World Oceans Day
Join us for World Oceans Day, hosted by Hana Koa Brewing in partnership with Malama Kai Foundation! A portion of the event proceeds will go to Malama Kai Foundation.
Schedule of Events:
10:30 AM - Yoga & A Pour (Sign Up Here)
12:00 PM - Yoga & A Pour (Sign Up Here)
Networking Hour - 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
ReefTalks - 6:00 PM (Sign Up Here)
Space is limited, sign up today!
Waimea Community Association June Town Meeting
Malama Kai Foundation will give a brief presentation as the local nonprofit spotlight.
Mayor Alameda will provide a community briefing with updates from various County of Hawaiʻi department heads @hicountyofficial. The Waimea Police Department will provide a community report.
We look forward to hearing from @himayorkimo and bringing our community together for an informative and engaging evening. Light refreshments will be provided. See you then!
Science and Sustainability Festival
Discover how science, culture, and community action unite to protect the unique biodiversity of ko Hawaiʻi pae ʻāina at Bishop Museum’s Science & Sustainability Festival. Museum scientists, educators, cultural practitioners, and community partners come together to highlight their ongoing work to ensure a sustainable future for our keiki and generations to come.
Participating Bishop Museum Natural Science departments
Botany
Entomology
Ichthyology
Invertebrate Zoology
Malacology
Pacific Center for Molecular Biodiversity
Vertebrate Zoology
The Festival features interactive activities for the whole ʻohana, along with special presentations and exhibition highlights. Learn directly from scientists, cultural practitioners, and community organizers on the front lines of biodiversity research and conservation across Hawaiʻi. Engage with community partners to explore their vital work and the critical connections between conservation initiatives and the advancement of ʻike Hawaiʻi.
This year, our Science & Sustainability Festival places special focus on Makahiki Kuleana Kahakai: the Year of Our Coastal Kuleana, celebrating the richness of our coastal ecosystems, the ways in which our coasts connect us as people, and everyone’s role in caring for them in return.
Science & Sustainability Festival 2026 also highlights the premiere of ʻElala ʻAʻaʻā o Hawaiʻi: Cave Bugs of Hawaiʻi in our Science Adventure Center. Come explore ʻaʻaʻā (lava tube) biodiversity from Hawai‘i! ʻElala ʻAʻaʻā o Hawaiʻi features an updated lava tube “caving” experience that highlights Hawaiian underground biodiversity, the scientific process of finding and naming new species, as well as a collaboration with members of the Papahāmaumokuākea Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group Nomenclature Hui to develop Hawaiian names for species found only in Hawaiian lava tubes.
Mahalo to the Atherton Family Foundation for their generous support of this program!
Hawaii Technology Academy Ridge to Reef Student Led Symposium
Our students present all their hard work this past school year!
Waikoloa School Aloha Aina Science Symposium
We greatly appreciate your support of Malama Kai Foundation’s Ridge to Reef program! We hope you can join us to hear about the environmental stewardship projects that Waikoloa School students have been doing this school year at their annual Science Symposium.
Ridge to Reef Student Led Ho'ike
Please join us in supporting our 7th and 8th grade students presenting all their hard work this past school year! Food and drinks provided.
Waimea Middle School Grade 7 Ho'ike and 'Ohana Night
A Celebration of Learning
Come and join us for an evening to celebrate our 7th graders! Projects and writing will be on display from 4:30-6:30pm. Pizza, drinks, and treats will be served between 5:00 and 6:00 pm outside the Z building.
Big Island Charity Walk
Stop by the Malama Kai Foundation booth on Saturday to participate and learn more about what we’ve been up to lately!
Race for the Reef 5k
Race Details
GOAL: To raise funds and awareness for ocean conservation in West Hawai‘i.
COURSE: A 5k out and back on pavement, starting near West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy (WHEA) and heading down to the ocean and back.
PRIZES: 1 night stay at SCP Hilo Hotel, Body Glove snorkel cruise, gift baskets, and more!
RACE PACKETS: Available for pickup from 3-6 PM on April 24th at the Ridge to Reef Restoration Center lanai.
