HONOLULU (HI Now) - Kupu empowers future generations to create a more sustainable Hawai’i, providing hands-on training and national service programs that educate and mentor youth to become stewards of culture and environment. As the first step of Maui disaster response, Kupu, in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College (UHMC) Culinary Arts Program, is mobilizing up to 30 UHMC culinary program students in paid positions that will prepare meals for community members impacted by the disaster. As part of this relief effort, UHMC culinary students will prepare 1,800-2,500 meals daily to feed Maui residents who have transitioned from emergency shelters to hotels and other temporary housing situations.
Another recent development that will benefit Maui and the state as a whole: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Urban and Community Forestry Program has just awarded $20 million to Kupu to expand tree canopy, combat extreme heat, and improve access to green space in communities throughout the state over the next five years. More than $42 million in federal grants are being awarded to nine Hawaiʻi organizations—with the largest award going to Kupu— for its MALU (Meaningful Arboriculture to Limit Vulnerability in Urban and Community areas) proposal.
One such effort toward stewarding green space is happening now: Kupu’s Nā Manu ʻElele Steward Program is currently accepting applications and will employ 24 individuals to steward sensitive natural and cultural areas across the Hawaiian Islands. Sites will include trails, hunting areas, forest reserves, community-based subsistence fishing areas, and other recreational lands overseen by DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife and Division of Aquatic Resources. This initiative expands on the success of the Pololū Trail Stewards program, which launched in 2021 as a pilot project in collaboration with the lineal descendent community of Pololū, DLNR’s Nā Ala Hele Trail and Access Program and Kupu.
Trails/Spaces that will have Nā Manu ʻElele stewards:
- Pololū (Hawaiʻi)
- Miloli’i (Hawaiʻi)
- Waiheʻe Ridge Trail (Maui)
- Kāneʻohe Bay (Oʻahu)
- Hono O Nā Pali (Kauaʻi)
Applications are open NOW! Deadline: October 27, 2023
Apply: www.kupuhawaii.org/na-manu-elele/
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