Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 11, 1 November 2010 — SUSTAINING KS LANDS FOR THE FUTURE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SUSTAINING KS LANDS FOR THE FUTURE

At Kamehameha Schools, we're used to describing ourselves by numbers - some of them mind-boggling in size: • three K-12 campuses on three islands • 31 preschools

• 45,418 learners and caregivers served in campus and community programs from prenatal to posthigh • $102 million to support eommunity collaborations • $299 million on education overall • 365,367 acres of land • Endowment value of $7.8 billion The measures are easy snapshots of the size of our trust and our progress in improving the capability and well-being of Hawaiians through education. The problem is, snaphots are static and flat, while Kamehameha Schools is dynamic and deep. Statistics can't possibly capture the richness of a legacy in mohon or the

actions of thousands who contribute Pauahi's vision every day. Our land holdings are but one example of this. Our 'āina is abundant with food and flower crops, but learning also blossoms at the fishponds and lo'i kalo that are visited by school children from all over the state.

And now the Endowment Group has mapped out a long-range strategy to revitalize agriculture in Hawai'i by plumping up the loeal produce available for our dinner tables, supporting our loeal farmers, exploring renewable energy projects and upgrading our water systems.

tion land under our careful stewardship. Watershed collaborations protect native forests, lands and waterways allowing rainwater to filter and eollect, becoming pure water resources. Invasive species are being removed so that native flora ean be reintroduced. Our 1,500 acres of income-producing commercial real estate — a mere sliver of the total acreage cared for by Kamehameha Schools — produced roughly 36% of the money spent on our educational programs last year, making our 1,100 merchants important contributors to our mission. Through the Mālama Card discount program, 180 of those merchants (and more every week!) offer discounts for shoppers, building the consumer loyalty that keeps their businesses humming and our mission healthy. In recent years, many of our eommercial holdings have been carefully ,renovated to honor the five values ythat guide all of our land decisions: to provide educational opportunities, generate the eeonomie returns that allow us to fulfill our mission in perpetuity, sustain our environment, honor our culture and build healthy communities. Our lands are our legacy; their value to us, and to all of Hawai'i, cannot be captured only by statistics. Our 'āina anchors us to our past, nutures our present, and will sustain ourfuture.

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Revitalization continues on the 178,000 acres ^ S of conserva- r|