Waipahē Wale

‘ākulikuli

Mālama Pu’uloa is encouraging the community to grow flats of ‘ākulikuli to be planted along the banks of Kapapapuhi Point Park. It’s a native ground cover that prevents erosion and is easy to grow. Their goal is to plant 5000 flats of ākulikuli! We have now planted two flats and are working on three more to plant this week. I hope that in a few more months the ākulikuli will flourish and cover our slope along Honouliuli stream.

We have a couple friends that have volunteered to grow their own flats. Let us know if you would like to give it a try too. It’s a fun garden project for even the most inexperienced gardener. To find some great resources on the site and the importance of planting native plants, check our Mālama Pu’uloa’s website.

Look at that beautiful patch of ‘ākulikuli growing on the left. It was just planted a few months ago and is already flourishing!

Aloha ‘Āina Friday

July 26, 2021

The section of our plot that runs along the Honouliuli stream was cleared of mangroves in late 2020. We have been working to keep it clear of any new mangrove growth and trash. Our goal is for this shoreline to be home to native plants exclusively.

Milo and ‘ākulikuli are already thriving along the stream. We asked Aunty Malia, who studies native plants, for some suggestions for plants that would also do well in this section. Based on her suggestions we chose a few to plant and observe. Last Friday we planted them. The first is a sedge called makaloa. We really hope this does well because native water birds, like the ‘alae ‘ula, like to eat it. Another kind of sedge that we planted is ‘ahu ‘awa. This plant is known to be a good self propagator so we are hoping it will slowly spread along the top edge of the shoreline to prevent erosion.

‘Ae’ae is another plant that will support the native water birds. It makes a good home for the invertebrates the birds like to eat. This plant is also supposed to grow well in muddy soil, which is perfect for our section along the water.

The last new plant is called pā’ūohi’iaka, which translates to Hi’iaka’s skirt. M liked this plant for it’s beautiful, small leaves and flowers. It is a kind of morning glory and is happy in clay like soils.

Check back soon for updates on how these plants are doing in their new home.

Work Day #7

July 8, 2021

Today was our 7th work day. Our friend J was able to join us this time so we had some more help. L, J and I worked on pulling mangroves from the path we built. Aunty L helped as well in a nearby section.

Meanwhile on dryer land the parents and siblings pulled weeds and picked up trash. They also watered all the plants on the land.

The ‘ākulikuli we planted on workday 3 is doing very well. The ‘ākulikuli we planted more recently is not doing so well though. The first batch we planted was put in a box of soil for two weeks before we replanted in the ground at the site. The next batch we just took straight from when the roots first established in a jar of water (It did not work. Lesson learned: put in water then the box of soil THEN the ground).

Work Day #6

June 24, 2021

Today we were up and at it early. Along with Uncle T, we used the path out into the wetter area to stand on and pulled baby mangroves. We pulled at them for about an hour. The tide was quite low today but our plot was still quite soggy. We think that it might just be like that from now on since we have cleared quite a bit of land of the baby mangroves.

The moms and siblings worked on picking up trash left by the recent high tide. They also worked on pulling weeds out of the dryer parts of the plot and watered all the plants there too. Not only did they water the already present plants but they also planted a new batch of ‘ākulikuli.

Meanwhile the members of Fort Firewood found an x spider also known as the Hawaiian Garden Spider or its scientific name Argiope Appensa. You can read more about this in D’s article here. When we finished pulling mangroves we added more logs to our path then cleaned up and headed homeward.

**This the newest plant on our plot, la’amea, a gourd growing tree.**

The Hawaiian Garden Spider

The Hawaiian Garden spider, also known as the X-Spider or the ‘Argiope appensa,’ is one of the few interesting creatures we found in Malama Pu’uloa. While exploring a path, we stumbled across this majestic spider’s web. Here are a few facts about this species.

Females can grow up to 3 inches while males can only grow up to one
Their large webs have a white zig – zag pattern that serve as a warning device to alert birds coming towards the web about its presence
The spider’s eggs are produced in a silk sac attached to the web, instead of the female spider

Field Trip

In a further effort to better understand Native Hawaiian culture, we decided to take a trip to a lo’i kalo called Na Mea Kupono. At the kalo farm we learned about how kalo was (and still is) a huge part of Hawaiian culture from Aunty Kuuipo. We were taught how to work in the field and cleared away weeds from the lo’i. Aunty Kuuipo was a great teacher, and we hope to go again soon.

Workday #4

May 25, 2021

When we arrived at the park today we found a lot of it under water due to the high tide. Since our land was flooded we decided to have a meeting to decide what day we should pick for work days to work with our new schedules. Later we were able to meet one of the founders of Malama Pu’uloa, Uncle Tony. He talked to us about how it is good to do more work and less talk, and also to remember that we as the next generation are not the future but the present. It was very inspiring.

Workday #3!

Today, we finished our third day! We continued to work on the baby mangroves, Auntie M brought loppers to get rid of some of the roots, we planted Akulikuli, and pulled weeds. Uncle T used the loppers to cut trees, and we got a good amount of mangroves pulled, so now we have a nice, small, clear area, with just a couple of trees in the way. The littlest kids played in a pile of wood and did a great job having fun. Next time, we hope to work more on the mangroves and weeds, discuss native plants to plant, and remove any trash from the area. I don’t have pictures yet, but I will add when I get some.

First Work Day

April 13, 2021

Today we met at Kapapapuhi Point park and headed out to our stream-side plot. We put in our stakes and geo mapped the land. We then worked at those pesky baby mangroves for a little less than an hour before starting to clean up. As we headed back to the parking lot of Kapapapuhi park we discussed what to name our plot and came up with lots of options. Then we headed home.

The start of our very first workday.

Workday #2

April 20, 2021

Today we met at the parking lot of Kapapapuhi Point park and headed down to our stream side plot. We took before pictures then worked for a little over and hour at the baby mangroves. Uncle T took a machete to the smaller trees as well to get those out of the way. After we finished working we went a little farther down the road to the native Hawaiian bird sanctuary. On our way there we decided on a name: Hawaii’s warriors (in Hawaiian). Then we watched the little baby Hawaiian ducks waddle behind their parents. So cute! That wrapped up workday #2.