Genki Ala Wai Project

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Genki Ala Wai Project

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10/14/2026

What a fun and memorable Community Genki Day we had last Saturday, October 3! 🌺💚

We were so happy to welcome visitors who joined us as volunteers, including Elyse, who came all the way from San Francisco and chose to celebrate her birthday by giving back to Hawaiʻi! 🎂💚🌺

“I feel like I always come here and I never give back as much as I would like. So I thought this would be a nice opportunity, especially for a special day like my birthday.” — Elyse ❤️

What a beautiful way to celebrate a birthday! Happy Birthday, Elyse, and mahalo for spending your special day with us! 🥳

We were also so happy to welcome groups including Volunteer Ally and UH Mānoa HOSA! Mahalo to everyone who came out to get their hands muddy and help care for our Ala Wai watershed! 🌱

A special mahalo to waikea for generously providing bottled water to keep our hardworking volunteers hydrated at every event! 💧

Want to join the Genki fun? Bring your family, friends, classmates, or club! Everyone is welcome, and our monthly community events are always FREE! 💚

📅 Next Community Genki Day: Saturday, November 7

⏰ Time: 9:00–10:30 AM

📍 Location: Kapahulu Library Lawn

👉 RSVP here: https://forms.gle/cWqCKpcM6D7kVuGe7

We can’t wait to see you there! Let’s keep making a difference together, one Genki Ball at a time! 🌎💚

VolunteerHawaii CommunityStewardship

09/09/2026

"Did you know if you laid out the amount of balls we’ve tossed, side to side, it would create a path from here, along Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) to Makapuʻu, Sea Life Park, and end at Sandy Beach!” shared our emcee, Monica Lee.

This incredible number of Genki Balls was only possible because of the thousands of volunteers who have joined us in the last seven years. Mahalo for being part of this accomplishment! But our work toward cleaner, more sustainable waterways in the Ala Wai is far from over.

With the recent hurricanes and the brown-water conditions in the ocean we’ve been seeing, we’re reminded that there is still so much more we can do together to care for our waterways.

At our community event last Saturday, September 5, volunteers made 966 Genki Balls and deployed another 500! A special mahalo to groups from UH Mānoa Women’s Tennis, Target employees, and all the visitors, families, and individuals who joined us that day.

Furthermore, we would like to thank our generous sponsor, Waiakea Water for providing our volunteers with fresh water during every event.

Please join us for our next community event! We gather on the first Saturday of every month, and participation is completely free. Our next event will be October 3 from 9:00–10:30 a.m. If you’d like to join us, please register using the QR code ☄️!

08/09/2026

Yesterday, we joined a livestream with over 20 organizations from Japan celebrating World EM Mudball Day 2026! ☄️🥳 This celebration connected 16 countries around the globe that are using EM Mudballs and Activated EM to help restore their local waterways💧🙌🏼

Here in Hawaiʻi, the day was made even more meaningful as Governor Josh Green officially proclaimed August 8, 2026, as “MUDBALL DAY” in Hawaiʻi, recognizing the work of the Genki Ala Wai Project and the many individuals and organizations around the world working together to restore our waterways💚

We were especially proud to have our volunteer member, Nicolas, represent the Genki Ala Wai Project and share our story with participants around the world! 🌎

Mahalo, Nicolas, for representing our project and the next generation of environmental stewards so beautifully, and to Governor Josh Green and the State of Hawaiʻi for this incredible recognition.

Mahalo to every student, teacher, volunteer, partner, sponsor, and community member who has been part of this journey🙏🏼

Together, we keep moving forward.

Genki Hou!🤙🏼

07/09/2026

Aloha Genki Ohana! 🌊💙

Looking for a fun and meaningful way to give back to Hawaiʻi? Join the Waikiki Community Center’s monthly Genki Ball Make & Toss Event and be part of restoring the Ala Wai Canal alongside an amazing community of volunteers!

Whether you’re a student, family, resident, visitor, or simply someone who wants to make a positive impact, everyone is welcome. No experience is needed. Just bring your enthusiasm and come ready to learn, have fun, and make a difference!

