Comm No 0021.147 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fund

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into real life. At Kawa, we laugh and learn, while working hard making and making memories that will last forever, hopefully just like Kawa. Places like Kawa don't just help kids like me, and our community, but also tourists who want to see the real Hawaii, and not just the commercial lens of Hawaii. It teaches all of us about the native plants, and shows us how our community can come together and make places great. It shows us that not all beaches in Hawaii are the typical, pristine, white sand beaches, but some can be rough and unpolished. Just like our ohana here at VSAS, we are all not perfect in some ways, but together we are beautiful, and can protect and preserve our island home. In an article I read, Harry Kim had some arguments to stress reasons why we should cut the 2% land fund, one of them was that the conservation land we bought doesn't need maintenance, but since I believe in this I'm going to tell you why this argument of his is wrong. Kawa is a very beautiful place with native plants and long pathways leading down to the surf crashing on the shore making cool sea breeze blow into hard working students. If we stop funding it will be harder for kids like me, my class, and other schools to help Kawa, without funding the paths with be overgrown with non natives destroying what we've done to make it a wonderful, safe place for everyone. If you think about it, you may be saving money, but it's also destroying native land. If the funding for Kawa stops it will be really hard. The amazing people that are helping to restore the environment of Kawa, are going to be without jobs and have to go back to their old lives, and as much as they're doing, they love this place and will leave them without it. Though it's hard work, they have taught us how to love it just as much as them, and without it we wouldn't be the same. Thanks for listening today, Sincerely, Autumn Wells