NIUMALU — Nonprofits Malama Hule‘ia and the Trust for Public Land have raised nearly $190,000 through its community fundraising campaign for the Alakoko “Menehune” Fishpond.
Locals, businesses and foundations have come together in support of the restoration of the 600-year-old fishpond that was recently purchased by TPL and conveyed to Malama Hule‘ia for continued cultural and community stewardship last November.
The raised funds will go toward education programs at Kaua‘i schools, developing a master plan and continued projects like repairing the fishpond wall.
At last week’s Lihu‘e Business Association meeting, members and volunteers of Malama Hule‘ia discussed the future of the fishpond.
Malama Hule‘ia Executive Director Sara Bowen discussed the continued efforts to eradicate invasive mangroves from the river, as well as continuing education programs by partnering up with Kamehameha Schools.
“We’re really excited about it because I think it’s going to really give students the ability to get a deep dive into ecosystem function, traditions of fishponds and the wildlife habitat,” Bowen said.
Restoration also includes clearing out sediment that has accumulated from the mangrove.
“One of the things I hope to do, and I hope to discuss this with the community in our master-planning process, is replacing alien-dominated landscape with dense, native vegetation that protects the soil and reduces that flow of sediment into the ponds,” Jan TenBruggencate, president of the Malama Hule‘ia board of directors, said.
Kim Coco Iwamoto was inspired by her own family history to support the nonprofits.
“My great-grandparents immigrated to Kaua‘i to work on the sugar plantations, to make a better life for themselves and their offspring,” Iwamoto said.
“Large, corporate, mono-cropping settlements have been used to politically marginalize and physically displace Indigenous peoples around the world,” she said.
”Even if the first generations of immigrant labor were not conscious of their role in these environmentally and culturally destructive practices, as a fourth-generation descendent-beneficiary I am aware of my responsibility to use this ‘inheritance’ as a reparation for what has been taken. I am humbled by the opportunity to support the community’s efforts to restore Alakoko Fishpond and the abundance it provided for generations before America’s occupation of Hawai‘i,” Iwamoto said.
Other donors include Captain Andy’s Sailing, Aloha Collection, AES, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative and Alexander &Baldwin, in addition to local families.
The purchase of the fishpond was made possible through a charitable donation from Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg through the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua‘i Community Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
“Gifts large and small are a testament to the many hands and hearts that have helped make this dream possible,” Bowen said. “We are so thrilled to be able to continue the amazing restoration work as well as collaborate with the community in developing a long-range vision for the fishpond.”
w Info: restorethefishpond.org
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Sabrina Bodon, editor, can be reached at 245-0441 or sbodon@thegardenisland.com.
It’s a lovely feel good project that defies earth science…. impo.
I will humbly disagree with removing the mangroves and using massive diesel powered equipment to bulldoze another tourist abet educational site….
Mangroves are here to stay and like it or not, held tons of water, silt and wildlife in place during tsunami and other flooding events.
I took a trip up river a few days ago and saw the mess and smelled the mud left adrift from this project…. putrid and repulsive.
Next is to examine who is pocketing the money…..