A Hui Ho ~ Jennie Martinez Peterson

We were deeply saddened to say a hui hou to Jennie Martinez Peterson, who served as a member of The Outdoor Circle Board of Directors, and was a member of the Manoa Outdoor Circle. Jennie passed away in August, shortly after suffering a stroke.
 
Filled with a joy for life, Jennie possessed a brilliant smile and gorgeous laugh that filled the room. She was always interested and interesting, enlightened and engaged, generously giving of her time and energy to people, organizations and causes.
 
Her passion about the protection and promotion of nature in Hawai‘i, as well as her devotion to protecting the environment in general, was seen in her many years as an anthropologist and then as Environmental Education Program Manager, Curriculum Specialist, and Natural Historian at the Hawai‘i Nature Center. During her long career at HNC, Jennie, an enthusiastic educator, was able to reach tens of thousands of Hawai‘i’s students during their visits to the center. Her role as an educator, to those of all ages, as well as her warmth and kindness, will be greatly missed and her legacy will live on in all those she touched during her life.
 
Jennie was serving as Chair of The Outdoor Circle’s Education Committee at the time of her passing and was working on an article about the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Hawai‘i Nature Center, whose creation was spearheaded by The Outdoor Circle. She held deep institutional memory of both organizations and was always eager to shared information about our collective history. Her love of history extended to being the "unofficial historian" of Tantalus, as well as being deeply knowledgeable about Hawaiian natural and environmental history.

As a tribute to Jennie, please be sure to read her final article on the shared history of The Outdoor Circle and the Hawai‘i Nature Center as both organizations were important to her and were emblematic of her love and respect of the environment.
 
Winston Welch
Executive Director, The Outdoor Circle