Jaya Dupuis

About Jaya Dupuis

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April 23, 2024

Earth Day at UHH Campus — April 22nd

For HER, every day is EARTH DAY! This year was the first time we could again gather at the University of Hilo campus since Covid-19, and the turn out was splendid! The event hosted bus loads of students from schools all over the Island as far as Na’alehu!

HER was supported by two wonderful board members /volunteers (cultural advisor, Thomas Brennon, and Secretary/treasurer Batya Okunov) alongside Jaya, creatively engaging students and faculty around learning the plant species that surround us here in Hawaii, and the difference between native vs invasive species.

HER recruited 16 new e-mail subscribers and volunteers during the dynamic event; and we are looking forward to seeing some of these new faces in the forest for Summer Solstice!

March 20, 2024

Revitalize Puna Getting Strong!

Jaya Dupuis Blog

This event was “truly exceptional and meaningful experience for all members of the community who took part…that provided over 400 meals and 1,600 plants… and community response continues to be overwhelmingly positive!

The focus of this event held a strong focus on food growing and sustainability, which is a critical component to environmental betterment! Numerous new tables offered the community pertinent information, opportunity, and even an abundance of seedlings to take home!

Spirits were high, stirring much hope for the future, as community members came out of the woodwork to participate more fully in this shared opportunity to make our Puna home what it could be. The Revitalize Puna vision finds hard-earned momentum, and HER is proud to have been an integral part of it from the get-go.

Keep your ears open for the next occasion; you won’t regret it! And the food is ‘ono too!

December 26, 2023

Winter Solstice Planting on December 23rd

Jaya Dupuis Blog

Winter Solstice was highly productive with 186 seedlings entering the grounds of Keau’ohana, thanks to a small group of 8 participants dedicated to celebrating a magnificent and meaningful Solstice Planting Event on Saturday the 23^rd. It was once again a joy to share in this way despite rather wet conditions. Weather reports warn of another El Nino winter, therefore HER is taking advantage of these lovely rains to assert native life in the rainforest. We are proud to announce that this week alone 257 keiki were planted in the western portion of the volunteer area.

Another big thank you to Ann Kobsa (final picture/lower right column) for her beautiful work in propagating, nurturing and for donating the majority of these very robust seedlings! We also want to thank Will Stein (Second left above) for his plant contributions. Will is taking gps points of all plantings, and organizing a data base for HER as well; in this way, we will be able to make better restoration decisions over time.

November 28, 2023

Partnership with Local Malamalama Waldorf School

Jaya Dupuis Blog

HER is also partnering with our local Malama Waldorf School! Kumu Vernon and several aspiring 8^th graders have joined the Keau’ohana monday crew for two months, on October 23^rd and November 27^th.

They have had the opportunity to do both, invasive species control and native species planting in Keau’ohana, giving them a full breadth of restoration experience.

Though not numerous, the group is highly enthusiastic about continuing their newfound opportunity with HER, and we truly look forward to a continuing journey! We cherish opportunities like these, to support young students in digging their heels into the ground and getting their hands dirty! The ‘aina loves it too!

Thank you Malamalama School, for being an inspiration to us all!

November 24, 2023

The Pahoa High School KUPU Program

Jaya Dupuis Blog

A partnership with the KUPU environmental education leader at Pahoa High School, Darien Matlock, working alongside natural resource teacher Christian Atalig, began on November 20th to host groups of students on a regular basis. Kupu has a two-fold mission: to preserve the land while empowering youth. The organization provides hands-on training in conservation, sustainability, and environmental education for young adults, with the goal of fostering the next generation of environmental and cultural stewards.

Our first event was awesome, with twelve students and two teachers engaging in a successful hands-on restoration experience. The group worked hard together, helping HER in the completion of our 7^th systematic site pass. We are proud of their accomplishment and very thankful to them for persevering through the morning with our crew!

Here are a couple before and after shots of their great clearing work!

: A - BEFORE

: A - AFTER

: B - BEFORE

: B - AFTER

November 8, 2023

LWFWG Visit to Keau’ohana

Jaya Dupuis Blog

HER has received great news, that funding for the fencing of Keau’ohana has been approved by the State, and is proposed to begin in early 2024! This will greatly support our restoration efforts against the harmful effects of feral pigs to the forest floor, and help secure our delicate out-plantings.

In light of this, the Lowland Wet Forest Working Group (LWFWG) gathered this month in Keau’ohana to discuss important restoration questions. HER is excited to increase the planting component of our efforts once the site is fenced in, and this event helped to affirm our dedication in continuing to focus on a native composition, despite the challenge presented by open canopy conditions due to ROD.

