Earth Day 2017 is on Saturday, April 22. There will be lots of fun, family friendly Earth Day events in Hawaii to celebrate and raise the awareness of environmental preservation. We will be adding more events to this list, as information becomes available. If you know of an Earth Day event that’s not listed, please let us know and we will be happy to add it!

Oahu

Waikīkī Beach Clean-Up
Cost: FREE: Validated Self Parking at the Hyatt Regency for Beach Clean Up participants.
FREE Continental Breakfast provided
When: APRIL 22, 2017 Saturday 7am – 9am
Where: Meet at Dukeʻs Statue Kūhio Beach Park in Waikiki
More info

Mauna to Makai Earth Day at Waikiki Aquarium
Cost: FREE
When: Saturday, April 22, 9am-2pm (Free Admission!)
Location: The Waikiki Aquarium
Description: Guests will take part in interactive booths, entertainment and a variety of hands-on learning activities and displays that showcase preservation and protection of Hawaii’s environment. Among the activities will be a fish release and native plant giveaway. More info

VSH Earth Day Celebration
Cost: FREE
When: April 22, 1-6pm
Where: Banan
1810 University Ave.
Honolulu, HI
Description: Vegetarian Society of Hawaii event with lots of live music, t-shirt giveaways, special speakers/presentations, plant sale, delicious treats, fundraiser, and more. More info

Plant it Forward 2.0
Cost: $5 donation. Snacks and water provided.
When: Sat, April 22, 2017. 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Where: KEY Project
47-200 Waihee Road
Kaneohe, HI 96744
Description: Learn and Help Restore the Waihe‘e Lo‘i. Join us for our Earth Day service project torestore the Waihe‘e Lo‘i and learn about the history and importance the lo‘i plays in our current local culture.
More info: Society of Young Leaders

Earth Day After pARTy!
Cost: $10 donation
When: Sat, April 22, 2017, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Where: Arts At Marks Garage
1159 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96817
Join us for an engaging night of art, activism & environment gathered around the idea that we can create progressive positive change through passion, creativity & activated community! More info

Earth Day at the North Shore Country Market
Cost: FREE
When: Saturday, April 22 at 8 AM – 2 PM
Where: Sunset Beach Elementary School
59360 Kamehameha Hwy, Haleiwa, Hawaii 96712
Description: Live music, Yoga, community plant and seed swap. The market will have produce, flowers jewelry, art, kids clothes, succulents, jard drinks, healing ointments, photos, and much more. Everything is made in Hawaii. More info

Optimysstique Earth Day (North Shore)
Cost: Donation
When: Saturday, April 22. 10 AM – 9 PM
Where: YMCA Camp Erdman
Mokuleia Forest Reserve, 69-385 Farrington Hwy, Waialua, HI 96791
Description: Hosted by Optimysstique. Live music, djs, yoga, bodywork, clothing swap, seed swap, vendor village, and more. More info

Big Island (Hawaiʻi)

Earth Day 2017 Fair & Conservation Career Day
Cost: FREE
When: Friday, April 21^st, 2017 • 9am – 2pm
Where: University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
200 W. Kāwili Street

Description: “2017 Earth Day celebration boasts educational videos, informational exhibits and science demonstrations, expert guest speakers, a food sustainability panel, environmental science skill-building workshops, marine touch-tanks, dance troupes, HICCUP Circus performance, hula, storytellers, face-painting, campus garden tours, an environmental career fair, unmanned aerial vehicle flight simulators, and many other engaging activities. Free plants, fruits, and other giveaways will be available throughout the day.” – Source: http://hilo.hawaii.edu/earthfair/

Maui

West Maui Greenway Earth Day 2017 Celebration
Cost: FREE
When: Saturday, April 22 at 9 AM – 4:30 PM
Where: Lahaina Civic Center
Phone: (808) 661-4685
Website: http://www.westmauigreenway.org/events.html

Description: First kick-off event to help raise awareness for the West Maui Greenway project, a proposed 25-mile, multi-use pathway along Maui’s Western shore. Lots of activities such as yoga, hula, keiki activities, arts, Greenway exploration rides, and music entertainment.

Earth Day 2016 is officially on Friday, April 22nd. Additionally, many Earth Day events in Hawaii will take place on other days during the second half of April. This year’s Earth Day theme is Trees for the Earth! Here’s a growing list of Earth Day events scheduled to take place across Hawaii. If you know of another event that we missed, just let us know and we’ll add it!

Oahu

UH Mānoa Earth Day

Friday, April 22 10:00am – 4:00pm
Location: University of Hawaii Mānoa Campus Center and Legacy Pathway

Annual Earth Day Celebration at UH Manoa including food, activities, live music, and information, all in the name of sustaining our planet! An annual tradition promoting sustainability efforts on-campus and in the community to foster networking, involvement and inspiration.

Mauna to Makai Earth Day at Waikiki Aquarium

Saturday, April 23 9am-4:30pm (Free Admission!)
Location: The Waikiki Aquarium
This event will highlight the impact we make on water sources from Mauka to Makai. The Waikiki Aquarium and 15 other organizations will provide educational activities for both children and adults on how to preserve and protect our diverse environment.

The North Shore Country Market

Saturday, April 23rd, 8am-2pm
Location: Sunset Beach Elementary School
The North Shore Country Market is a non-profit market dedicated to sustainability and community. NSCM will be hosting an Earth Day celebration on April 23rd from 8-2pm across from Pipeline at the Sunset Beach Elementary School. NSCM will be having a plant and seed swap for community members to bring and trade seeds, plants and cuttings with others. NSCM also have organic plants for sale from Lokahi nursery, local produce, food, live music, yoga at 11am, keiki activities and more!

Yoga for Earth Day

Saturday, April 23 at 2pm – 4pm
Location: Still & Moving Center
1024 Queen St, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
Cost: $30 or $50 for two if you bring a friend. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Surfrider Foundation Oahu Chapter.

In celebration of Earth Day, join us in an exploration of how the teachings of yoga can guide us to be better stewards of the planet and help us to acknowledge both our love and pain for the world. We will also learn about and honor threatened and endangered native Hawaiian animals through a short asana practice and cultivate interconnectedness and loving kindness towards the world through guided meditations. This workshop is for anyone who would like to become more empowered to become better activists on behalf of our island Earth. Native plants sale provided by Hui Ku Maoli Ola.

Waimanalo Beach Park Earth Day Cleanup and Ultimate Sand Sifter Competition

Saturday, April 30, 9am-2pm
Location: Waimanalo Beach Park

9:00am – check in, 9:30am-12:00pm – Clean Up, 12:00pm-2:00pm – live music, games, and more!
Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and Partners bring you the 2016 Earth Day Cleanup and Ultimate Sand Sifter Competition. Everyone is invited! Check in is at 9AM at Waimanalo Beach Park. Winners receive a $1,000 prize and all entrants get a goodie bag!

Maui

2016 Maui Earth Day Festival

Sunday, April 17, 10:00am – 6:00pm
Cost: $7 entrance fee, kids free
Location: Ke‘opuolani Park Amphitheater, behind the Maui Nui Botanical Garden
19th annual Maui Earth Day will be celebrating with two stages of live music, information booths and a silent auction. There will be food booths providing delicious, healthy foods and vendors offering all kinds of eco friendly products and a healing zone with massage therapists, intuitive healers and body workers. There will be a Keiki Parade and much more!

Kauai

Earth Day Rising VI

Sunday, April 24, all day
Location: Malama Kauai Community Farm in Kalihiwai Ridge
Cost: $15 advanced donation online, $25 donation at door, keiki 16 and under FREE

The 6th annual Earth Day Rising Festival will have workshops and panels on sustainable living, agriculture, and conservation, farm kids activities, clothing swap tent, seed and plant giveaway, music, food, and more!

Big Island

Earth Day at Kahakai Elementary Kona Hawaii

Friday, April 22nd

Painted Trees of Hawaii will be planting 250 eucalyptus trees to celebrate Earth Day. Special guest, Kelly Dunn, fine art photographer will give a presentation to the students about these beautiful trees.

