Advents Corner

My Mom is talking about going out to Texas this summer for a little road trip to see some friends. She said they mentioned getting a one of those North Padre Island rentals for a couple nights. I told her she should go for it, she does not get out there that often and it sounds like it would be alot of fun. My Mom likes to walk around and see the birds and tress in the forest so I think this will be right up her alley. Hopefully she will get to take in a few of the sites.

I found this documentary about the Hawaiian Islands highlighting the plastic pollution that is going on.  It is not just a problem in Hawai’i but all over the world.  I have attached the trailer but please visit the Message in the Waves website and you can download a pal version of the film.  I think the islands are the most beautiful places on earth, please help keep them that way.

Christmas is almost here and you know Christmas is my favorite holiday. Last year when we took the tree out and all of the lights we realized that most of our lights did not work. We ran out to get more lights and Matt suggested we get the LED Christmas lights instead of the regular ones. I was a little hesitant because I was not sure if they would be the same as the traditional lights.

I was so happy we did, not only were they brighter but they did not get hot like the old ones do. Then we found out that just like the compact light bulbs we use for our everyday lights these also save on your electric bill.

Aloha Friends,

The upcoming weekend should be exciting for sustainable food and agriculture in Hawaii. Honolulu Weekly presents the 3rd Annual “Little Kitchens,” a culinary event highlighting locally produced food provided by some of the island’s best small restaurants. It will be held at the Hawai’i State Art Museum in downtown Honolulu from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. A silent auction will benefit Slow Food O’ahu, a Kokua/’AINA In Schools partner that supports sustainable agriculture and rediscovery of the pleasures of the table. Visit http://www.honoluluweekly.com/littlekitchens/ to learn more and to purchase tickets.

Don’t miss the Hawaii screening of ‘The Real Dirt on Farmer John’! It is this Sunday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. We are thrilled to have Farmer John himself present for the Q&A following the 5 p.m. screening. We are also excited to have Gary and Kukui Maunakea-Forth of MA’O Youth Organic Farm present for the Q&A.

Hope to see you there!

Aloha,

The Kokua Hawaii Foundation

Posted with permission of the foundation

I want to share with all of you a wonderful foundation my family is a part of.  The name of this foundation is Kokua Hawai’i Foundation based in Haleiwa, Hawai’i.  This foundation is close to our hearts because most of our family live on the varies islands.  Hawai’i is the only place I have ever been where my soul feels at ease.  I just feel like I am home when I am there, which is weird considering I was born and raised in Louisiana.

 You may have heard of their founder Jack Johnson.  Now stay with me because this is not some foundation a celebrity has started and basically lets the people that run it use his name.  Jack Johns is very committed to this project and its success.  He was born and raised in Haleiwa and still resides in Hawai’i so these issues are very personal to him.  Not only does he put on a concert every year on Oahu but he also goes to the local schools to teach the children the 3 R’s.  All money donated to Kolua is used locally to protect beautiful Hawai’i.  Starting with our children is the first step and Kokua recognizes that.  Our parents show us where the once beautiful sugar cane fields would sway in the breeze and make you think it was waves of green water.  Now those fields are covered with houses.  The beaches are eroding at a tremendous rate.  The picture you see here was taking in Haleiwa.  You can see from the root system how much the beach as eroded.

The beaches along with eveything else in Hawai’i are very fragile. In the coming weeks I will be posting more information on the foundation and ways you can help in your own community to make the earth a little bit better. With your help we can make the earth a little greener.

The 3 R’s recycling program is a great way to do your part in helping preserve the earth. Reduce Reuse Recylce Here are just a few ways you can achieve these goals with little or no effort.

1. Bring a lunchbox to school or work instead of a new paper or plastic bag everyday.
2. Use plastic washable containers instead of zip lock bags to bring your sandwich or snacks.
3. Donate clothes, furniture and toys that you do not have a use for anymore. Someone else could get some use out of them.
4. Recycle your cans, plastics and glass whenever possible. Don’t forget those newspapers.

These are just a few things you can do to get to you started.