#Environmental Stewardship

The Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau has appointed Lori Joy Watanabe as director of strategy implementation, effective Oct. 1, 2025. In this newly established role, Watanabe will lead the execution of strategic initiatives that advance HVCB’s mission as a futures-based destination management organization, balancing visitor industry growth with community well-being, cultural integrity, and environmental stewardship.

Beginning Oct. 15, 2025, the Green Fee Advisory Council will be accepting ideas from the public for projects that could receive Green Fee funding to implement.

The University of Hawai‘i and US Army Garrison Hawai‘i (USAG-HI) have signed a new Intergovernmental Support Agreement to expand environmental stewardship services across Army lands on O‘ahu. The agreement was formalized Tuesday at the Schofield Barracks Seed Lab.

The first-ever Ka Pewa Youth Summit brought together nearly 240 students from high schools across Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi yesterday at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. The day-long summit was filled with hope, energy, and optimism as youth gathered to share their voices, engage in conversation with industry leaders, and imagine solutions for their future in Maui Nui.

The annual fledging of Newell’s shearwaters (ʻAʻo) and Hawaiian petrels (ʻUaʻu) on Kauaʻi starts Sept. 15 and runs through Dec. 15, marking a critical period for two of Hawaiʻi’s most threatened seabirds.

A newly constructed hālau waʻa, a traditional Hawaiian canoe house and learning space, was blessed on March 21 in Mākena.

Polynesian Voyaging Society prepares to mark 5 decades of legendary iconic traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe reviving the Hawaiian culture, advocating for the environment and renewing a connection to the Earth and ocean.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority has announced its upcoming community partnerships focused on natural resources, cultural initiatives, festivals and signature events. HTA is reinvesting nearly $3 million in partnerships with 105 community-based organizations, projects, programs and events taking place across Hawai‘i from January 1 to June 30, 2025.

The Hawai‘i Community Foundation today announced the launch of its Hawaiian Islands Environmental Finance Center to support long-term water sustainability and water infrastructure resilience across the state.

In its 2023 Annual Purpose & Impact Report, the World Surf League’s One Ocean Initiative celebrates its key environmental milestones, such as protecting and restoring 45,374 hectares of critical surfing ecosystems and planting 100,000 corals, while amplifying community involvement.

US Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02), along with House Natural Resources Ranking Member Raul Grijalva, and Rep. Ed Case sent a letter to Secretary Deb Haaland requesting that the Department of Interior provide support for the environmental recovery and cultural preservation efforts on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. 

The nonprofit Mālama Maui Nui is launching “Get the Drift and Bag It!” — an annual cleanup campaign hosted in partnership with the Ocean Conservancy that seeks to empower Maui residents in their environmental stewardship of the island community. This year’s event will take place Sept. 1-18.

Hawaiʻi’s Division of Aquatic Resources is holding a series of virtual meetings to compile public input on increasing the management of key herbivores to help protect and restore the stateʻs coral reefs on each island.

Mālama Maui Nui is hosting their annual “Get the Drift and Bag It!” cleanup campaign from Sept. 19 to Oct. 3 in partnership with the Ocean Conservancy. The cleanup campaign aims to empower and mobilize Maui residents in their environmental stewardship of the island community.