Hawaii Land Trust was recently awarded an $803,700 federal grant from the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate-Ready Coasts initiative, the statewide nonprofit announced Wednesday.
According to HILT, this is the nonprofit’s largest operational grant, which is part of the Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities. Climate-Ready Coasts initiative is focused on investing in high-impact projects that create climate solutions by storing carbon; build resilience to coastal hazards; restore coastal habitats that help wildlife and humans thrive; build the capacity of underserved communities and support community-driven restoration; and provide employment opportunities, the announcement noted.
HILT will use the funds to restore the Kapoho Loko Ia and Loi Kalo at its 277-acre Waihee Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge on Maui.
“We are grateful to NOAA for this opportunity to expand our engagement with the Waihee and Waiehu communities in collaborative ecosystem stewardship and Native Hawaiian cultural practice,” ‘Olu Campbell, HILT president and CEO, said in a statement. “We intend these efforts to connect people to aina, improve ecosystem function, strengthen coastal resilience, and work toward the restoration of a sustainable, traditional food source.”
For more than 20 years, HILT has actively restored the native habitat and provided recreational opportunities for the community at the Waihee Refuge, which was permanently protected in 2003. HILT plans to restore the flow of water to the taro fields and fishpond by building a “ridge-to-reef” model for collaborative land and ocean stewardship, the nonprofit noted, by hosting outreach meetings, workshops, volunteer workdays and educational activities.
For more information, go to HILT.org.
