HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm No 0021.147 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fundAutumn Wells
8th grade student
Volcano School of Arts & Sciences
Volcano, HI 96785
February 4,2019
Charter Commission
Hilo, HI 96720
Regarding: 2% Land Fund Program
Aloha Charter Commission,
My name is Autumn Wells, my parents are Jane & Keoki Wells and
we live in Volcano, HI. I'm an 8th grader at VSAS, and I'm ecstatic,
humbled, and happy, that I get to go down twice a month with my class to
help a special place in my community, to malama the aina! Kawa is special
to me because it gives me a day to de -stress, relax, and hang out with my
friends, while helping the rare and endangered environment down at Kawa.
The first time I went to Kawa it was a new experience for me, being at a
place that needed lots of love and care, but now with the help from Kumu
James Akau, Uncle Duane, Aunty Clarissa Pua, and Uncle Kaui Felder,
( Na Mamo 0 Kawa) it has changed drastically with blood, sweat, and a lot
of hard work. Now we can walk down groomed paths that we can say we
fixed by ourselves to preserve such a gorgeous place. Kawa is a "wahi
pana" that future kids from schools that can hopefully help and maintain
forever. The experience down at Kawa is an experience that teaches me
many different things about myself, things that I wouldn't have learned in a
traditional classroom.
Down at Kawa we do multiple things to help the environment, like
cleaning up plastic that washes up on shore, making rock walls to section
off and protect wildlife, planting native plants like a`ali`i and alahe`e, but
also clearing out invasive plants that are hurting the natives. What Kawa
teaches us is how to work together on projects out of the classroom and
Comm. No. 21.147
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