Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 4, 1 April 2007 — Kahakui wins environment award [ARTICLE]

Kahakui wins environment award

Marathon paddler and environmentalist Donna Kahiwaokawailani Kahakui has won the prestigious Terre de Feimnes award for her work restoring the natural habitat of Mokauea Island in Ke'ehi Lagoon on O'ahu. The award, whieh honors women who work to improve the environment, is given out by a foundation affiliated with Yves Rocher, a French cosmetics eompany specializing in botanical beauty products. Mokauea Island, approximately 10 acres large during low tide, is inhabited by resident fishing families. Kahakui's Kai Makana foundation has a partnership project that supports the Mokauea residents' initiative to develop a cultural education center on the island. Kai Makana's work on Mokauea includes increasing the residents' awareness of surrounding marine life and hazards, training the youth in outrigger eanoe paddling, providing tools to monitor water quality, removing invasive species and restoring native limu, eollecting and analyzing the island's marine debris, and archiving historical and cultural information about Mokauea and its people.