Mālama nā Ko‘olau day at the Mānoa Cliffs Forest Restoration Site
Saturday, October 18th
**The deadline for applications to be turned in is Tuesday, October 7th**
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Who: Only registered KMWP volunteers can join this event. You must turn in the 2025 volunteer registration forms by October 7th to be eligible.
*There are only 25 spots available, any additional volunteers will be added to the waiting list. If you have turned in your registration forms and spots open up, you will be given the opportunity to join on a first come first serve basis.
Where: Park at the trailhead for Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa trail and meet the KMWP staff. We will lead a short hike to the Mānoa Cliff restoration site. Keep in mind that the trailhead parking lot is quite small, so carpool whenever possible.
When: Meet at the parking lot at 8:30am for check-ins. After a quick walk to the worksite, the volunteer activity will go from 9:00am -12:00pm with an optional walk through the site at the end.
What: This service-learning day will be focused on invasive species removal to protect the native forest. There may be some trail clearing as well as seed collection and brush clearing.
Why: This site is on public lands and is frequented by hikers from all over the world. That amount of traffic through the area presents a lot of challenges but also a great opportunity to teach, learn, and care for a high-impact site. This location has been stewarded by the Mānoa Cliff Restoration Project for over 19 years and the oasis of native diversity they created in that time serves as a really good example of what a dedicated effort at conservation and reforestation can accomplish.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your RSVP is not complete until you turn in a volunteer registration form.
Once you have turned in your KMWP volunteer registration, it will be reviewed. If it is filled out correctly, you will become a registered volunteer with KMWP and your spot will be reserved for this event. We will send an information packet with more details about the site and what to expect/prepare for.
*If you have already turned in your completed 2025 volunteer forms and been accepted into the volunteer program, then all you need to do is RSVP. You can RSVP for events through our Outreach Events Calendar or via email but anyone who is not current on their volunteer registration will still need to fill out the updated volunteer application forms.
(See below for a link to the waiver forms and instructions)
Email koolaupartnership@gmail.com with any questions!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Here is a little breakdown of how these Mālama Nā Koʻolau (MNK) service learning events work:
- We will host at least 1 volunteer day each month at our various restoration sites and rotate locations so that everyone in the program has a chance to visit each of the sites.
- These events will be for a maximum of 25 people at any site and reservations are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- Check-ins will generally be around 8:30am and the restoration activities will go from about 9am-12pm
- The regular restoration sites include: the Pali Lookout Garden, Ala Mahamoe in Moanalua Valley, Mānoa cliffs, Waiʻalae Nui at Wiliwilinui Trail, and Waihe‘e Valley.
- To join these events, you must be registered with KMWP as a Mālama Nā Koʻolau Volunteer and have your application turned in at least 3 weeks before any event.
- Here is a link to the folder with the Volunteer Application Forms, examples of correctly filled forms, and instructions. Please read the instructions before filling the application. Incorrectly and/or incompletely filled applications will be flagged and rejected.
- Send completed forms to koolaupartnership@gmail.com. Be sure to include the event and date you are RSVP’ing for.
- Once you have turned in your application and it is accepted, it will be good until December 31st of that year. You do not need to fill out another application for Mālama Nā Koʻolau events until January of the following year.
- Registered volunteers who want to join an event can RSVP via email.
- Some sites require extra waivers, those will be sent as needed to participants.
- If you visit all 5 of the regular sites, then you will be eligible for an invitation to special Mālama Nā Koʻolau events to be announced.
- When we have built up a larger group of volunteers who have visited all 5 of our main sites, we will schedule a special event day at one of our elite sites.
- We are looking at some time in June or possibly July for that special event, so be sure to come to the upcoming events at any sites you may have missed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We hold Mālama Nā Koʻolau service-learning events at least once a month all year long, but if you miss one, and want to help in a particular site, or just want to do a service day, then we can set up exclusive volunteer days in any of our main restoration sites. If you have the volunteer group, then we can arrange the location.
We also have the option for people to set up group events through the Mālama Nā Koʻolau (MNK) program, this allows us to open up more group opportunities across our range of sites. The way that it works is a group gets their members registered as MNK volunteers. Then these groups can set up workdays at any of the 5 main restoration sites (Pali, Waihe’e, Ala Mahamoe, Mānoa Cliffs, and WiliwiliNui trail).
The limitations to this option are:
- the group size can be no larger than 25,
- all applications expire in December,
- we need to follow the 9am-12pm set schedule,
- and the events are not exclusive.
The upsides to this option are:
- It allows groups to go to multiple sites and have events without filling out new applications for each one, and
- The group members will be registered MNK volunteers so they can join the regular events too.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
