Claim Your Food Independence, Choose Locally Grown!
This July 4th, we’re asking our nation’s first families not only to lead by example but to eat by example by sourcing their holiday meals as locally, deliciously, and sustainably as possible.
Send a message to Governor Lingle and her counterparts to support our local farmers! The petition reads: “As residents of your states and by our signatures below, we pledge to join you in this celebration of edible independence by eating healthy and delicious foods from our own local farms, gardens and communities.“
Did you know that about 85 percent of Hawai’i's food comes from outside sources? As with energy, we are sending our hard-earned cash out of state and hoping that those supply lines don’t close.
Use your voice and buying power! As a consumer, you vote how supermarkets should stock their shelves every time you purchase a product. By choosing foods that are locally grown, you are casting a vote of support for local farmers, families, the economy, and the environment. Be a conscious consumer by choosing foods that support local systems.
Check your local farmer’s market to see what’s ripe in your neighborhood. Visit ShareYourTable.com or EdibleHawaiianIslands.com for a farm or market near you.
Once you’ve got your farm fresh ingredients, try recipes from ShareYourTable.com/recipes and The Hawai’i Farmer’s Market Cookbook.
Some Friendly Tips to Zero Waste your July 4th Celebrations:
Choose locally grown food
Choose food & supplies with less packaging
Fill containers with water rather than buying bottled water
Choose reusable dinnerware, cups, and linens
For large gatherings, choose biodegradable plates, cutlery, cups, & napkins
Compost raw food scraps and biodegradable ware
Remember to leave the area you celebrated cleaner than you found it!
Mahalo for Your Support!
With the support of over 2000 members and 505 volunteers, we were able to reach over 20,000 Hawai’i students and countless families during the last year. Here are just a few numbers from our school and community programs:
Environmental Education Field Trip Assistance: 5,904 students at 56 schools participated in field trips supported by Kokua. Field trip sites include Hoa ‘Aina O Makaha, Hawai’i Nature Center Iao Valley, Mokupapapa Discovery Center in Hilo, and many others.
Environmental Education Mini-Grants: 2,470 students and 58 teachers at 15 schools have benefited from assistance for environmental education supplies, curricula, and workshops.
‘AINA In Schools: 10 elementary schools representing 4,700 students participate in ‘AINA IS programs. This year 800 students participated in garden lessons, while 600 took part in nutrition lessons. 116 educators from over 60 public and private schools in Hawai’i attended school garden workshops presented by ‘AINA IS. Get more updates by downloading our ‘AINA IS newsletters.
3R’s Program: 13,000 students at 30 participating schools reduced, reused, and recycled on campus. Several of these schools have started composting and vermicomposting food and green waste on campus. In Fall 2008, 6,300 students saw “The Trash Heap,“ a play co-produced by Kokua and the Department of Health.
Kokua Earth Action Projects: Over 800 students from 14 schools across the state developed KEAP environmental service learning projects. School gardens, energy conservation, and waste reduction were some of the issues students addressed with their projects.
Plastic Free Haleiwa: 52 businesses have pledged to minimize their use of single-use plastic such as plastic bags and styrofoam containers. Several other communities have been inspired to start similar programs.
Simplify the Holidays: Nearly 900 KHF members and friends pledged to give back to their environment and communities during the 2008 holiday season.
We’re excited to be moving into another year of supporting environmental education in Hawai’i. In the next few months we’ll be announcing a few of our newest initiatives as well as plans for our current programs. To help us, please become a member (or renew!), make a donation, or find out how you can volunteer for Kokua.
Come Visit Our Booth at These July Community Events:
Hale’iwa Farmers’ Market
While at the market, visit us at the Plastic Free Hale’iwa booth
Sunday, July 12, 9 am to 1 pm
Don’t forget to bring your reusable bags and water bottles!
Information about the Hale’iwa Farmers’ Market
Hawai’i State Farm Fair at Bishop Museum
We’ll see you at our ‘AINA In Schools booth!
Saturday, July 18, 9 am to 8 pm; Sunday, July 19, 9 am to 5 pm
$5 Adults, $3 children 4-12 years of age
Free admission for Hawai’i Farm Bureau and Bishop Museum Members
Admission includes entry into all museum attractions!
Click here for more info.
Hale’iwa Arts Festival
Check us out in the community tent! Bring your reusable water bottle—we’ll have a water station there for refills.
Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19 at Hale’iwa Beach Park
Green Market in Downtown Honolulu
We’ll be sharing a tent with Slow Food O’ahu Chapter and will have news about the “Time for Lunch” campaign.
Friday July 24, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at Fort Street Mall
July Highlights
GreenFleet Hawai’i Launches July 1st
GreenFleet Hawai’i wants to encourage, empower and reward individuals who make informed, charitable and healthy choices for themselves that in turn create a positive impact on the environment and community. Learn more at GreenFleetHawaii.com
Artspree
Saturday, July 11, 10 am – 4 pm
The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu
The 16th annual ArtSpree will be all-day event featuring opportunities for visitors to interact with contemporary art through hands-on activities, demonstrations, storytelling, dance, and music performances.