Join fellow community members in making Genki Balls, learning about the Ala Wai ecosystem, and supporting ongoing community-led restoration efforts. Every Genki Ball tossed is another step toward a cleaner, healthier waterway.

Mahalo to the Waikiki Community Center for partnering with us and creating this incredible monthly opportunity for our community to take action together🙏🏼

Visit Waikiki Community Center ‘s link in bio to register. We hope you’ll be part of this amazing community effort!

Genki Hou! ☄️🤙🏼

06/07/2026

What a fun full-circle moment! 🌎💚

Back on April 19, we had a great time partnering with for their Earth Day Community Sunday event. The amazing HoMA team created such a welcoming space where keiki and families came together to make over 600 Genki Balls while learning about caring for our environment. ☀️

We were so happy to welcome our HoMA friends back to today’s community event to toss the Genki Balls we made together into the Ala Wai! 💚 A big mahalo as well to Sky River Management and all of the families and volunteers who spent their Saturday making Genki Balls with us.

Together, we created 894 Genki Balls and shared a wonderful morning filled with community, laughter, and aloha! 🙌

05/31/2026

As another school year comes to a close, we were honored to visit Ala Wai Elementary and Jefferson Elementary for their end-of-year assemblies. These two schools were among the first to help launch the Genki Ala Wai Project in 2019🙌🏼

For more than six years, hundreds of students and teachers from these schools have helped foster environmental stewardship through hands-on learning and Genki Ball activities for the Ala Wai Canal💧🌊

During our visits, we presented certificates of appreciation from Prof. Teruo Higa, founder of EM Technology® ( ), to the educators and school leaders who helped make this journey possible.

We were also grateful for the opportunity to recognize our dear friend and co-founder, Mary Ann Kobayashi, whose passion for environmental education has inspired generations of students and helped connect schools across Hawaiʻi to the Genki Ala Wai Project.

A special congratulations to Principal Zakahi of Jefferson Elementary on his retirement after 12 years of dedicated service. Mahalo for your leadership and for helping empower students to care for Hawaiʻi’s environment.

To Principal Debusca, Principal Zakahi, Mary Ann, and the many teachers, students, staff, and supporters who share the vision of a swimmable and fishable Ala Wai Canal, thank you💙

We wish all students, teachers, and school staff a safe, joyful, and well-deserved summer break. We look forward to continuing this journey together in the years ahead🤙🏼

Genki Hou!☄️

04/23/2026

We did it, Hawaii! ✨🌎✨ We reached the 300,000 Genki Ball milestone, and we are honored that the City and County of Honolulu has proclaimed April 2026 as “Genki Ball Month.”

Kumu Pualeilani Kamahoahoa beautifully summarized our 7-year journey “I remember in 2019 when we tossed the first Genki Balls from Hōkūleʻa behind the Convention Center. At the time, we wondered how we would ever reach 300,000 with no funding, no volunteers, no resources. And today, that day has come. I used to teach hula at Jefferson Elementary School right across the street. The stench from the Ala Wai used to drive us bananas. Today, it’s different. We’ve been here for over 30 minutes without smelling anything, and that is evidence that Genki Balls are working.”

Mahalo to our community. This achievement belongs to all of you 💙

Photo credit:Umi Pauly

04/05/2026

Happy Easter! 🐣🐰
Wishing everyone a beautiful and safe day filled with joy 💛

Mahalo for having us for the fun egg hunt and Genki booth!

03/29/2026

On Sunday (3/8), we worked with aspiring business leaders from numerous business clubs from the University of Hawaii Manoa College of Shidler. Thank you to the Inter-Business Council for working with us to arrange this event!

A big mahalo to who helped us create and throw over 1,000 Genki Balls.

Join the team! We look forward to collaborating with student groups and individuals from several schools. In addition to monthly volunteering at our community events, we are also looking for long-term volunteers to help make our events happen! Our team spans across a variety of different interests such as marine life, biology, sustainability, business, and all aspects of media. If you have any questions or would like to be a part of the team, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]

Address

400 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI
96815-3848

Website

https://genkialawai.org/

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