Kaʻū News Briefs April 24, 2024

Science and nature taught in the Hawaiian language are the focus of new teaching tools developed
by University of Hawai‘i Hale Kuamo‘o Hawaiian Language Center and Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance.
Photo from Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance

NEW SCIENCE TEACHING TOOLS IN HAWAIIAN have been developed by the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance in partnership with the Hale Kuamoʻo Hawaiian Language Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. They are designed for Hawaiian language medium students and teachers in grades 6-12. The six curriculum units focus on environmental stewardship in Hawaiʻi, in particular information including cultural perspectives on native species and ecosystems initially shared at the 2022 Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference. "The units are presented solely in the Hawaiian language, providing an important pathway to meaningfully support Hawaiian language medium learners and instructors as we collectively advance the ways we care for our island home," says the statement from the producers, who also provided their announcement in Hawaiian:

    Hauʻoli mākou ʻo ka Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance me ko mākou pakanā hoʻomohala ʻo ka Hale Kuamoʻo e kaʻana aku i mau ʻōpaʻa haʻawina hou no ka ʻEpekema ma nā Papa 6-12. Ua hoʻomohala ʻia ua mau ʻōpaʻa nei ma o ka ʻike kuʻuna Hawaiʻi a kia hoʻi ma nā kumuhana kūikawā o ka hoʻomaluō. He mau kumuwaiwai manuahi kēia no ke kumu a me nā haumāna ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi e ʻimi ana i ʻikepili hou no loko a waho o ka lumi papa. No ka hoʻohana ʻana i kēia mau kumuwaiwai manuahi, e kele aku i nā loulou ma lalo iho nei. E ola a mau loa aku ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka hoʻomaluō.
    The units are available via the links below and can also be accessed online at http://hawaiiconservation.org/hooulu_maluo, They are titled:

    Kāhuli Hou i ke Ao: Endemic Land Snail Conservation
    ʻO Nāpuʻu, He ʻĀina Aloha: Place-Based ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Research for Perspective on Everchanging ʻĀina;
    Ka Noʻeau Kilo Kau a Kau: Exploring the Huli ʻIa Process for Deepened Relationship to ʻĀina and Kai;
    E ʻAi i Kekahi, E Kāpī i Kekahi: Limu Conservation;
    ʻĀina Momona: Soil Science as a Pathway to ʻĀina Momona;
     I Ola ka ʻĀina, I Ola ke Konohiki: Conservation Insights from Konohiki Traditions.

    The announcement says, "Na wai hoʻi ka ʻole o ke akamai, he alahele i maʻa i ka hele ʻia e oʻu mau mākua. Centuries ago, Kamehameha II Liholiho described wisdom as a pathway well-traversed by our

predecessors. Centuries later, this timeless ʻōlelo noʻeau continues to ring true. ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian language, is an official language of the state of Hawaiʻi and is increasingly recognized as vital in shaping how we experience, understand, and care for Hawaiʻi's unique natural environment. While important progress has been made to revitalize ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi across the pae ʻāina, there remains a need to engage learners of different age groups across disciplines including the natural sciences."
   This curriculum project is the latest in a series of efforts by the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance focused on culturally-grounded conservation efforts. For more information, visit https://www.hawaiiconservation.org/our-approach/culturally-grounded-conservation/
    Individuals involved in informing, developing, reviewing, refining, and sharing these resources include: K. Irwin, K. Ahuna, P. Iaea, M. Kobashigawa, ʻI. Nāhuewai, K. Stoleson, U. Chong, M. Heimuli, K. Poepoe, P. Ravey, J. Silva, D. Sischo, A. Anderson, K. Davis, S.ʻO. Gon, K. Kong, K. Sagum, K. Seto, K. Tanaka, K. Winter, P. Pascua, N. Kurashima, N. Whitehead and the Kamehameha Schools ʻĀina Pauahi Group.

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THE COUNTY WILL BE ABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY MANAGE VACATION RENTAL PERMITTING with passage of a law at the Hawai‘i Legislature that could come as soon as next week. The measure is designed to give each county the power to ban or permit vacation rentals.  

    On this island, there are neighborhoods where vacation rentals have displaced many long term rentals. In some, affordable short term accommodations for visiting families and short term workers are in short supply. Under the new law, which has passed the Senate and House conference committee, each county would determine its own restrictions and places to restrict vacation rentals.

Gov. Josh Green announces his support for a new law to allow counties to phase out vacation rentals. Photo from the Governor

   Gov. Josh Green announced on Tuesday, as he stood before a group of Maui Strong supporters who want vacation rentals turned into longterm housing to alleviate the housing shortage after the Lahanai fire, that he would sign the bill. The Governor posted on his facebook: "It’s time we take a stand to house our people by phasing out illegal short term rentals.

"Today, alongside Lahaina Strong, Hawai‘i’s Hoteliers and Hotel Labor Unions, we united in support of counties’ authority to phase out Short Term Rentals (STRs). We know the majority of STRs in Hawai‘i are illegal, owned by non-residents, and contribute to skyrocketing housing costs.
"We support Senate Bill 2919 to empower countiesto regulate STRs and potentially phase them out. Mahalo to Lahaina Strong and the strong community and industry support of our efforts to house our people."

   

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. See 7,500 copies the mail and on stands.