was hands-on learning and action united. And, though we were cautious to not overshadow any relief efforts, we also had our own realization that holding space for community action is something that builds resilience and connection for the future. Volunteers restored sea bird habitat with with North Shore Community Land Trust, removed marine debris from endangered coastal ecosystems at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, engaged in live art with Lauryn Gordines at our Solutions Center, learned identification and processing of kalo with K&K Farms, planted a native garden at the Kōkua Learning Farm, and ended the week by diving in to the power of a sovereign future with a musical ahupua‘a level restoration at Nation of Hawai‘i. Yes, it was a full week that spanned from intimate interactions to community scale restoration.
This is what Earth Week is all about for us at SCH.
Why? Because the solution to problems that have symptoms like plastic pollution, is a world in which we shed our desire for conveniences, and double down on the joy of reconnecting with each other and the Earth, ‘āina, and wai that sustain us.
Just like the underlying message to our mission that we want to create a world where we don’t have to clean up beaches, there is also a dream that we don’t need a once a year reminder for an Earth Day. Our work to bring to life the “Everyone Has a Coastline” mentality is aimed at creating a more connected world, where our daily actions reflect that every day is earth day.
With aloha,
Rafael Bergstrom
Executive Director, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi
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Kicking off SCH Earth Week, volunteers came together for a meaningful day of caring for our coastlines, creativity, and chili! In the morning, volunteers cleaned the Kahuku coastline at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge and helped to restore native plants at Kahuku Point with North Shore Community Land Trust. Others brought color and life to a new mural at the SCH Solutions Center led by artist Lauryn Gordines. After the workday, everyone gathered back at the Solutions Center to enjoy some ʻono venison chili and community connection.
Mahalo to artist, Lauryn Gordines for creating this incredible mural design for Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi. We are so stoked to be able to activate this artwork as an educational storytelling piece for students and the public who stop by our SCH Solutions Center in Kahuku. Our appreciation for Lauryn Gordines, Noah Gordines, and all the amazing volunteers who helped us bring this artwork to life on the first day of our Earth Week festivities! Whether your picked up a paintbrush for the full day or a few minutes, we're so grateful that you joined us.
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Our second stop for Earth Week was an ʻāina workday with K&K Farms in Laie. This morning was a chance for the public to dive a bit deeper into our (re)Learning ahupuaʻa cohort program and visit one of our site partners for student field trips. Led by Uncle Pane, Lono, and Steve, this incredible K&K Farms trio shared moʻolelo about kalo, took attendees on a tour of their kalo bank that is home to over 100 varieties, and got our hands in the mud helping to prepare for the next planting.
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Our third stop on our Earth Week series was celebrating Earth Day with Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation on the Kōkua Learning Farm. This Earth Day Community Workday had us celebrating our planet in the newly established Hawaiian Garden with the help of over 50 volunteers alongside the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation and SCH teams!
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We got to rally round aloha ʻāina at Nation of Hawaiʻi for their monthly ʻāina days as the last stop for our Earth Week celebrations working to remove invasive species, tend to loʻi kalo, and work in the māla to harvest ʻōlena. Our gratitude to Paul Izak Music and Rexie for bringing their mele to keep our energy going for the full day!
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