WATER: Bring your own refillable water bottle. There will be a water station at the turnout point with cups.
PARKING: Available in the small lot next to West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy (WHEA) and along Kahilihili St.
POST-RACE ACTIVITIES: Stay and enjoy resource tables with ocean conservation exhibitors who will be sharing information and volunteer opportunities.
Pau Hana Thursday
Grab a glass of liquid aloha for an informal networking night with conservation leaders and fellow ocean lovers from our community. This relaxed gathering is a chance to dive deeper into the topics you care about and connect with others who share a passion for protecting Hawai'i's ocean resources.
Come talk story, meet new people, and raise a glass to the work we're doing together for our community and our coasts.
February ReefTalks
Mikena Shay is a Marine Wildlife Guide on Hawai’i island with roots on the Oregon Coast. Surrounded by the ocean from a young age, she built her career on the water - beginning on the Great Barrier Reef and continuing as a divemaster here in Kona. With experience as a Humpback Whale naturalist and now guiding snorkels and whale watches with Liquid Hawai’i, Mikena’s passion lies in connecting people to marine life through education, fostering understanding, and inspiring protection for the ocean and its inhabitants.
May Reef Talk
Alyssa Garvin and Kater Hiney from Malama Kai Foundation are our presenters for May.
Ridge to Reef 2025 Kona Symposium
We hope you can join us on May 20th, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., for the Ridge to Reef Ahupuaʻa/Watershed Education Program Symposium at the Ridge to Reef Restoration Center (3RC) at Hawaiʻi Technology Park in Kona. This event is the culminating end-of-year conference where students from five West Hawaiʻi schools will showcase what they learned from the school year-long program and environmental action projects. See attached flyer and please share with your students, other partners, and colleagues. Agenda for the day is below:
Agenda
8:30 Arrival & Breakfast
9:00 E Hō Mai
9:05 Keynote Speaker - Dr. Grace Klinges, 'Ākoʻakoʻa Coral Reef Restoration, Arizona State University
9:30 Program Overview
9:40 Introduction to Partners
10:00 Break
10:10 Oral Presentations
11:10 Break
11:20 Poster Session
12:00 Lunch on lanai
12:30 Focus Group Evaluations (separate student and teacher groups)
12:50 Oli Mahalo and Closing
1:00 Depart
Hawaiʻi Island Charity Walk
Walk with us and help us support Hawaiʻi's local non-profits! Since 1979, Hawaiʻi Island has raised more than $5.6 million to support hundreds of diverse non-profit organizations on the island. The public is always invited to participate in this annual event which typically features a morning of delicious food, fun, fabulous entertainment, and a little exercise to help charities within our community.
Run @ 6.45am | Walk 7.30am | Onsite registration opens at 5:30 am
Beach Clean Up
Waikoloa 5th graders are organizing a beach cleanup THIS Saturday, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. at the Puako Boat Ramp! This is part of their Ridge to Reef Watershed/Ahupuaʻa Education Program. I hope you can join us! Afterwards, we can go check out the free day at the Keiki Museum and then go see the Paddling Regatta at Ohaiʻula (Spencer Beach Park).
Bring water bottles, hats, sunscreen, and be prepared for hot weather. You might want to jump in the ocean before and after (there is a shower and port a potty there).
Ridge to Reef 2025 Waikoloa Science Symposium
Students will be presenting on their Ridge To Reef Ahupuaʻa/Watershed Education Program projects. See attached. Please join us if you can and help spread the word.
Reef Talk: Sexual Production of Corals Engineered for Restoration at Consequential Scales
Presenter: Robin T. Smith, PhD
Associate Research Professor
Arizona State University
ʻĀkoʻakoʻa Reef Restoration Program
January Reef Talk Event: International Shark Conservation Laws and Hawaiʻi
Presented by Charlie Fasano
Hawaiʻi Regional Director at Shark Research Institute
November Reef Talk "Large Whale Entanglement Response in Hawaii: Past, Present, and the Future"
Guest Presenter Maria Harvey with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
