{"id":233203,"date":"2026-04-28T13:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T23:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=233203"},"modified":"2026-06-09T08:53:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:53:40","slug":"keiki-la-honua-2026-uh-hilo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/28\/keiki-la-honua-2026-uh-hilo\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of keiki gather for L\u0101 Honua 2026 at UH<\/abbr> Hilo"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Nearly 900 K<\/abbr>–12 students representing about a dozen schools attended<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community College co-hosted L\u0101 Honua<\/span> 2026<\/a>, a dynamic, multi-day Earth Day celebration. Guided by the theme “Huli ka lima i lalo, ola” (hands that are turned down to do work, bring life), the event featured demonstrations, conservation efforts and speaker presentations designed to encourage the community to m\u0101lama ʻ\u0101ina<\/span> (care for our land).<\/p>\n

\"Keiki
Students participated in a wide variety of hands-on demonstrations and workshops<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A centerpiece of the celebration took place on L\u0101 Honua<\/span> (Earth Day) at UH<\/abbr> Hilo featuring an Earth Day Fair for K<\/abbr>–12 students and a Conservation Career Fair for college students.<\/p>\n

Amy Fullerton, a second-grade teacher from P\u0101hoa<\/span> Elementary School, emphasized the necessity of the event. “We need to teach the students about how important our earth is because it’s their future.”<\/p>\n

Students were thrilled to engage in interactive activities outside the traditional classroom setting. From building their own water systems to learning about how camouflage helps animals in the wild to creating artwork using traditional Hawaiian materials and methods.<\/p>\n

\"Inglis
Kerri Inglis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For UH<\/abbr> Hilo faculty, engaging with the keiki provided a joyful change of pace. Professor Kerri Inglis spent the morning teaching children how to make ti leaf lei. Representing Hui M\u0101lama Makanalua, an organization dedicated to honoring and remembering the residents of Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi<\/span>, Inglis reflected on the university’s long-standing tradition to mark L\u0101 Honua<\/span>.<\/p>\n

“We’ve all come to really appreciate our connections, and so taking the time once a year to celebrate Earth Day is important,” said Inglis, who chairs the Social Sciences Division in the College of Arts and Sciences<\/a>. “It’s an opportunity to express gratitude for where we are and recognize that we’re responsible not just to this island, but our Earth is an island that we need to take care of as well.”<\/p>\n

For more, go to K\u016bkala<\/span> N\u016bhou<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"people
Students learned how to make lei lāʻī<\/span> or ti leaf lei<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guided by “Huli ka lima i lalo, ola,” the event featured demonstrations, conservation work and presentations centered on mālama<\/span> ʻāina.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":233207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[665,61,33,73,14],"class_list":["post-233203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-conservation","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-hawaiian","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-hilo","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