Rise Up for Kealakekua
Preserving Kealakekua
Native Hawaiian-led stewardship restoring the natural and cultural landscape of Kealakekua Bay for our community and generations to come.
Our Kuleana
Ho’āla Kealakekua Nui is a community and descendant-led nonprofit dedicated to the stewardship of Kealakekua Bay. We engage in collaborative stewardship of the bay’s natural and cultural landscape for the benefit of the whole community, including guests and generations to come, through active restoration, outreach, and education.
Founded in 2016, we partner with government agencies, conservation organizations, and our neighbors to implement the Kealakekua Bay Community Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy developed through a year-long participatory planning process with over 60 community members and stakeholders.
Partner With Us For Your Trip
Visiting Kealakekua?
A good visit to Kealakekua begins before you arrive. Knowing the conditions, the rules, and the history of this place is part of showing it respect, and it keeps you and your family safe while you are here.
Take a few minutes to read our visitor guidance, then come ready to enjoy the bay and care for it.
Kealakekua Bay
Nāpoʻopoʻo · At the shoreline
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Restoration
We restore Kealakekua’s ecosystems from mauka to makai through hands-on habitat restoration, invasive species removal, native replanting, coral outplanting, and loko (pond) rehabilitation. Our monthly Hana Lima workdays bring together community members, volunteers, and partners to care for the land.
Co-Management
We partner with DLNR Division of State Parks to manage visitor access, protect cultural and natural resources, and ensure Kealakekua Bay remains a place of balance. Our Hoa’āina (friends of the land) staff works to restore the ‘āina, educate visitors, and collect data to sustain the future of Kealakekua bay.
Outreach & Education
Guided by mo’olelo (stories of place) and ‘ike kūpuna (elder knowledge), we educate residents and visitors about Kealakekua’s historical and ecological significance. We work to establish Kealakekua as a center of learning and promote pono behavior throughout the bay area.
Help Us To Restore The Land
Join A Hana Lima Day
Hana Lima means “working with hands.” Every month, we gather at Kealakekua Bay to restore trails, remove invasive vegetation, care for the heiau, and tend to the shoreline. Whether you’re a lifelong resident or visiting for the first time, there’s a place for you.
Each workday includes an orientation to the wahi pana, hands-on restoration work, and the chance to connect with the community that calls this place home.
Hana Lima Work Day
Hana Lima Work Day
Hana Lima Work Day
Contribute To Kealakekua
Every dollar you give goes directly to protecting and restoring one of Hawaii’s most sacred places. Your support funds habitat restoration, community education, cultural preservation, and the daily stewardship of Kealakekua Bay.
- Education
- Preservation
- Community Outreach
Ho'āla Kealakekua Nui is a registered 501(c)(3). Your gift is tax-deductible. EIN: 92-2000424
Our Current Advocacy Effort
What We Are Standing For
Restoration is only part of our kuleana. We also advocate for the policies and protections that keep Kealakekua Bay healthy and our community strong. Right now, we are working to pass Hawaiʻi County Council Resolution 522-26, in support of the Kōkua Kealakekua project: our effort to permanently protect the 1.26-acre parcel at the Kaʻawaloa trailhead, the main land gateway to the bay and the Captain Cook Monument.
- Secures permanent public access to Kealakekua Bay and the Kaʻawaloa Trail, before this critical gateway is lost to private development.
- Pairs state land conservation funding with a County-held conservation easement, ensuring two layers of long-term protection at no ongoing cost to taxpayers.
- Advances the Kealakekua Bay Community Action Plan and the broader vision for Native Hawaiian-led co-management of the ʻahupuaʻa.
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