Letter from the Chair: The Evolution of the Mālama

by Colin Yost, Hawaiʻi Chapter Executive Committee Chair

All good things must come to an end -- so that new good things may grow! Forty-five years ago, Sierra Club of Hawai’i published its first version of the Mālama i ka Honua, and through its pages we’ve celebrated environmental victories, confronted challenges, educated the community, elected our leaders and shared the stories of our many adventures in these beautiful islands!

In recent months, we’ve accepted the reality that it’s time to transition from a hard copy Mālama to a modern, virtual version. We will miss flipping through the photos and articles by hand, but there are many advantages to the electronic format.

• We’ll be able to deliver more timely and action-oriented communication to better protect, explore and enjoy our environment;

• Our Mālama community will grow more quickly and be more interactive (more of a dialogue than a one-way message);

• Our carbon footprint will shrink. The hard-copy Mālama’s environmental impact was relatively light, but there’s inherently less waste from a virtual newsletter;

• It’s easier on our bottom line; COVID-19 has made it more important than ever to stretch our organization’s precious financial resources;

• We will still do a beautiful, annual, physical publication to highlight the year’s major accomplishments and events. You won’t be empty-handed!

Of course, we welcome your feedback on any improvements/adjustments as this transition continues. Our new format is much more flexible and will evolve quickly with our needs over time. This world’s problems seem to keep multiplying, but with our more powerful communication tools in hand, we will rise to overcome them!