Big Mahalo to Kokua Festival Attendees, Volunteers, Performers and Supporters!
photo: Brian Bielman
The 2008 Kokua Festival was a huge success. Everyone enjoyed the sensational music and activities. The Kokua Booth Village was a buzz with people learning and sharing the latest ideas in how to be green. We are especially excited about the interest and participation our attendees and fans took in all our greening measures, especially with the Earthday Resolutions and Kokua Festival Passports. Fans that weren’t able to be inside the venue, still had the opportunity to hear the music from the surrounding park and make their Earthday Resolutions as well. Keep an eye on the Kokua Hawaii Foundation website to gage the impact we made together.
Mahalo nui loa for another amazing year!
2008 Kokua Festival Merchandise
Missed it at the show? The Eco-Friendly 2008 Kokua Festival Merchandise will be available for sale via the Kokua Hawaii Foundation online store starting Monday, April 28th.
MAKE YOUR EARTH DAY RESOLUTION TODAY
Start a tradition of committing to reduce your eco-footprint every Earth Day and throughout the year. Our partners at Kanu Hawai’i will help us record Earth Day Resolutions year-round here on our website and at the Kokua Festival to measure the positive impacts we make together.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND:
The Kokua Hawai’i Foundation and Plastic Free Hale’iwa Coalition are excited to host a second screening of the film Message in the Waves. The BBC film looks at the impact of ocean plastics in Hawai’i and what we can all do to help. We will have a short and enlightening discussion following the film. Participants can join in the Plastic Free Hale’iwa Coalition, learn how to support a plastic free lifestyle and receive a complimentary reusable tote bag.
The event will be held in Waimea Valley on O’ahu’s North Shore. Come early for dinner--Waimea Falls Grill will be offering two dinner specials as well as their regular menu.
What: Message in the Waves Film and Discussion
When: Friday, April 4, 2008. Come early for dinner at 6:30; screening to follow at 7:15.
Where: Waimea Valley, O’ahu
Cost: Film is Free, but donations are appreciated.
Dinner Specials: Tofu Curry Wrap $6; North Shore Farmer Salad Wrap $5
Also this weekend: FRIENDS OF THE EARTH FILM SERIES & LOCALLY GROWN DISCUSSION
Sunday, April 6 at 3 PM at University of Hawai’i Manoa’s Spalding Auditorium
Film: The Real Low-Calorie Diet
Click here for more details on this film.
A panel discussion on locally grown produce follows the screening with Betty Gearen of The Green House.
KEEP THE NEWS COMIN’!
Don’t Miss Out on Future News & Events…
We are updating our Kokua Hawai’i Foundation and Kokua Festival mailing lists. You recently received an e-mail from us with <Confirm Your Subscription> in the subject heading.
Everybody who has ever signed up for a Kokua mailing list (members and non-members alike) will all need to re-opt in to the new mailing list system. This will ensure that your email address is current and can be identified by the mailing list server.
If you haven’t opted–in our new system through the previous e-mails, we will be sending another one on Thursday, April 3, 2008. Please check for the message and don’t miss out on the opportunity to continue receiving our e-newsletters and e–blasts.
Attention Teachers!
Environmental Education Mini-Grants Available!
Does your classroom need a worm bin? Would you like a presentation on eco-footprints from The Green House. Kokua has started a mini-grant program to help Hawai’i public school teachers pay for supplies and trainings for their environmental education initiatives! Applications for this school year are available here.
Mahalo Beach Cleaners!
Participants at Malaekahana
on the North Shore.
Participants at Sand Island
on the South Shore.
The Kokua Festival STAR 101.9 Beach Clean ups were a huge success. We had 460 participants at the Sand Island event on the South Shore and 400 participants at the Malaekahana event on the North Shore. Wow! Thanks to all the amazing people who decided to come down and make a difference on two of Oahu’s beaches, a tremendous amount of trash was collected.
Mahalo nui loa to STAR 101.9, Surfrider, and the BYUH Ocean Appreciation Club for all your help.
The 2008 Kokua Festival is fast approaching!
We are sharing the following important dates and information so that you don’t miss out on purchasing your Kokua Festival tickets.
- February 4th - Kokua Festival lineup and show times will be announced!
- February 8th - Kokua Hawai’i Foundation Members Pre-sale. (Only members who have joined by Weds., Feb 6th at 10am HI time, noon PST, 3pm EST will be eligible for this pre-sale. There are a limited number of tickets available. We cannot guarantee that all members will be able to purchase tickets.)
- February 9th - Kokua Festival & STAR 101.9 Beach Clean-Ups
- February 10th & 11th – STAR 101.9 Beach Clean-Up Pre-Sale
http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/siksvl
- FEBRUARY 16TH - General Kokua Festival Ticket Sale
Please visit the kokuafestival.com starting February 4th for more information
Plastic Free Haleiwa Coalition
The Kokua Hawai’i Foundation is excited to be partnering with several Haleiwa residents on a new community project. 2008 will see the launch of Plastic Free Haleiwa, a coalition of community members and business owners that strives to educate stores, restaurants and patrons of Haleiwa Town on the environmental and health benefits of going plastic free in order to minimize the consumption and pollution of plastics in our islands.
