KaiAloha Supply’s recent boonie hat donation to Hui O Ka Wai Ola (HOKWO) spotlights their committed volunteers. Over the last 6 months, they’ve gathered reliable data towards cleaner ocean water from monitoring 39 beaches along Leeward Maui. They sample each site every 3 weeks and all observations are accessible to the general public and Hawaii Department of Health.
HOKWO’s volunteers received their newest team boonies during their Annual Volunteer Refresher. Here, their team goes over sampling and testing protocols to make sure all procedures are relevant and consistent.
Team photo of HOKWO volunteers in KaiAloha Supply x HOKWO collabed UPF50 rashguard tees and long sleeves + recent new addition: boonie hats! (Photo courtesy of Liz Yannell at Hui O Ka Wai Ola)
“Everyone was so grateful and excited. It was an awesome surprise for volunteers and something that is really meaningful to us! We are so grateful for all that you do to continue to support us,” senior team lead, Liz Yannell said.
Some of their team’s recent achievements:
- Recently published bi-annual report, breaking down the trends and findings in data as well as potential solutions.
- Liz Yannell hosted a webinar on Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s “Know Your Ocean" series highlighting some of their findings.
- HOKWO has partnered with Aqualink to add their dataset to Aqualink’s worldwide platform of monitoring coral reef health. Visit this page to see real time buoy data on temperature, wind, and wave conditions.
- HOKWO hosted a field trip for the UH Maui College’s Environmental Health class earlier this month (October 2024). They will also host an outreach table (alongside other marine science partners) for elementary students to celebrate the Hōkūle’a (Hawai’i’s prided Pacific voyaging canoe) docking up on Maui. Next month they will host a field trip for UH Maui College’s Marine Option Program class.
In the short term, they are gearing up for another storm season and their new Storm Trooper sampling team will continue to collect data along the coastline of the burn zone after big rains. Their team is also in the slow process of working to replace all the equipment and supplies they lost in their Lāhainā lab and are still looking for a space to establish a Westside lab again. Lastly, they’ve been contracted through the Hawaii Department of Health to collect quarterly heavy metal and sediment samples from kayaks out at the reefs along the burn zone– a new project being held the first week of November.