We will be exploring more with direct seeding of abundant native species such as hala and neneleau in the interior, and milo on the exterior edges of the site. We will also be increasing the number of outplanting species to include more akia, alahe’e, loulu, ho’awa, papala kepau, and the usual ‘ohe; as well as introducing new ones into the site, such as Ko’oko’olau, uhaloa, uki, ulei and more…

HER walk-about in the forest site with other forest specialists and supporters was very inspiring and productive to HER!

September 25, 2023

Keau’ohana Fall Equinox Planting Event

Jaya Dupuis Blog

Eight forest friends planted 66 seedlings for Fall Equinox in the forest of Keau’ohana on Saturday September 23^rd. Among the usual restoration species, we added kou seedlings to our mix. Though the native kou tree is generally found in coastal regions, as the climate warms up and rainfall decreases, we are experimenting to observe how they may fair.

So far we have largely planted native seedlings in the forest to try and maintain keau’ohana’s native forest integrity, but with the severe loss of ‘ohi’a to ROD, we are forced to experiment in our plight for shade. Soon we may try and include Polynesian-introduced species such as the kamani, and perhaps some non-invasive/non-native species in pockets of the forest site that are more disturbed. These questions are being evaluated by our Lowland Wet Forest Working Group (LWFWG), to be incorporated in 2024.

Warm mahalos to all who celebrated the Equinox event; it was a sweet day in the forest together!

July 25, 2023

Four Young Hawaiian Women to Make Kamehameha Schools Proud — July 24th

Jaya Dupuis Blog

Four alumni students of Kamehameha School whom have received scholarships for continued education, put their hands and hearts into the soils of Keau’ohana yesterday! Their exuberance and perseverance over a long hard work day was impressive.

Kamahameha school would be proud to have witnessed their performance! These young women accomplished a lot of invasive species removal, leaving a large area clear and free for natives to prosper! They concluded the day with a chant for our forest crew, and we hope people will take the time to enjoy this brief video.

July 4, 2023

Saba Kinder Art(SKA) Academy, July 3rd

Jaya Dupuis Blog

Yesterday, HER accommodated a young group of artists from the Saba Kinder Art (SKA) Academy in Duluth, Georgia! Len Kar Chang, who coordinated the special event with her sister, Leng Chee Chang, (who works here at the University of Hilo researching chemical components and possible benefits of various native species), appreciated the opportunity, in her words: “ to engage in our project, and gain insights into Hawaii’s extraordinary ecosystem”.

Together we accomplished the larger part of Keau’ohana’s central volunteer loop, leaving it shinning once more. Please enjoy one of the brief videos the group produced of our protocol time prior to efforts conducted in the forest. It is a sweet glimpse into the magic of this place!

May 24, 2023

May 22, Deputy Regional Forester Visit

Jaya Dupuis Blog

A Deputy Regional Forester meeting was held May 22^nd to discuss forest restoration in light of Rapid ‘Ohi’a Death (ROD), which included a splendid hike up to Pu’u Heiheiahulu, a very important facet of Wao Kele O Puna’s 126,000 acres located above Keau’ohana.

Wao Kele O Puna is the largest remaining native lowland forest above 1,000 feet, and the view from the pu’u was astounding as we looked over vast early succession ‘ohi’a/uluhe forest. We also had the privilege of glimpsing into the pu’u from its rim at a protected native remnant of stunning biodiversity, where large colonies of the endangered ha’iwale (Cyrtandra nanawalensis) were recently discovered.

This was certainly a highlight to the day, which Kalena and Kirk from Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) graciously facilitated for participating United State Forest Service (USFS) representatives of Califonia, O’ahu, and Hilo. Big Island Invasive Species (BIISC), and Hawaii Environmental Restoration.

A visit to Keau’ohana followed, in which discussion was held about HER efforts over the past decade, as ROD progressed in conjunction with HER intensive restoration measures. HER crew has witnessed the collapse of our primary native canopy to ROD, as it worked hard to secure the Keau’ohana understory. HER persists in its mission to protect what remains among the last of Hawaii’s biodiverse native lowland plant assemblage despite the dramatic effects of ROD.

We all hope there will be a future turning point in which shade will be re-established on the site, but even as a more open forest, Keau’ohana serves as a necessary living classroom of native biodiversity, vegetation issues, and restorative solutions. It is an invaluable representation of the past and the stark reality of human impact.

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