Hawai‘i Land Trust

10/15/2026

This Saturday across the pae ʻāina, Hawaiʻi Land Trust invites you to roll up your sleeves, and contribute to the ongoing stewardship of Hawaiʻi’s treasured natural and cultural landscapes.

From restoring native forests and coastal ecosystems to caring for wahi kūpuna, every volunteer workday is an opportunity to connect with ‘āina, build relationships, and practice ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i.

🌳 KŪKŪAU COMMUNITY FOREST | Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026

⏰ 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

We invite Hilo’s DOE students (ages 16+) and families, DOE faculty, and the general community to Kūkūau ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Mālama ʻĀina Days where we connect with Hilo’s lowland wet forest through this ‘āina-based educational initiative. Together, we use ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i as a foundational lens to explore native forest ecology, watershed protection, and seasonal cycles.

Participants must be 16+ years old. All levels of ʻōlelo Hawaiian speakers welcome.

🌊 WAIHEʻE COASTAL DUNES & WETLAND REFUGE | Waiheʻe, Maui

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026

⏰ 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Help care for Waiheʻe’s coastal dunes, wetlands, and culturally significant landscapes through community-based restoration and stewardship.

🌺 MAUNAWILA HEIAU COMPLEX | Hauʻula, Oʻahu

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026

⏰ 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Connect with the cultural heritage of Maunawila through hands-on stewardship of this wahi kūpuna. Learn about the history of this special place while contributing to its ongoing care.

Hoʻomoe wai kahi ke kaoʻo.
(Let all travel together like water flowing in one direction.)

E hele mai! Whether you’re a first-time volunteer or a familiar face, we welcome you to join us!

🔗 REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER THROUGH THE LINK IN OUR BIO!

10/10/2026

He mahalo nui iā kākou! 💚

Our heartfelt mahalo to everyone who gathered at Lanikūhonua for Mālama ʻĀina Kākou 2026 to honor Dr. Hallett “Hal” Hammatt as our Kahu o ka ʻĀina recipient. The aloha and generosity you shared will carry forward through Hawaiʻi Land Trust’s work to protect and steward the lands that sustain Hawaiʻi.

🌿 Event and table sponsors:
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
ʻĀina Archaeology
ALTRES
Hawaiian Strategy Studio
First Hawaiian Bank
Hawaii Life
Hawaiian Airlines
Kamehameha Schools
Kualoa Ranch
ʻOhana Kūpono Consulting Inc.
Waimea Valley / Hiʻipaka LLC
Ga***rd & Carol Wilcox
McD & Sandy Philpotts

Mahalo for your generous support and commitment to ʻāina.

🍽️ Food partners:
Kapa Hale
Lady Elaine
Little Plum
Roy's Restaurants Hawaii
The Pig and the Lady
🍦HAWAII’S SOFT SERVE SPOT

Mahalo for sharing your talents and feeding our community.

🥂 Beverage partners:
HIBRED
Langtry Farms
Maui Brewing Co.

Mahalo for helping us raise a glass to ʻāina.

🎶 Anthony Pfluke and Kala'e Camarillo—mahalo for filling the evening with mele.

🎤 Emcee Mileka Lincoln—mahalo for guiding this special gathering with aloha.

To our guests, volunteers, and everyone who contributed: your generosity supports the protection and stewardship of Hawaiʻi’s lands and the relationships that sustain them.

10/09/2026

10/07/2026

Come along with Hawaiʻi Land Trust’s Tiffany Morgan as she takes us to Lepeuli, along the rugged northeastern coast of Kauaʻi. Here, HILT stewards a 10-acre coastal portion of the ahupuaʻa in partnership with Koʻolau Ranch and the Chan Zuckerberg family—caring for native habitat, supporting wildlife, honoring cultural history and practices, and creating opportunities for community to build meaningful relationships with ʻāina.

For Tiffany, stewardship is grounded in learning from place, building pilina, and understanding our responsibility to care for the environments and communities that care for us.

🌿 Want to mālama Lepeuli alongside Tiffany and the HILT team? Volunteer workdays are held on the third Wednesday of each month.

10/05/2026

E ko Hilo, he aha ana kāu i kēia p**e no ka hoʻomaha hāʻulelau? ( , what are you doing for this week?)

and spend a morning of Fall Break connecting with Hilo’s lowland wet forest at a special Kūkūau ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Mālama ʻĀina Day!

We invite Hilo’s DOE students ages 16+, families, DOE faculty, and the general community to join this ʻāina-based educational initiative. Use ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi as a foundational lens to explore native forest ecology, watershed protection, and seasonal cycles while caring for Kūkūau Community Forest.

All levels of speakers are welcome—from those just beginning to those who ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i every day.

