Waialeʻe Lako Pono
We’re at Waialeʻe on the north shore of Oʻahu. Waialeʻe has a rich cultural history and is home to both a loʻi kalo and a unique loko wai, a freshwater fishpond, known as Kalou. Together, the loʻi kalo and loko wai provide harvestable food as well as habitat for native plants, fish, and birds. 30-acres of the Waialeʻe wetland is owned by the University of Hawaiʻi and managed by the North Shore Community Land Trust, who is overseeing “Waialeʻe Lako Pono” rehabilitation. We join the effort on a work day to plant kalo, clear waterways, feed the community, and enjoy this beautiful space. We talk to researchers, project coordinators, and community leaders—all working together to restore health and holistic wealth to Waialeʻe.
Watch the 30-second trailer for Season 11, Episode 4 on Vimeo, YouTube, or on Vimeo with English Subtitles.
Full Episode
Curriculum Connections:
- UH STEMS2: ʻIke ʻAi Food Literacy Toolkit
- Collaborative, K-12 standards-aligned activities, long-term projects, & worksheets
- Includes farming kalo, engineering & hydrology, making poi, and cultural stories
- Aloha ʻĀina Activity: Fishponds
- National Park Service: Kaloko Loko I’a Curriculum
- Loko Iʻa Across Pae ‘Aina: Resources, Field Trips and Curriculum
Additional Resources:
- Waialeʻe Lako Pono
- North Shore Community Land Trust
- Mālama Waialeʻe Community Vision
- Watch on Pacific Pulse: Mālama Waialeʻe
- Sign up for a work day
- Waialeʻe Background, News & Updates
- Kawela Farrant: I Paʻa Hou i Kalou: A Natural and Cultural Resource Asssessment for Waialeʻe, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
- Water Quality Research, HPU News: HPU receives grant to research leptospirosis in Hawaiʻi
- UH News: UH students preserve Waialeʻe’s cultural legacy through oral history project
- Hawaiʻi Public Radio: UH students preserve oral histories from Waialeʻe residents on Oʻahu’s North Shore
- Watch KITV: Sharing Moʻolelo of Waialeʻe (UH Ethnic Studies & Anthropology students present)
- WSL: Looking to the Past to Sustain the Future of Oʻahu’s North Shore
- Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi: Nate’s Adventure: Restoring Hawaiian Agriculture at Waialeʻe
- The Waiale’e Project: showcases multi-disciplinary research findings on Oahu’s North Shore
- Kupuna Kalo: Kalo Varieties
- Huapala
- E ulu chant: words and translation
- Native Freshwater ʻOʻopu (goby fishes)
- Hawaiʻi DLNR: ʻOʻopu facts
- UH News: Native waterfall-climbing fish threatened by climate change, human activity
- Bishop Museum: ʻOʻopu
- Pacific Worlds: ʻOʻopu
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Contact information:
Kanesa Seraphin, Ph.D.
kanesa@hawaii.edu
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