Our goal is to minimize the use of single use plastic items such as plastic bags, food take-out containers (including Styrofoam), plastic utensils, and water bottles. There are several cost effective alternatives to single-use plastics including reusable bags and bottles, compostable bags and foodwares.
Let’s make Haleiwa Town a successful example of how to go Plastic Free. By working together we can make a difference for our neighborhood, island and world.
LINK to Honolulu Weekly’s article “Hale’iwa bags the plastic (hopefully)”
CLICK HERE for more information on Plastic Free Haleiwa. To join us in this effort, please email us.
Stop Stryrofoam!
Learn about and support State legislation to ban Styrofoam food service containers in Hawai’i. Go to stopstyrofoamhawaii.org. (Graphic from Stop Styrofoam Hawaii)
Honolulu City Council’s Sustainability Bills
City Council members Donovan Dela Cruz and Ann Kobayashi have introduced a package of sustainability bills and resolutions that would make O'ahu a much more environmentally friendly place to live. The bills and resolutions address everything from LED street lights to local community gardens. One of the proposed bills, Bill 84, addresses the plastic bag issue on O'ahu and would potentially ban the distribution of plastic bags by all O'ahu stores and business within the next five years. Unfortunately, the committees have passed on hearing and voting on these bills. This means without public support these bills will never be heard and the City Council will never vote on them.Kokua Hawai'i Foundation urges youto call, email, fax and/or write the Mayor, City Council, and Council members in support of these sustainability bills and resolutions (#82 through 91). These bills need public support to pass. Please take a moment to let your voice be heard. Thank you for your kokua.
FOR A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH BILL CLICK HERE.
To see a complete list of the bills, go to
this website and click on “Bills Status/Text 2007,� then go
to bills 82 through 91.
CONTACT INFO FOR MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL:
By Mail: Honolulu Hale, 530 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
Mayor’s Office tel: 523-4141, fax: 527-5552
City Council Office tel: 547-7010, fax: 523-4220
Todd Apo: 547-7001,
Donovan Dela Cruz: 547-7002,
Barbara Marshall: 547-7003,
Charles Djou: 547-7004,
Ann Kobayashi: 547-7005,
Rod Tam: 547-7006,
Romy Cachola: 547-7007,
Gary Okino: 547-7008,
Nestor Garcia: 547-7009,
Renew Your Membership or Become a Member
January marks the one-year anniversary of our membership program. If you became a member last January, please take time now to renew your KHF membership. If you are only a subscriber to our e-newsletter, we invite your to become a KHF member. To learn about member benefits, to renew or confirm your member status or to join now please click here.Friends of the Earth Film Series, Sun., 3/2 at 3 pm
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
When Faith Morgan and Pat Murphy took a trip to Cuba through Global Exchange in August, 2003 to study peak oil production, they learned that Cuba underwent the loss of over half of its oil imports after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990...and survived. They wanted to see for themselves how Cuba had done this. They found what Cubans call “The Special Period” astounding and Cuban’s responses very moving. Both wanted to learn more about Cuba’s transition from large farms or plantations and reliance on fossil-fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers, to small organic farms and urban gardens. Cuba under went a transition from a highly industrial society to a sustainable one--and became, for them, a living example of how a country can successfully traverse what we all will have to deal with sooner or later. Several Cubans expressed the belief that living on an island, with its natural boundaries, breeds awareness that there are limits to natural resources.
Peter Rosegg, spokesman for HECO, and Betty Gearen of the Green House, will answer questions about energy sustainability in Hawaii after the screening
$5 general
Further info: 223-0130
Directions to Spalding Auditorium:
Proceed north on University Avenue two stoplights past Dole St. (Maile Way). Make a right onto the campus. 400 yards past the guard gate, park in the lot on the right at the corner of Maile Way and Farrington Rd. Walk through passage way to the front of the building. Auditorium is on the first floor.
Friends of the Earth Film Series begins Sunday, January 6th
The University of Hawai’i Cinema Series, in cooperation with the Kokua Hawai’i Foundation and Slow Food O’ahu, presents the Friends of the Earth Film Series on the first Sunday of each month from January to June. These films will cover all aspects of sustainable living in Hawai’i including ocean conservation, energy, architecture, and food production. Each film will be followed with Q&A sessions led by local experts in each field to discuss solutions to some of the problems facing Hawaii’s future. All films will be presented in the Spalding Auditorium at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Admission is $5 for the film and discussion. On campus parking is free on Sundays. For more information and future films click here or call Don Brown at 223-0130.
GMO IN HAWAI’I FORUM
Sunday, January 6 at 5 PM
Film: Islands at Risk
Come see the first film in the Friends of the Earth Film Series. This documentary film gives a comprehensive look at genetic engineering in Hawai’i and how local farmers and consumers are fighting to protect their food supply. 
Islands at Risk is an eye-opening look at genetic engineering in our own backyard and is a new production by Earth Justice Hawai’i. Paul Achitoff, Earth Justice Honolulu, Dr. Hector Valenzuela, vegetable extension specialist for UH Manoa, Dr. Lorrin Pang, Department of Health Officer Maui County, and Kimberly Clark, Organic CSA Oahu, have been invited to discuss GMO in Hawai’i and answer questions after the screening.