📍 Kūkūau Community Forest, Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island
📅 Wednesday, October 7, 2026
🕗 8:00 am–12:00 pm

E hele mai! Learn alongside your community, deepen your connection with Kūkūau, and put down the mobile devices. Register to volunteer through the link in bio.

09/30/2026

Mahalo to Honolulu City Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina for organizing the Land Conservation Workshop at Windward Community College’s Hale ʻĀkoakoa and bringing us together to learn about opportunities to protect the lands that sustain Hawaiʻi.

We are grateful to have HILT President and CEO join an esteemed panel at Land Conservation Workshop. Mahalo to each speaker for sharing their knowledge and helping our communities understand the programs, funding, and partnerships available for land conservation:

🌿 Van Matsushige — Clean Water and Natural Lands Program, Department of Housing and Land Management, City and County of Honolulu City and County of Honolulu

🌿 Kim Falinski — Legacy Land Conservation Program, Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaiʻi Hawai’i Dept Land Natural Resources - DLNR

🌿 Erica Rohr — Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program, U.S. Department of War deptofwar

🌿 Meredith Speicher — National Park Service National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Department of the Interior, presenting on the Land and Water Conservation Fund Program

🌿 Lea Hong — Trust for Public Land TPL Hawaii

🌿 Lori Walker — Office of Hawaiian Affairs Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Mahalo to everyone who shares in our commitment to protect, steward, and cultivate reciprocal relationships between people and ʻāina that sustain Hawaiʻi.

09/30/2026

E hui pū kākou at Kūkūau Community Forest for a morning in the ʻāina, learning, and reconnecting with Hilo’s lowland wet forest through an ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi lens.

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026
⏰ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
📍 Kūkūau Community Forest | Hilo, Hawaiʻi

All levels of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi speakers are welcome. Participants must be 16 years or older.

Come huli ka lima i lalo with Hawaiʻi Land Trust and help care for the ʻāina that sustains our communities.

Register to volunteer through the link in our bio.

09/26/2026

🌿 “He aliʻi ka ʻāina; he kauwā ke kanaka.” 🌿
The land is chief; people are its servants.

This timeless ʻōlelo noʻeau reminds us that our relationship with ʻāina is one of humility, responsibility, and stewardship.

Join Hawaiʻi Land Trust for the Land Conservation Workshop on Tuesday, September 29, and learn how nonprofit organizations, community groups, and landowners can partner with local, state, and federal conservation programs to protect Hawaiʻi’s lands for agriculture, cultural stewardship, and future generations.

📅 Tuesday, September 29, 2026
🕙 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
📍 Windward Community College – Hale ʻĀkoakoa
45-720 Keaʻahala Rd., Kāneʻohe

Mahalo to Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina and our partners from the City & County of Honolulu, the State Legacy Land Conservation Program, the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Defense, Trust for Public Land, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and others for bringing this important workshop to our community.

📩 RSVP:
[email protected]

09/23/2026

Mahalo to everyone who joined us for the I Mau Ke Aloha Golf Tournament 2026 at Mākena Golf & Beach Club!

It was a beautiful day of kolepa on Maui. Proceeds from the tournament supported Hawaiʻi Land Trust and Lahaina Community Land Trust, helping preserve the lands that sustain Hawaiʻi and its people.

Thank you to Mākena Golf & Beach Club for hosting us. We also extend our deepest to the partners who made this gathering possible:

Mary Charles & Tom Kiely, with special appreciation for their generous support through two sponsorships
Apo, Reck & Kusachi Attorneys at Law
Diane Ono & Friends
Dowling Company Inc
Brady Spangler of Guaranteed Rate Mortgage
Goodfellow Bros.
Maui Brewing Co.
Fairmont Kea Lani
Hapa Drink Company

📸: Makena Golf & Beach Club Mākena’s Community Engagement

09/23/2026

⚠️ SEVERE WEATHER CLOSURE | HAWAIʻI ISLAND

In anticipation of severe weather, Hawaiʻi Land Trust is temporarily closing Kūkūau Community Forest in Hilo and Māhukona Cultural & Ecological Refuge in Kohala for the safety of our community, staff and ʻāina.

According to the latest update from the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA), confidence is increasing that a disturbance southeast of Hawaiʻi could develop into a tropical cyclone in the coming days, bringing heavy rainfall and possible high winds to Hawaiʻi Island as early as Wednesday afternoon. HIEMA is urging Hawaiʻi Island residents to prepare for flash flooding and hazardous winds, with particular caution in areas previously impacted by storms where the landscape remains fragile.

Kūkūau Community Forest and Māhukona Cultural & Ecological Refuge will remain closed until conditions improve and it is safe to reopen.

Please take this time to prepare your ʻohana and property, avoid unnecessary travel in hazardous conditions, and continue to monitor official weather and emergency updates.

Mālama pono e Moku O Keawe.