Volunteer in Hui o Ko’olaupoko

A watershed is an area of land, generally designated by a valley or a mountain, where all water from rain or springs flow into a common body of water.  Hawai’i’s watersheds converge into a stream and eventually lead out into the ocean, while some watersheds flow into a lake, wetland or estuary.  In a natural, undeveloped watershed, the water moves from mauka (the mountains) to makai (the ocean) and all along the way the water is being absorbed by plants and soils and slowly replenishes our groundwater aquifers.  Unfortunately in our current developed communities, water runs over pavement instead of following the natural water cycle. Human activities along with urbanization and other types of development have severely altered the natural landscapes and threaten our the health of our terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

In Hawai’i, a watershed is similar to the Hawaiian concept of an ahupua’a, which is a mauka to makai land division determined by streams and mountains as the boundaries.  Within each ahupua’a, Hawaiians practiced a sustainable and responsible  stewardship for the land which resulted in a desirable balance of the environmental, social and cultural resources within each ahupua’a.  HOK uses the ahupua’a structure to manage our current watershed management practices and target specific problems within Ko’olaupoko.

Watershed management involves the development of plans, programs and projects that work to restore, enhance and protect ecological, social and cultural well being within a watershed boundary.

​In Koʻolaupoko, ecosystem degradation and land-based pollution are the leading threats to ocean health and resources. These problems are most often the result of urban development, agriculture, habitat alterations such as streams lined with concrete, loss of wetlands, non-point source pollution, on-site sewage systems and introduction of non-indigenous flora and fauna all contributing to poor water quality and loss of ecosystem function. Significant pollution including sediments, nutrients, suspended solids, heavy metals and trash.

These pollutants have an impact such as:

• Degrading coral reef  & marine species health,

• Adding to beach litter and marine debris

• Human health and water born diseases

• Beach closures

• State and Federal water quality violations

We are an environmental non-profit that focuses on watershed management. We accomplish our mission in a variety of ways including active restoration, stakeholder participation, and community education. In an effort to get the community involved, our organization coordinates monthly opportunities for volunteering such as stream clean-ups, active restoration through erosion control and native plantings, and water quality monitoring. Participants are educated on the health of the watershed, sources of pollutants, and opportunities to take individual action to improve watershed health and ocean protection. We also conduct community outreach and education through thought-provoking presentations to community groups as well as natural resource management coordination with public agencies.