Visit www.tcmhi.org for more info.
‘AINA In Schools School Garden Basics Teacher Trainings
During the summer of 2009, Kokua and The Green House will host workshops for teachers and take you through the basics of gardening and show you how to get one started at your school. They’ll also offer overviews of the ‘AINA In Schools gardening curriculum.
Saturday, July 18; Wednesday, July 22; Saturday, August 15
Get details here.
Check out our ‘AINA In Schools Summer Newsletter here.
Hawai’i Conservation Week
July 26-August 1, Multiple Sites
In addition to it’s annual conference, the Hawai’i Conservation Alliance has several activities planned for Conservation Week. Many are free and open to the public. Check their calendar of events.
Earthdance Film Festival
Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival for Families
UH Mānoa Art Auditorium, Free
Sunday, July 26 at 3 pm (for families)
Saturday, August 1 at 7 pm (for grown-ups)
Click here for more info.
Happy Summer!
As the school year comes to an end, please remember to sort through your supplies to see if any can be reused next year. Before you head for the trash, check which supplies can be used at home, recycled, or donated. Melt your old and broken crayons in to fun new shapes by using a candy mold and a solar oven!
June is Outdoors Month, get out and play! Spend at least one hour a day outside. Here are some fun ideas for friends and families: Make a list of things to look for on a hike, park, or your own backyard then find them on a Nature Scavenger Hunt, Go to the farmer’s market and have a picnic, Bike to the beach find objects to sort. Get more ideas at GreenHour.org
Plastic Free Making Strides!
Mahalo for your continued support of the Plastic Free Hale’iwa Coalition! If you haven’t already, please visit our Plastic Free Commitment page and make your commitments to go plastic free today!
Hale’iwa residents and visitors can also make commitments by visiting select Plastic Free Hale’iwa Coalition businesses and filling out a commitment card. Several coalition stores already have PFH Commitment cards and boxes including Deep Ecology, Growing Keiki, Global Creations, Guava Shop and Kai Ku Hale. For a complete list of our Coalition businesses please click here.
All commitments will be tracked online and our collective impact will be measured. Check back soon to see how you can post our Plastic Free widget on your webpage or Facebook profile. Kokua Hawai’i Foundation also has a Plastic Free Hale’iwa Facebook page and Kanu group, so stay in touch.
Come visit us at our Plastic Free Haleiwa booth at these upcoming Events:
Hale’iwa Farmer’s Market:June 7, July12, August: 9 & 30
Hale’iwa Arts Festival:July 18, 19 at Hale’iwa Beach Park
If you have any ideas, questions or would like to host an outreach event, please contact us at
.
And don’t forget to sign up for our Plastic Free mailing list.
Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s KEIKI KOKUA DAY Celebrates the Students
A Classroom Garden, Rain Barrels, Banning Styrofoam Lunch Trays, Recycled Fashion and more! These projects are just a few of the creative environmental Kokua Earth Action Projects that were recognized at this year’s Keiki Kokua Day.
Elementary school groups from around the island submitted Kokua Earth Action Project (KEAP) proposals in response to the Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s call for positive action. Kokua Earth Action Projects are student-led environmental service learning initiatives aimed at taking care of our islands and encouraging long-lasting change in local classrooms, schools and communities.
photo credits (L-R): Kizzy O’Neal, K. Johnson, Red Heart Photo
Students have been working for months on these projects and Kokua Hawai’i Foundation honored them with a day of fun and celebration. Over 800 students, parents and teachers from 13 school groups spent the morning at the Polynesian Cultural Center participating in hands-on environmental activities, viewing slideshows of each other’s Kokua projects, tasting local foods and healthy snacks, and visiting interactive booths.
The event culminated with a private concert for the students by Kokua Hawai’i Foundation co- founder Jack Johnson. Johnson was joined on stage by fellow Kokua board member, Kawika Kahiapo, and musical friends Zach Gill and the Banana Slug String Band.
photo credits: Kizzy ONeal (L), Red Heart Photo, (R)
We would like to send out a big mahalo to our Presenting Partners: Fruitabu, HECO, Polynesian Cultural Center, SIGG and Whole Foods Market, for helping to make this event a great success.
Hawaii educators interested in participating in the Keiki Kokua Day next year can visit About KEAP to learn more about the Kokua Earth Action Projects for the 2009-2010 school year.
photo credit: Red Heart Photo
Take another Plastic Free step and ‘Break the Bottled Water Habit’
The New American Dream website is challenging us to ‘Break the Bottled Water Habit’ and encourage our work places, family, and friends to use reusables. Bottled Water comes in plastic bottles that are #1 and #2. These are meant for single-use only. 
86% of all bottles of water do not get recycled! Not to mention the amount of energy it takes to create them, ship them, store them, and then recycle or dispose of them. Did you know it takes 3 liters of water to create a 1 liter bottle of water? Now that seems very wasteful when most of us have excellent tap water at home, over 90% of the water systems in America are above the EPA standards.
Please join the Plastic Free Hale’iwa group effort by taking the pledge and encouraging your friends and family to do the same.
To take the pledge as a part of the Plastic Free Hale’iwa group, click here .