#hannah bernard

Earthjustice officials said they are asking to extend the deadline to Aug. 14 for public comment on Maui County’s proposal to reduce the amount of treated sewage entering the ocean from injection wells at the Lahaina Wastewater Treatment Plant due to the Lahaina wildfire.

Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund co-founder Hannah Bernard is happy with the successes of her groups on Maui and Hawaiʻi islands, including the scores of volunteers who help to clean up marine debris. The nonprofit educational organization is part of a broad movement to protect endangered species, such as the Hawksbill and green sea turtle, and to take measures to maintain clean coastal waters. Maui Now writer Gary Kubota talks to Bernard about Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund’s successes and future challenges in this People of Maui series.

The Hawai‘i Wildlife Discovery Center has more than 30 exhibits about Hawaiʻi’s undersea life, whaling era, cultural values, and conservation work with contributions from several partners, including the nonprofit Will Smith Foundation that sponsored the Immersive Experience, one of the highlights of the Discovery Center. The six-minute video is screened on three walls with only the sounds from ocean animals and waves rushing to shore.

Organizations are working to repair or replace fencing along the shoreline that is essential to ensure that the endangered turtles do not wander into traffic on the busy North Kīhei Road as they search for a safe place to lay their eggs.

Akakū will be hosting its 6th Maui Walk of Heroes this coming Saturday. 

A free presentation titled, “Thinking Like an Island: How to Survive the Plastic Pollution Pandemic,” will be offered by presenter Hannah Bernard.

The talk entitled, “Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund’s Sea Turtle Conservation Expedition to Micronesia,” will be led by Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund president and co-founder Hannah Bernard.

The presentation will focus on sustainable fish farming practices in the lo`i (taro patch), and a collaborative project that aims to involve visitors and residents in traditional taro and fish farming.

Maui community groups, represented by Earthjustice, plan to sue the County of Maui claiming ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act at the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility.