{"id":220258,"date":"2025-08-14T12:24:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T22:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220258"},"modified":"2025-08-14T12:24:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T22:24:33","slug":"veolia-mala-maunuunu-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/14\/veolia-mala-maunuunu-donation\/","title":{"rendered":"Global grant fuels Kapi\u02bbolani CC<\/abbr>\u2019s efforts to protect Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s rare plants"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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In Māla Māunuunu with Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> Chancellor Misaki Takabayashi and Veolia team members.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College\u2019s commitment to protecting Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> rare and culturally significant plants is receiving a major boost thanks to a €50,000 (approximately $58,000 USD<\/abbr>) grant from the Veolia Corporate Foundation<\/a>. The funding supports M\u0101la M\u0101unuunu, the college\u2019s long-standing Indigenous garden initiative dedicated to restoring and preserving the islands\u2019 Indigenous, endemic and endangered flora.<\/p>\n

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Kohlby Soong and student Hiapo Kanekoa help care for the m\u0101la.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“This grant from Veolia affirms that the work we\u2019re doing in the m\u0101la (garden) matters,” said Kohlby Soong, M\u0101la M\u0101unuunu facilitator and a Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> alumnus. “It gives us the chance to care for this ʻāina<\/span> in a consistent, meaningful way, and to create space for students and the campus community to connect with the land and each other.”<\/p>\n

Established in 2008, M\u0101la M\u0101unuunu is both a cultural learning space and a living laboratory. Students, faculty and community members engage in m\u0101lama ʻāina<\/span>—traditional Hawaiian land stewardship—while learning about sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and ancestral ecological practices.<\/p>\n

“We have to be cognizant of the history of the land, and how ancient Native Hawaiians nurtured it,” said Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> Chancellor Misaki Takabayashi. “It\u2019s important to learn what they grew, how they grew it and why that matters today.”<\/p>\n

The grant will help M\u0101la M\u0101unuunu expand community engagement, preserve vital plant species and strengthen climate-resilient land care practices rooted in Native Hawaiian values—ensuring that the garden remains a thriving sanctuary for both the plants and the knowledge they embody.<\/p>\n

Traditional ecological knowledge, modern conservation<\/h2>\n

The Veolia Corporate Foundation, which has supported community-focused, non-profit projects around the globe since 2004, recognized the international importance of Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr>\u2019s work in biodiversity conservation.<\/p>\n

“We are proud to support a project that aligns so deeply with our mission of environmental stewardship and sustainable water management,” said Veolia\u2019s Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>-based account manager David Vanegas-Lytle. “This initiative models how traditional ecological knowledge and modern conservation efforts can work hand in hand.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grant empowers Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> to expand conservation efforts and preserve rare native species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[63,71,319],"class_list":["post-220258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-foundation","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t