The search for a new Executive Director will formally get underway on Monday June 15 when the Board of Directors Executive Committee, working as the Search Committee, convenes to work out a timeline and approve the Job Description and qualifications.
It takes considerable time to go through all the steps of recruiting, screening and selecting the best candidate, so if all the steps in a tentative timeline work out as planned, a new Executive Director will be in place by September 25. The position will be advertised locally and placed on the HANO (Hawaii Association of Non-profit Organizations) job board. We encourage any of you who might have a likely candidate in mind to contact Alexandra Avery at 295-5495 or alexandra@outdoorcircle.org. TOC is making strides in its effort to become more active in fundraising among both individuals and companies. A Case Statement has been approved and the next step is for our fundraising professional to visit a select list of opinion leaders to find out their perceptions of TOC in order to be able to better assess a realistic annual fund raising goal. As a further step in this crucial process, a Development Committee is being formed to be led by a new Board of Directors member after that person is voted on at the Annual Meeting August 8. At a recent meeting, the Nominating Committee decided to:
Our Executive Director Marti Townsend has completed her mission with TOC. Marti brought just the right expertise and malama to The Outdoor Circle when she joined the staff three years ago. Her critical eye and inclusive working style have brought us through a restructuring of operations while maintaining a range of services and support to our nine branches. Both office and operations have been streamlined to work more efficiently and within budget. Marti is a person of passion and persistence. She made it fun to develop a distinctive Development Plan, and a learning adventure to take a public stand on county, state and federal statutes, many of which she can recite by heart. We extend a Circle-wide Mahalo for all she has contributed to The Outdoor Circle. Marti is now serving as ED for the Hawaii Chapter of The Sierra Club. We will miss her skilled competence and bright spirit as our Director and we are looking forward to her continued involvement as a member and volunteer. You can bet Marti will be one of the most quoted legal experts in future Environmental Court hearings! The TOC Executive Committee has chosen Dave Cheever to serve as our Interim Executive Director. Dave brings years of non-profit board service and directorship to TOC. The Executive Committee will serve as the search committee to find Executive Director. We will be looking statewide. We invite you to submit names of likely candidates whom we can follow up with. We will be posting the job description and qualifications on our website and will be placing a public ad soon. Renee Nakagawa, our Administrative Assistant and Myles Ritchie, our Projects Manager continue to serve the canopy of branches from the office and the field. Myles is finishing the statewide mapping of the Hawaii collection of Exceptional Trees. The phone app for discovering Hawai`i's Exceptional Trees will be available soon. The branches have been helpful in this tree mapping project, and with Myles' scientific scrutiny, we have learned so much more about the trees that protect us. As we transition into second century of environmental stewardship, our Branches are ever busy with projects reflecting their community needs. You’ll learn more about the value of our Branch influence in this issue. Your membership renewals help to further the Branch beautification efforts. Thank you for your ongoing support of the branch work which in turn supports the overall health of our protective canopy. The TOC Board, with the help of Sanae Tokumura of Solid Concepts, have just completed an ambitious Development Plan. Now the exciting part will be to match funds with our projects! I hope this issue inspires you to up your commitment to the work we do. Your Kokua makes our work possible. The Lani-Kailua Branch Annual meeting, held at Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens, was highlighted by a talk on the historical significance of hibiscus in Hawaii. The featured speaker was Jill Coryell, the "Hibiscus Lady," who has devoted the last few decades to researching and continuing the hybridization of native hibiscus in Hawaii, since early in the last century. Her fascinating, informative, and entertaining lecture gave us all a unique perspective on the hibiscus, incidentally depicted in our original Outdoor Circle logo, and how most hybrid hibiscus everywhere are descendants of the Native Hawaiian hibiscus. Note also that the Hawaiian native white hibiscus is the only one in the the world with fragrance, and is the ancestor of all hybrid hibiscus with fragrance! Jill demonstrated how we could hybridize our own hibiscus in our own back yards, for color, fragrance and other features, and brought numerous examples of her unique specimens. The 23rd annual “I Love Kailua” Town Party was held April 26 in downtown Kailua. This street fair, put on by the Lani-Kailua Branch of the Outdoor Circle, celebrates the diversity of Kailua, with local crafters and artists, food vendors and plant sales, souvenir t-shirt sales and live local music, and a variety of activities for the whole family to enjoy. This year, thanks to our wonderful sponsors, an enthusiastic crowd, and the hundreds of dedicated LKOC volunteers who make this happen, it was a great success!