Aloha Aina Unity March took place in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii on August 9, 2015. It was a Sunday morning event, with lots of people and groups gathering on Saratoga Avenue. The march started at about 10:30am and went through the entire Waikiki strip. Around 10,000 participated. Crowd turn out was so large that even though Kalakaua Avenue is nearly straight it was impossible to see the beginning or the end of the Aloha Aina Unity March.

It was also interesting to witness an event of this social magnitude and size against the backdrop of the worlds top luxury brands’ flagship retail stores such as Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, etc. situated on the world’s third most expensive real estate leases – on Kalakaua Avenue ($300/sf/mo).

Some of the main reasons for the 2015 Aloha Aina Unity March event were: protecting Mauna Kea (the most sacred place in Hawaii and Polynesia) from the largest telescope in the world, social and civil justice (policy brutality sweeping the U.S., U.S. federal government overturning local laws), sustainability, protection against GMO pollution and pesticide drift, as well as upholding local laws against GMOs, TMT development, sovereignty, environmental preservation, and against over-militarization in Hawaii, Japan, and elsewhere.

Lots of people brought their families including little kids, newborns, and the elderly. Kids were helping out and passing out information flyers about the event. Many children made their own signs in the form of original artwork and writing. They marched alongside their parents many in the front lines of the parade sections, while others were inside the group with their families. Most kids walked while others were carried by their parents, were in a stroller or a cart.

The whole of Waikiki strip alongside Kalakaua Avenue was teeming with Honolulu police who were riding bicycles up and down the street and regulating the one lane of traffic that was open. Traffic was a nightmare for those unfortunate travelers who didn’t get to be on foot during, before, and after the parade.

Photo use terms: OK to use for personal and non-commercial purposes. News, blogs, and website use is OK with proper image credit in the title or image description: Photo: Pasha Yushin | OrganicHawaii.org

Photo Gallery 1: “BEST OF!”

Photo Gallery 2: “Rest of..(ALL 523 photos!)

On September 5, 2014 concerned Honolulu community leaders met with Kapiolani park officials for the second time to try to persuade them to stop spraying highly toxic glyphosate containing herbicide chemicals such as Monsanto’s RoundUp and Honcho in Kapiolani park, Hawaii’s largest and oldest public park.

The meeting started at 3pm and took place at the beautiful Paki Hale where Honolulu community leaders spoke out against the use of harmful herbicides in Kapiolani Park. Some of their valuable and informative testimonies were recorded and are available in the videos throughout this article.

Paki Hale at Kapiolani Park | Organic Hawaii

Among them were doctors, journalists, farmers, gardeners, concerned park users, environmentalists, artists, musicians, and even the director of the Diamond Head Community Garden Association.

She correctly pointed out the fact that it’s illegal to use these and any other harmful non-organic chemicals in all Honolulu Community Garden locations and that Kapiolani park should be no exception. Especially due to the fact that Kapiolani Park is right next to the Diamond Head Community Garden and both the park and the garden are under the management of the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation.

Supporting the ban on harmful chemicals in Kapiolani Park is a no-brainer decision to a health conscious, moral person. Ultimately, we must pass ordinances and laws that would ban the use of toxic chemicals in all Hawaii public parks across all islands. 

 ACTION ALERT: “STOP POISONING KAPIOLANI PARK!” 

Similar actions, ordinances, and laws have already been passed in other U.S. mainland states such as California, Oregon, and Washington where the use of these toxic herbicide chemicals is prohibited in public parks to protect public health as early as 2001 in Seattle, Washington!

Doesn’t Hawaii and it’s people deserve at least the same kind of protection from controversial and infamous chemicals that have been linked to birth defects, autism, cancer, DNA and cell damage, neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s, etc.?

We hope that Kapiolani park officials, the heads of City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Urban Forestry, as well as Hawaii’s political leaders agree that the people of Hawaii deserve to enjoy chemical-free public parks today!

