A Note from the Director
I am so excited for our first fully digital Mālama i ka Honua newsletter! And for it to be at such a crucial time in our history and focused on such an important topic gives me great hope and pride. A sincere mahalo to all the people that helped contribute towards this edition and the transition of the whole Mālama.
When the history books are printed, the age of COVID-19 will be marked by many things. One of them is definitely anxiety. Living out an anti-climatic apocalypse film in real life is admittedly scary (not gonna lie, I’m freaking out!). On Twitter, someone described the COVID-19 pandemic like mother nature’s version of a time-out for humanity. Mother Earth could see we had developed some extremely bad habits that will soon spell disaster for us, and to set us straight before it is too late, she made all of us sit inside and think about the choices we have made.
But the hope is overflowing. Hawaiʻi (and the world) is abuzz with really big ideas (young and old) on how we can best meet the challenges of this moment to emerge an even better, more resilient and more equitable future.
So many great minds throughout the islands are thinking seriously about fundamentally restructuring how our island community operates. Please take a moment to check out and jump in on the many fabulous and inspiring articles to read and initiatives to join:
Aloha ʻĀina Economic Futures: a 4-step process of taking action to bring to life a resilient economy through our core value of ʻāina aloha—a deep and abiding love for Hawaiʻi’s communities and natural environments
Uplift Hawaiʻi by Elemental Excelerator: five principles for a just recovery in Hawaiʻi
Sierra Club’s Plan for Economic Renewal: a national plan to provide family-sustaining jobs for over 9 million people every year for the next 10 years
"A Pathway To Peace: Ideas For A New And More Resilient Reality", by Maxine Burkett and Naima Moore, Civilbeat
"Transforming The Economy Through Ocean, Ohia And Ohana", by Dr. Kirsten Oleson, Regina Ostergaard-Klem, Matthew Lynch, and Leah Beamer, Civilbeat
"Three Ways to Pay Back Nature Before it Forecloses on Hawaiʻi", by LiAnn Yu, Hawaiʻi Business Magazine
"The circular economy can support COVID-19 response and build resilience", by Etienne Kechichi and Annidal Mahoud, World Bank
Please take the time to immerse yourselves in these and so many other resources about how we can emerge from this moment stronger.
To do our part, this edition is all about bringing us back to our future—celebrating the amazing things we always knew how to do…but maybe sometimes forgot, from eating sustainably to maintaining native trees to thriving on a circular economy. Of course we have the same reports from the frontlines via our groups in each county, a space saved for our future outings schedule, and updates on important conservation topics and our on-going court cases.
I hope you enjoy this inspiring new digital format of our reliable quarterly newsletter.
Aloha nō,
Marti.