We are so pleased that Governor Ige has chosen Suzanne Case to head up the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Senate Confirmation Committee voted unanimously to support her nomination. Now it is up to the Senate to vote on her nomination. The Outdoor Circle strongly endorses Ms. Case as she has the experience, expertise, and holistic approach necessary to lead this crucial department. This nomination is notable because it is so significantly different from the Governor’s previous choice for the job; a choice that he withdrew after considerable public opposition based on the nominee’s lack of familiarity and experience with the Department, and appreciation for the importance of protecting our natural resources. Ms. Case’s nomination is a testament to what can be accomplished when the public actively engages with lawmakers to set the direction of public policy. Now we have a nominated that is clearly qualified for the position with the proper experience in managing natural resources and large organizations. Ms. Case is currently the Director of The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii. In that position, Ms. Case manages 53,000 acres of preservation land with a budget of $11 million and a staff of 76. people. During her tenure, she oversaw the largest conservation land transaction in state history for 117,00 acres at Kahuku Ranch on Hawaii Island. She has extensive experience in natural resources management and advocacy, as well as partnering with public and private landowners towards shared resource management goals. In 2014, Ms. Case received the prestigious Ho‘okele Award for her leadership, strategic thinking, and ability to bring different groups of people together towards common goals. Ms. Case is clearly qualified to serve as Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. She will be an excellent addition to the Governor’s cabinet. Also interesting to read is Sen. Laura Thielen’s post on the importance of the DLNR Appointment. Honolulu Community College (HCC) is home is to an epic true banyan tree with a storied history intertwined with TOC and the urban growth of Honolulu. If you haven't seen it, take a minute to swing by Kokea Street to take note. HCC is preparing to build a new structure on campus in what is currently a tree-filled parking lot. The Outdoor Circle consulted with the Administration on the project proposal and this what we learned:
We strongly urged HCC’s Administration to find a way to keep the banyan tree and build their ATTC building. Current plans call for the building to be next to the banyan tree. Because banyans have aerial roots, it is possible to trim the banyan and train it to grow into the courtyard and away from the new structure. This banyan has storied roots. It is the last known survivor of six cuttings taken from the banyan tree that once stood at King and Keeaumoku Streets. The Outdoor Circle fought long and hard to save that 100-year-old banyan tree from the widening of King Street. After a year-long effort, the wider road won and the tree was unfortunately removed. Before it died, however, six pieces were carefully cultivated and re-planted around Oahu in 1968. The only cutting known to have survived is this tree in the parking lot of Honolulu Community College. This historic tree provides extremely valuable environmental services (for free), including sequestering carbon, capturing stormwater, and providing shade that reduces energy costs. It would be a shame to lose such a value member of our urban forest, especially in these days of increasingly hot days in the city. If anyone is interested in helping to see how to save this tree and build the new ATTC structure at HCC, please click here to send us a note. Renee Nakagawa recently joined The Outdoor Circle staff as our Administrative Assistant. She is a Hilo-born, Honolulu-raised graduate of the University of Southern California. At USC, she studied Communication with minors in Communication Design and Digital Studies. "I’ve always wanted to work in a nonprofit setting and I’m very excited to have joined the Outdoor Circle ohana! I’m learning all the ins and outs of the staff office and I’ve really enjoyed every minute so far." In her spare time, Renee does freelance graphic design, tries her hand at illustration, and plays with her cat Miya. Historic bridges along Hana Highway are getting a structural make-over that is expected to take 50 years to complete. The painstaking process of dismantling the bridges and re-constructing them will result in stronger, safer bridges while preserving the historic feel of the area and the bridges themselves. Unfortunately, this process will also have a dramatic impact on the trees along this historic highway. The Chair of TOC’s tree committee is consulting with the project manager, Fung Associates, to ensure that every possible protective measure is taken to keep trees in the ground. As well as to ensure that where tree removals are necessary, replacement trees are planted when construction is complete. Kapi‘olani Boulevard is expecting a new building this summer. Korean condo developer, Samkoo, is constructing a 45-story condo to provide affordable housing in downtown Honolulu. Mahalo to Board member, Steve Mechler, for meeting with developers, architect and landscape architect on March 20th to go over their plans for landscaping and area trees.
