The
concept for a Kona Earth Festival began several years ago
when Jeff Turner and Barbara Bell, formerly the Director
of the County’s Department of Environmental Management,
whimsically discussed turning Earth Day into Earth Week. That
idea then gestated for a couple of years until in 2005 a
sub-committee of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Environment
and Natural Resources Committee began monthly discussions
about Earth Day and various environmental events that already
existed or could be developed, and the concept of a month-long "Earth
Festival" was born. The goal was to link together existing
events, and weave new ones into a cohesive, focused Festival
that would attract thousand of residents and visitors eager
to learn about and steward our natural environment.
The inaugural 2006 Kona
Earth Festival was a project of the Kona-Kohala Chamber
of Commerce and the Institute for a Sustainable Future.
In 2006, we offered twelve events and operated on a budget
of almost $30,000 from business sponsorships, individual
donors, and retail sales. The events were all well attended,
raised awareness about environmental issues, and made a
positive contribution to the community. Building on this success,
the 2008 Kona Earth Festival is providing 19 amazing events.
The Institute for a Sustainable
Future (ISF) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit that was originally
incorporated as the Sustainable Community Development Foundation
in 1992. The name
was changed to Institute for a Sustainable Future in 1994. ISF
grew out of a series of Permaculture trainings in 1990 and
1991.
The mission of ISF is:
To facilitate the development,
dissemination, and implementation of techniques, skills, & systems
that empower communities to manage their resources and
affairs in a sustainable manner.
ISF has completed a diverse
range of projects that include; Permaculture trainings,
a two-year, $200,000 Americorp grant in 1994 and 1995,
serving as the fiscal agent for a grant for a video production
in 1997, and conducting fiscal services for a Low Frequency
Active Sonar research and litigation activity in 1999 and
2000. More
recently ISF has received and held in trust charitable contribution
funding for Public Access Shoreline Hawaii (PASH) and the
Kona Conservation Group. In 2006, ISF was the fiscal
agent for the Kona Earth Festival, processing the receipts
and disbursements of approximately $30,000 for that event,
as well as providing organizational logistics and expertise
for producing the Festival.
The Board of ISF includes
Ken Boche, Dr. Dickran Boranian MD, and Jeff Turner CPA,
all trained Permaculture designers. Ken,
the President, has operated his own nursery business for
15 years, specializing in propagation of native plants. Most
recently he has been teaching forestry at Hawaii Community
College and has been instrumental in advancing the Kona Canoe
Forest Management Plan on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Dr. Boranian is an internist on staff at Kona Community Hospital with a private holistic practice in Kona and lives on his organic coffee farm in Holualoa.
Jeff Turner
is the visionary who first began the cultivation of the Kona Earth Festival. He not only serves on the Board of the Institute of a Sustainable Future, but also serves as the Co-Director of this years Kona
Earth Festival. Jeff is a
business and non-profit consultant, experienced in mentoring
many community organizations and activities, such as co-founding
Recycle Hawaii and the Kona Brewers Festival.
Michael Kramer serves as this year's Co-Director. He is an investment advisor, sustainability
educator, and strategic planning consultant. He has served
as a Development Director and Executive Director for several
non-profit organizations, and has coordinated two Environmental
Education Association of New Mexico annual conferences and
a National Service Learning Conference. He is an investment
advisor with Natural
Investment Services, Inc. and the founder of the Kuleana
Green Business Program, a program of the Kona-Kohala
Chamber of Commerce.
Angela Kang is this year’s
Festival Coordinator. Angela is an Executive Officer of Sustainable Bliss, a Hawai'i Island 501c3 that serves to promote island self-reliance through environmental, socio-economic, and cultural education awareness workshops and consulting. Angela has an extensive background in business and project management in the government, non-profit, educational, and for-profit sectors. Angela holds a dual BS from Northwestern University in Philosophy and Comparative Literary Studies.
Linda Oery joined the Kona Earth Festival team this year as the Marketing and Development Coordinator. She and her husband, John, have been part-time residents of the Big Island for more than a decade, relocating permanently to Kona last year. Linda worked for non profits for more than thirty years, both as the Executive Director of rural hospital foundations, as well as owning a private consulting business specializing in organizational development and fundraising. She has also served on numerous boards and community service groups including Rotary International, Chamber of Commerce, and the California Hospitals’ Committee on Public Affairs.
Guy Toyama serves on the Kona Earth Festival Steering Committee. Guy is CEO of 2085
Now, LLC a company involved in the research and development
of electrolyzers for the purpose of producing hydrogen from
water. He is a Board director of the Kona-Kohala Chamber
of Commerce and the Friends of the Natural Energy Lab of
Hawaii Authority. Guy is also the president of the
Hawaii Food Manufacturing Association. He holds a B.A.
Marketing from University of Oregon.
Our Community Partners
Each Kona Earth Festival Event is made possible by the hard
work of the presenting organizations which are:
- 8th Annual Coral Reef Awareness and Earth
Day Fair: Sponsored by Keauhou Resort, Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, UH Sea Grant College Program, Girl Scout Council of HI, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Jack's Diving Locker, Dolphin Quest, The Kohala Center, Hawaii Forest and Trail, Ocean Sports, and Red Sail Sports, along with the help of community volunteers and service/dive clubs. Drawings for great Prizes donated by local businesses.
- Kaloko Walk and Ride Trail Rebuild: Sponsored by Bike Works and People's Advocacy for Trails Hawai'i (PATH)
- 2nd Annual Trash Bash - Recycled Art and Fashion
Show: Sponsored by WasteStream Kohala and Recycle
Hawai‘i.
- Planet Earth Film Series: Sponsored by Kona Earth Festival and Friends
of NELHA (Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority).
- Green Drinks & Sustainable Fashion Show: Sponsored by Kona Earth Festival, Organik, Ginger & Koi, Kona-Kohala Young Professionals, & Sustainable Bliss
- Artists & the Environment Presentation: Sponsored by Fine Artists for World Peace, Recycle Hawai'i, and County of Hawai'i
- Tropical Reforestation
and Ecosystems Education (TREE) Hawaii,
Community Tree Planting in O‘oma State Forest: Presented
by TREE
(Tropical Reforestation Ecosystems & Education) Center
Hawaii.
- Keiki Surf for the Earth & Beach Clean Up: Sponsored by Na Keiki He'e Nalu O Hawai'i
- 4 x 4 Tour of Kealakekua Heritage Ranch: Sponsored by Kona Soil and Water Conservation District
- Ocean Fair: Sponsored by Jack's
Diving Locker.
- Third Annual Kuleana
Business Conference & Trade
Show: Presented by the Kona
Kohala Chamber of Commerce.
- Eat your way to Food Sustainability-
Organic Farm and Sustainable Food: Presented by: Ginger Hilll Farms
- Native Gardens Tour: Sponsored by Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Gardens
- Ride for Awareness: Sponsored by Hawai'i Cycling Club and People's Advocacy for Trails Hawai'i (PATH)
- Hualalai Academy School Garden Tune-up: Sponsored by Hualalai Academy
- Hawai'i Seed Exchange: Sponsored by Hawai'i SEED
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