“The Great Huki” (huki is the Hawaiian word meaning “pull together, gather”) tells the story of how a tiny community organization took a huge first step toward saving a beautiful Hawaiian bay, by attacking the invasive alien algae (mudweed) that was killing it.

Maunalua Bay was a dying bay. Malama Maunalua, a tiny non-profit, was started by a small group of concerned residents to restore it. After identifying invasive alien algae (mudweed) as one of the top threats to the Bay, Malama Maunalua enlisted and trained community volunteers to begin removing it. One bag at a time, the community began to take care of its Bay. Then, Malama Maunalua was awarded a NOAA grant for a ‘shovel ready’ project and accelerated their efforts for the restoration of the Maunalua Bad. They hired a contractor to remove the mud weed and thus began ‘The Great HUKI’.

During the 18 months of “The Great Huki”, full-time crews removed 3.0 million pounds of invasive alien algae and cleared 26 acres of precious near-shore area.

Today, the 26 acres remain cleared of silt and mudweed. All of the removed mudweed is being used as composts. Scientists are finding that the removal of the mudweed is indeed improving the health of the Bay. And the community continues its work –knowing that even such a large step, was only the first step.  MalamaMaunalua.org for more information about the great work of this organization.

See Also:  Oceanflimfest.org

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