Friends of Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge

1. Educate the children in Hawaii about the nature and culture of the Refuge so they will grow up to support and protect them. Although the Refuge comes from the same hotspot as our main Hawaiian Islands, many children in Hawaii grow up without hearing about these remote atolls. It is important that children in Hawaii are knowledgeable of the nature and culture of the NWHI. With this knowledge and responsibility, they will hopefully become active participants in preserving the nature and culture of these islands.

2. Build a cohort of vocal supporters for the Refuge through dynamic outreach that will create an awareness and passion for nature and culture of the islands. It is increasingly vital for people to be educated and unified in supporting the protection of our environmental and cultural resources. We will work to create educated advocates for the Refuge by informing citizens of the steps they can take when issues arise, as well as keeping the public abreast of pertinent issues.

1. There is a great opportunity to use the Hawaiian Islands NWR as a base to develop curriculum for primary education. We will achieve our goal by creating curriculum that educators can use as a supplement to their own lessons. Teachers will request curriculum classroom visits from FoHI volunteer educators. Lesson plans will satisfy common core standards, while also exposing students to the Hawaiian Islands NWR. This will provide another layer of hands-on-learning and give supporters of FoHI a chance to get involved in the community.

2. We plan to develop content that shares evidence-based knowledge with the public and to facilitate discussion as well as action from the public. We will make advocacy an approachable task for citizens of all educational backgrounds.

The idea to form the Friends of HINWR began in 2012 when wildlife volunteers noticed the need for community outreach to raise awareness about the Refuge, its unique significance and the need for its preservation. The stronger and more effective the Friends group becomes, the greater the benefit to the Refuge such as additional funds and public awareness to support federal conservation efforts, benefiting the entire ecosystem within the Northwest Hawaiian Islands as well as across our neighboring Pacific Refuges that are so intricately linked through shared ocean currents, migratory patterns, and related species. With a young and enthusiastic Board of Directors, FoHI has secured grants and in-kind donations to help work with other Pacific refuges to increase public awareness of the importance of their interconnectedness throughout the region, as well as build partnerships among ecological and cultural stakeholders throughout the Papahānaumokuā Marine National Monument.

January 2019 – FOHI completed its final report for the NFWF capacity building grant and launched its organizational website and along with a short promotional video introducing the NWHI and the Friends of HINWR to the general public
February 2019 - FOHI Board Member attended the Pacific Seabird Group Annual Meeting in Kaua‘i, Hawai’I, at which she hosted a booth to hand out FoHI swag and educate booth visitors about the NW Hawaiian Islands.
April 2019 - FOHI Board Members hosted informational outreach booths at the Waikiki Aquarium Earth Day event in Honolulu, HI and the UH Hilo Earth Day celebration in Hilo, HI
July 2019 - FOHI Board Members and USFWS Honolulu Liaison hosted an informational outreach booth at the Hawaii Conservation Conference in Honolulu, HI
July 2019 – FOHI and FOMA Board Members met to discuss the development of a regional Friends partnership
September 2019 – FOHI Board Members attended the USFWS Peer-to-Peer Workshop in Homer, Alaska to discuss challenges shared by Hawaiian, Northwest Pacific and Alaskan Refuge Friends groups to share ideas and to develop partnerships within Regions 1 and 7.
November 2019 - Launched first merchandise fundraiser on Bonfire, highlighting natural and cultural treasures of Nihoa Island.
January 2020 - Launched first FoHI Newsletter to Members.
May 2020 - Donated over 700 tote bags to the Hawaii Farm Bureau to use for food distribution
July 2020 – Alaska-based artist and NHWI field tech, Sarah Youngren, took over FoHI's Facebook feed as a guest artist for a week to promote her seabird art, inspired by her work in PMNM, and help raise funds for FoHI.
August 2020 – FOHI Board Member joined a research team of botanists traveling to the island of Nihoa, within the NWHI, to remove invasive plant species.
September 2020 - FOHI Board Member attended the Hawai‘i Conservation Conference.
October 2020 - Published second FoHI Newsletter to Members.
October 2020 - Second merchandise fundraiser on Bonfire, highlighting natural and cultural treasures of French Frigate Shoals.