Looking to ahupua‘a for lessons in sustainability

Botanist Kawika Winter presents five major lessons of the ahupua‘a system that can be applied to contemporary sustainability issues in Hawai‘i and the world as a whole in a Puana Ka ‘Ike (Imparting Knowledge) lecture in Kona and an Eia Hawai‘i presentation in Hilo.

Winter will discuss “Ahupua‘a Restoration: Melding Science and Culture to Produce Models of Sustainability” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 30, at the Keauhou Beach Resort Kahalu‘u III in Kona and in Hilo from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, May 3, at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo UCB 127.

Winter is the director of Kauai’s Limahuli Garden and Preserve (a branch of the National Tropical Botanical Garden) where he is also in charge of the longstanding Ha‘ena Ahupua‘a Project. Goals of the project are to restore the culture, the ecology and the community of Ha‘ena back to a collective state of health.

For more information on Winter’s presentations, contact Natalie Deisroth at 808-322-0088, ext. 100, or e-mail info@kohalacenter.org. For lecture schedules and webcasts of previous lectures, visit http://kohalacenter.org/puanakaike/about.html and www.keauhouresort.com/learn-puanakaike.html.

The Puana Ka ‘Ike and Eia Hawai‘i lecture series are presented in partnership with Kamehameha Investment Corporation/Kamehameha Schools, The Kohala Center, Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Keauhou Beach Resort, and Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.