NEWS

When Kamala Warren decided to restore a loko iʻa (Hawaiian fishpond) in her hometown of Hilo, within the community of Keaukaha, there was no way of knowing that it would blossom into a non-profit educational center where visitors could learn about water quality, local and Native Hawaiian culture and restoring local ecosystems. For the past three years, the non-profit Hui Hoʻoleimaluō, an organization dedicated to loko iʻa restoration, has brought together the local community and K-12 students at their Kaumaui location for place-based classes and educational work days. 

Now, a Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) funded partnership between Hui Hoʻoleimaluō, the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, and the MEGA Lab intends to provide equipment for 24-7 live streams of the fishponds. These live streams will offer additional perspectives to understand better what’s happening underwater with native fish species like ʻamaʻama, ʻāholehole, and ʻoʻopu, as well as invasive species like tilapia and mosquito fish while creating avenues to better visualize data and build climate adaptation strategies.

The Roots of Hui Hoʻoleimaluō 

Warren was born and raised on the east side of Hawaiʻi Island in Waiuli, Keaukaha. She was a PI-CASC Manager Climate Corps program graduate and holds a master’s of science from the Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Warren’s journey with fishponds began during her high school years at Ke Ana Laʻahana Public Charter School, long before her undergraduate studies would lay the foundation for the non-profit.

“In high school, for one of my elective courses, we used to take care of the fishpond further down the road at Hale o Lona. That’s where I gained a lot of my experience around fishponds and, I guess, that’s where my interest in loko iʻa started,” said Warren.

Later, while completing her undergraduate degree as a Kealoha Scholar at UH Hilo, Warren returned to her roots and re-visited work in the fishponds.

“It was like, I could go back to that fishpond {that I worked at in high school} and say I want to volunteer, but why not just work on the one that is 100 feet from my house where I grew up? That’s kind of how it started,” she said.

Growth Through Community Engagement 

Warren began working at her local fishpond, Honokea Loko, in 2013, measuring water quality and salinity, the influence of freshwater on the area, and how climate change might affect the dynamic between saltwater and freshwater. The project expanded to include two close friends and eventually engaged local schools and students.

“We started to realize…we can’t do this work by ourselves. That’s when we realized, okay, if we can bring in more people, then we can make all of these visions that we have of feeding ourselves or learning about this space come to life,” explained Warren. 

Warren relied on existing relationships to find schools interested in participating in hands-on learning and cultivation of the loko iʻa. One of these schools was Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo, a K-12 Hawaiian language immersion charter school and learning community in Keaukaha. Ka ʻUmeke has been an integral part of Hui Hoʻoleimaluō’s expansion and collaboration, building on shared visions for Keaukaha and supporting the community. As word spread of Hui Hoʻoleimaluō’s work, people came in with diverse expertise, from mapping to drone footage to management practices. This information, paired with Warren’s leadership in observing and collecting water quality data, allowed their collective knowledge of their ahupuaʻa to grow. 

“We are just learning as much as we can about a single space so that we know how to adapt to living in these spaces and sustaining ourselves in these spaces.”

Educational Programs and Community Impact Today

Hui Hoʻoleimaluō provides various educational programs for students, community members, and visitors. Their largest programs are the spring, summer, and fall break camps. Funded by Kamehameha Schools, each camp offers five concurrent classes: Holo kai (canoe paddling and navigation), Mālama Loko iʻa (Hawaiian fishpond restoration), Mālama Hāloa (traditional practices of kalo), Papa Imu (underground oven cooking) and Hana Noʻeau (Hawaiian Arts). Each class accommodates up to 15 students, serving 75 students per camp. All camps are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis. The camps are conducted with a bilingual approach, increasing the campers’ appreciation for place through ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.

In addition to camps and field trips, Hui Hoʻoleimaluō hosts shorter visits and work days for community members and visitors while continuing its ongoing water quality observations and data collection. 

PI-CASC Collaboration

Cherie Kauahi, Hilo native and Sea Grant’s Aquaculture Extension Agent, first approached Warren with the idea of collaborating with Sea Grant and MEGA Lab as part of a PI-CASC-funded project. Like most Hui Hoʻoleimaluō’s projects, this collaboration was built on existing relationships.

“We have personal relationships with the people who started MEGA Labs because of graduate school, and we are familiar with MEGA Labs’ work,” said Warren.

This new project aims to expand Hui Hoʻoleimaluō’s work with modern scientific tools for monitoring water quality and marine life in real time, enabling better climate adaptation and resilience strategies. The initiative combines management support with educational opportunities by installing water quality stations and underwater cameras. Through the project, local students will continue to be engaged with hands-on research alongside university scientists. The new tools will also allow for less invasive monitoring. “We can actually count fish without going in and disturbing the sediment, without disturbing the amaʻama – we might get better numbers,” she said.

“All in all I think this PI-CASC project is going to help us to visualize the interactions that are happening within the ecosystem, and then, going back to adaptation, having a better connection to place, better understandings and interpretations of the ecosystems gives us better adaptation to the conditions we might be facing.”

Looking to the Future 

The Hawaiian Islands once thrived with a sophisticated network of over 400 loko iʻa (traditional fishponds), yielding two million pounds of fish and marine life annually through sustainable practices. The shift to Western economic models and land management systems led to the decline of these fishponds, with only about 50 currently under restoration. As the islands grapple with environmental pressures, expanding urban development, and heavy reliance on imported goods, the impacts of climate change further underscore the need for local sustainability solutions. The revival of loko iʻa offers a promising pathway toward food security and ecological resilience – not just for Hawaiʻi but as a model for sustainable practices across the Pacific region.

“I had a great life growing up, I lived along this coastline. I’ve eaten fish from this coastline all my life, and to be able to share those experiences, to make it more common – I think that’s what I love most about this job. It’s stressful, of course, but it makes me feel more secure as an individual.”