{"id":28023,"date":"2025-04-21T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T16:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/?p=28023"},"modified":"2025-04-21T12:26:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T22:26:30","slug":"how-you-can-honor-earth-day-year-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/21\/how-you-can-honor-earth-day-year-round\/","title":{"rendered":"How You Can Honor Earth Day Year-Round"},"content":{"rendered":"

A typical Friday workday at Ho\u02bboulu \u02bb\u0100ina <\/span><\/a>involves harvesting, weeding and planting seeds in their organic dryland farm. This food gets distributed to the community of Kalihi. (Photo by Sarah Burchard)<\/p>\n

By Sarah Burchard | Staff Writer<\/h5>\n

On March 7, founder of <\/span>Hui O Ho\u02bbohonua<\/span><\/a>, Anthony Chance, was <\/span>interviewed on HPR\u2019s The Conversation<\/span><\/a>. The O\u02bbahu <\/span>501(c)3 nonprofit<\/span>, commonly known as HOH808, has been clearing invasive plants from the waterways around Pu\u02bbuloa (Pearl Harbor) for eight years in order to reduce the risk of floods and restore native habitats and ecosystems. Last month, Chance had to lay off his entire staff\u00a0from a sudden loss of federal funding. Now he relies completely on volunteers to continue the work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

April 22 is Earth Day, a day to reflect on the \u02bb\u0101ina and our relationship with it. In Hawai\u02bbi, we are all responsible for maintaining these beautiful islands we call home. Sustainability is not a buzz word. We must lessen our use of natural resources in order to maintain the Earth\u2019s\u00a0balance. Fossil fuels create carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, which has led to global warming, acidified oceans, and the extinction of species everywhere. Icesheets that provide drinking water for billions of people are melting. Coral reefs have been destroyed, leading to the destruction of coastal ecosystems and food insecurity. The damage we have done is irreversible. According to the textbook \u201cEssentials of Cultural Anthropology,\u201d if everyone on the planet wanted to live an American middle-class lifestyle,\u00a0it would require us to have five Earths.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps you regularly care for a particular patch of land\u00a0or want to incorporate more m\u0101lama \u02bb\u0101ina (care for the land) into your life? Now is a great time to start. Due to <\/span>President Donald Trump\u2019s federal funding freeze, \u02bb\u0101ina-based nonprofits like HOH808 are losing employees, relying on the community\u2019s help. Volunteering regularly is part of our kuleana (privilege and responsibility).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are 12 O\u2019ahu organizations that host community workdays all year:<\/strong><\/p>\n