Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 2, 1 March 1984 — Reforestation, Fencing Jobs Help Kai Opua Fund Raising [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Reforestation, Fencing Jobs Help Kai Opua Fund Raising

Members of the Kai Opua Canoe Club of Kailua, Kona, have been assisting the Bishop Estate's koa reforestation program whieh was started in 1977. More than 300 members of the club have worked together in various projects throughout eaeh year in a fund-raising effort to take care of expense money for travel, regattas and other programs within the club structure. In 1 983, club members were involved in a fencing and fertilizing project covering 56 acres at the 5,000-foot level of Mauna Hualalai. This year, the club has undertaken a monumental task of fencing 900 acres at Keauhou, Kilauea. Two hundred of the planted acres have been fenced so far with 700 acres yet to be completed. Interestingly, the trees are planted very close together so they will be straight and tall with fewer side branches. Work is done on weekends at the 5,400 to 6,000-foot elevation by a work force of 10 to 30 people, including planters, cooks and support workers.

Club President Bill Rosehill credits the quality fencing job to the expertise and kokua of the participating members, whether it be in using the jackhammer, running the lines, cutting the logs for posts, cooking to feed the tired and hungry members or boiling hot water for baths. The workers rough it up in the wild, getting ready at 5 a.m. when breakfast is prepared on a quaint wood burning stove. A handy portable gas stove stands ready nearby. The temperature in February at 5 a.m. ranges from 45 to 48 degrees fahrenheit. It rises to about 75 later in the day. The air is also a bit thin at this elevation. One of the club's important fundraising goals this year includes getting together enough money to help defray transportation costs to participate in an outrigger eanoe exhibition during the summer 01ympic Games in Los Angeles. Kai Opua crews train regularly in Kailua Bay during the racing season and club members are generally from the north and central Kona areas.

♦ By Ruby McDonald Community Resource Specialist West Hawaii

Red Kanuha checks situation after members put ohia post in plaee.

The back of this recreation vehicle serves as a "luneh wagon" for the crew, lined up from left to right, Dane Enos, Bill Rosehill, Mike Atwood and Kaleo Kuali'i. l.