Save Kapiolani Park

Kapiolani Park is the oldest and the largest public park in Hawaii. It’s enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people each year both locals and tourists alike for family recreation, sports, picnics, community events, and much more. The 300-acre (1.2 km²) Kapiolani park is a gorgeous public park right next to the busy touristy Waikiki district on the island of Oahu. It’s home to the Honolulu Zoo, the Waikiki Shell performance arena, and it’s adjacent to some of the most popular beaches in Hawaii.

Kapiolani Park sign posted: “Field Closed, No Practice, No Games” Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. September 2014

Recently it was discovered that highly toxic broad-spectrum Glyphosate containing herbicides such as RoundUp and Honcho are being sprayed in Kapiolani park on a regular basis. Glyphosate was originally developed by Monsanto. After many independent studies Glyphosate has been been linked to a multitude of severe health conditions, such as: cancer, autism, DNA damage, cell damage, liver damage, and more. It’s highly toxic even in small doses when diluted to 450 times lower than what is used in agricultural applications.

These chemicals are not only toxic to humans and plants, but everything else living including: soil micro organisms, insects including pollinators such as bees and butterflies, earthworms, birds, pets, and aquatic sea life.

During application glyphosate spreads by air and wind, lurks on top of surfaces such as grass, soil, picnic tables, etc. and leaches down through the soil eventually reaching the nearby ocean. It creates invisible (to the human eye) pollution of the soil that we walk on, the air that our children breathe, and the ocean that so many enjoy.

So far there have been two community meetings with the purpose of having park officials stop spraying toxic poison in Kapiolani Park. As of now the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation and Urban Forestry Division is reluctant to stop spraying these highly toxic products in public places despite multiple expert and community testimonies.

Honolulu Park officials are saying that since the government has no legal restriction (laws) against the use of glyphosate and other highly toxic chemicals in Kapiolani park and other public places of Hawaii, therefore, it’s ok for them to keep on using them, despite the abundance of independent studies showing high toxicity of these infamous products and despite other Public Parks in mainland U.S. states having banned their use and passed laws to protect their communities.

Right now we need to create a social mass awareness about the poisoning of Kapiolani Park that’s going on since most Hawaii residents and tourists alike are completely unaware of glyphosate use in Hawaii public parks. We need to tell our families, our neighbors, coworkers, and friends about this situation to create mass awareness, which would create social change.

Take Action! If you’re NOT OK with Honolulu park officials spraying toxic chemicals in Kapiolani park and other Hawaii public parks you need to email, call, send fax, or write a letter to:

Department of Parks and Recreation
Michele K. Nekota, Director
Jeanne C. Ishikawa, Deputy Director

1000 Uluohia Street, Suite 309
Kapolei, Hawaii 96707
Phone:(808) 768-3003
Fax: (808) 768-3053
Email: parks@honolulu.gov

You can also contact your local political and community leaders and ask them to support banning the use of toxic chemicals in Hawaii public places including public parks such as Kapiolani. Also, come to the 3rd Meeting (to be announced) to voice your support for chemical free parks in Hawaii.

You don’t have to write or say a lot if you don’t want to. For example (you can even copy/paste/adapt the text below):

Sample letter A

Aloha (name of person you’re contacting),

I’m not OK with Honolulu Public Park officials using toxic chemicals in Kapiolani Park and other public places. Please stop immediately. These chemicals are toxic to the Hawaiian ecosystem and have been scientifically linked to many severe health problems in humans.

Mahalo,

(your name)

Sample letter B

Aloha Dear Michele K. Nekota and Jeanne C. Ishikawa,

Please, take necessary steps ASAP to stop using glyphosate and any other harmful highly toxic products such as Monsanto’s RoundUp and Honcho in public parks. These chemicals put the people of Hawaii health at risk and pollute the environment. These are very toxic chemicals and we the people of Hawaii demand ban on their use. There have already been two meetings on this issue at Kapiolani Park. There’s overwhelming evidence that these chemicals damage DNA, reproductive damage, cause cancer, autism, and the list goes on. They are highly toxic. If you really care about people’s health and the Aina, then please take action immediately to address this major issue.

Sincerely,

(optional: who you are: examaple: Waikiki resident, Hawaii parks user, community gardener, attorney, doctor, police officer, engineer, etc.)

(your name)