[Jennifer_SFBA]

Please look carefully at the Satellite Image Map of the Hawaiian Islands at the link below, see the islands' shapes and proximities, one to another, wonder at the awesome intentional minds of creation who brought them to beingness, and feel the love in their expression.

http://geology.com/satellite/hawaii-satellite-image.shtml

At the link below, please scroll down to see the article as it was originally written from which excerpted:

http://www.hawaii-county.com/weeklynewsletter/archives/2005/102805.htm

"Make Kaho'olawe Green Again

The following article comes on the heels of a volunteer tree-planting project on the Island of Kaho`olawe by a group of 15 Hawai`i Island residents. The group was organized by County of Hawai`i Managing Director Dixie Kaetsu, in cooperation with the Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission.

A most rewarding and enjoyable experience awaited a group of Hawai`i County workers and others who pitched in to plant trees on Kaho`olawe Island earlier this month.

For four days, the volunteers from the Big Island dug, shoveled, fertilized and irrigated 800 native plants as part of a project to restore the former site of Navy bombing practice."

"For 50 years, Kaho`olawe was used for bombing practice. In April 2004, the Navy ended a 10-year cleanup of unexploded ordnance on Kaho'olawe. However, an estimated one-third of the island is yet to be cleared. It is not uncommon to find unexploded ordnance exposed by erosion, and there was no unexploded ordnance cleanup in the waters surrounding Kaho'olawe."

Pressure needs to be brought on our Federal government representatives to clean up ALL of the unexploded ordnance on and around Kaho'olawi.

"Access to the island and the reserve waters must be strictly controlled for the foreseeable future because of the very real risk unexploded ordnance poses for unescorted visitors".

"Why is Kaho`olawe off limits to the general public?

According to Sol P. Kaho'ohalahala, the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission's (KIRC's) executive director, about one-third of the island has yet to be cleared of ordnance, and there was no cleanup of unexploded ordnance in the waters surrounding Kaho`lawe.

Kaho'olawe continues to be unsafe for public use, and access to the island is permitted only for cultural and environmental restoration purposes.

In May 2004, the KIRC adopted its five-year strategic plan to guide its planning and action priorities. High on the list is restoration of the island and its waters, along with increasing the culturally appropriate, safe use of the reserve toward the fulfillment of KIRC's vision for Kaho'olawe.

KIRC has made significant progress in restoring the island and supporting ongoing cultural and educational activities on the island. These activities are carried out in accordance with state law.

Under law, the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve is restricted to the following
specific uses:

Preservation and practice of all rights customarily and traditionally exercised
by Native Hawaiians for cultural, spiritual and subsistence purposes;

Preservation and protection of the island's archaeological, historical and
environmental resources;

Rehabilitation, revegetation, habitat restoration and preservation;

Education.

Commercial uses of Kaho`olawe are strictly prohibited."

[Jennifer_SFBA]

Continued:

"What is it like to volunteer for a Kaho`olawe restoration work trip?

Volunteers stay in the barracks of the island's base camp, sleeping in bunk beds. It's early to rise for breakfast, lunch in the field and a hearty dinner in the evening.

Planting is hard but truly satisfying work, as you see the hillside of the worksite at the island's Pu'u Moa`ulanui transformed by your team's planting efforts.

"Everyone in the team is there to help in the restoration of Kaho`olawe and should carry that thought with them as their main purpose for being there," according to a KIRC briefing sheet provided to volunteers before they arrive on the island.

The time on the team exceeded expectations; the rare opportunity to experience the natural beauty of Kaho`olawe, recovering after years of bombing, was a chance of a lifetime.

The company is good, and participants in the Big Island crew reported that they had tremendous fun the entire time.

The Big Island volunteers look forward to returning to the island to resume restoration work, and to savor the progress of the trees they put into the red earth of Kaho`olawe.

How do you get there? Who pays for the trip?

The only cost to the volunteer is the airfare to Kahului, Maui.

Volunteers pay their own way to Maui, and then the Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) shuttles the team to Kaho`olawe by helicopter at no cost to the volunteers.

Accommodation and meals are also provided at no cost to the volunteers.

Who manages Kaho`olawe Island today?

The Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission, a state agency, manages the island, the submerged lands and the surrounding waters, extending two miles from the shoreline."

Anyone wishing to learn more about the island and how to participate in its restoration should visit the Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission's website at kahoolawe.hawaii.gov , or contact the KIRC office on Maui at (808) 243-5020.

Laurine Carvalho of the County's Data Systems Department said : "It was a wonderful experience. As I stood on the 1, 400 elevation summit with my eyes closed, I had a feeling of being at peace with myself. I cleared my thoughts and listened to what I could hear. Like going back in time and listening to the winds sharing their stories of travel. As I breathe in deeply and let my body relax as I exhaled, I felt a cleansing…don’t know how to explain it except to say I felt enlightened. Being able to help in healing the land by laying my hands on her and help heal her wounds by bandaging her dry and broken skin with plants, mulch and water helped in a sense that it also helped in healing my being."

"It was a great experience and honor," Ms. Carvalho said.

Rose Bautista, the County's Immigration Information Specialist, said: " It was an awesome experience. I truly enjoyed being part of a hardworking team that went to Kaho`olawe to do something great, revegetate the island and participate in the preservation of the Hawaiian culture. The beauty of Kahoolawe is exhilirating! As an individual, I not only experienced the sweat and hard labor of cultivating the land, but also gained a greater understanding of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, experienced the "mana" of the island that can only be felt in Kaho`olawe, and gained a deeper appreciating of Mother Earth the way Hawaiians do. I encourage everyone to experience KAHOOLAWE!!! Lastly, the food was 'da bomb'"."

[Jennifer_SFBA]

Before the United States government began using Kaho'olawi as a bombing target, there was a seasonal cloud bridge that extended from Maui to Kaho'olawi. Now, since the United States government stopped the bombing of Kaho'olawi and turned the island back over to the State of Hawaii, native Hawaiians have been performing spiritual practices on Kaho'olawi to bring back the cloud bridge.

http://kahoolawe.hawaii.gov/