A representative of the project said that this is Samkoo’s first building in Hawaii and they wanted to be sure to make a good first impression. The building will provide all affordable housing (1-3 bedrooms) and is designed within the existing zoning limitations. Their proposal calls for widening the public sidewalk and enlarging the planting wells for street trees. This is good because the current planting wells are too narrow, forcing tree roots to bunch up in the planting space and push up surrounding concrete. In the process of constructing the building, two monkeypod trees will be removed. These trees have been hit by cars and restricted by the small planting space, so they are not in good condition. When construction is complete, Samkoo will install two new comparable monkeypod trees nearby -- one immediately across the street and the other in place of the current driveway. They expect to breakdown this summer. For ten solid years The Outdoor Circle was blessed to have the skilled support of Noelani Sugata. She worked her way up from Administrative Assistant to Operations Manager and learned every facet of the organization in the process. If you ever called The Outdoor Circle, then you have spoken with Noe. But she did so much more than answer the phones. She:
Yep, it’s true, she is amazing. She is a real trooper with a beautiful smile and great sense of humor. Yet, as with all the good things, the time has come for Noe to seek out new adventures in faraway lands. Please join me in thanking Noe for all she has done for the Circle and wishing her all the best on her future endeavors. Noe: send us postcards! Mayor Caldwell is proposing a major, multi-year renovation of Ala Moana Park. He is seeking public input on how to improve Hawaii’s “People’s Park” through an online survey website: www.ouralamoanapark.com. Please jump in and get involved! At the first public meeting on the idea of renovating Ala Moana Park, the Mayor said all options are on the table and that he is open to any and all ideas. That could be a good thing, it could also be a bad thing -- all depends on which ideas are floated. That is why The Outdoor Circle along with many other concerned organizations and residents are keeping a watchful eye on this process. We could use your help to make sure no important details are missed. The Mayor did announce that the park will pilot a new form of public restroom and repave the running track around the park. Some of the ideas and concerns already raised at the public meeting and online include:
More to come in the next few weeks! Please contact us here if you are interested in being more involved in this public consultation process. The Outdoor Circle joined with many environmental groups, including Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, the Sierra Club, and Conservation Council for Hawaii, to oppose the nomination of William Balfour to the Water Commission. Senators took testimony and asked pressing questions of the nominee at the confirmation hearing on Wednesday, and even continued the hearing on Friday. All senators will be asked to vote on this confirmation in the next few days. For now, here is a report back on day one of the hearing from Conservation Council’s own, Marjorie Ziegler: William Balfour’s response to questions by the Senate Water and Land Committee <on Wednesday> at his confirmation hearing was disappointing to put it mildly. It is very hard for me to believe the Governor nominated Mr. Balfour to serve yet another term on the Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM). Mr. Balfour did not know about the hierarchy of water uses or constitutionally protected rights and uses under the State Water Code, nor was he concerned that he did not know about this most important tenet of the code. It's that time of the year again. Your membership is important to The Outdoor Circle. To keep cost down, we mailed a reminder post card, and will be emailing reminders in The Greenleaf. You can click here to renew online or you can download a membership form and mail it back to the office. |
Welina!The Greenleaf is the online newsletter and blog of The Outdoor Circle. Here you will find updates on the projects and accomplishments of our many branches throughout the state, as well as programs with statewide impact. Archives
September 2023
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