REEFTALKS
ReefTalks is a lecture series on ocean conservation. These talks are currently held at The Thirsty Gecko (Kona Brewing Co) in Kailua-Kona, HI. All talks will be live streamed and saved so you can watch them later on our YouTube channel! We would love to see this expand to other islands as well, and donations are greatly appreciated to keep this program going and growing. Please contact our Big Island ReefTalks Coordinator at ReefTalks@malamakaifoundation.org for more information.
2026 ReefTalks Calendar
February
Humpbacks in Hawaii: Behaviors and Ethical Concerns
with Mikena shay
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.
April
The Science of Understanding Coral Reef Stakeholders
WITH Christopher Hawkins
April 23rd, 2026 6pm-8pm
Christopher Hawkins is the Executive Director of Malama Kai Foundation. He has more than 27 years' experience in coastal marine management, encompassing broad knowledge of coastal marine ecology and artisanal fisheries principles, and expertise in conservation planning and monitoring, human dimensions research, and program evaluation. His approach to resource conservation recognizes that ecosystem conditions should largely reflect public priorities as expressed through social values. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Environmental Management and Safety from Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He earned his Master’s degree in Tropical Coastal Management from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom and a Ph.D. in Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
May
Where is sewage contamination leaking into West Hawaiʻi reefs?
WITH Kelly Hondula
May 21st, 2026 6pm-8pm
Kelly Hondula is an Associate Research Scientist with Arizona State University’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science based in Hilo. Her work involves measuring coastal water quality with techniques ranging from the seafloor to satellites. She specializes in aquatic biogeochemistry and watershed science, and has studied topics ranging from the biodiversity footprint of food waste, to models of flood risk behavior, and the policy and ethics of ecosystem restoration. Kelly has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and a PhD in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maryland.
This talk will describe underground sewage pollution from wastewater that reaches West Hawaiʻi coastal bays and amplifies the negative effects of climate change on coral. We’ll discuss findings from our study that combined airborne mapping techniques, field sampling, and statistical models to identify where contaminated groundwater is leaking into the reef, spanning the coastline from South Kona to North Kohala. We found widespread but spatially variable contamination, and that contaminated sites were associated with both higher numbers of cesspools and higher levels of built-up land cover near the shoreline.