Sierra Club Maui to celebrate 50th anniversary Saturday
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For 50 years, the Sierra Club Maui Group has been at the forefront of protecting humpback whales, native stream life and wildlife areas such as Kealia Pond and Makena State Park.
Club members will host a gathering at 11 a.m. Oct. 10 at a farm in Haiku to celebrate the Sierra Club's 50th anniversary on the Valley Isle. People may RSVP for the event at bit.ly/4glGhbu.
The gathering will feature music from Richard Dancil, as well as a community potluck and food donated by Nalu's, Flatbread Pizza and SixtyTwo MarcKet.
There also will be an online auction featuring items from Maui adventure tours and more at tinyurl.com/zsba6cay.
An awards ceremony will also recognize individuals who have contributed to improving the environment and community.
For decades, Sierra Club Maui and Native Hawaiians of Nā Moku ʻAupuni ʻo Koʻolau Hui have partnered in efforts to restore East Maui streams and ecosystems.
"Sierra Club Maui deserves high praise for its support as well as its leadership in East Maui and conservation issues," said Ed Wendt, a Wailuanui taro farmer. "Throughout the past many decades through the present, they have always been there for our Native Hawaiian community. We have the utmost respect and aloha for the organization."
Sierra Club Maui volunteers help replant eroded ground on Kahoolawe. The group is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Photo courtesy Sierra Club Maui Group
Sierra Club Maui chairperson Lucienne de Naie said she has found the group's collaboration on environmental issues enriching, while learning from Native Hawaiians about their knowledge of and respect for the land and ocean.
She recalled how the Maui Group worked with Native Hawaiians to protect sand dunes at Waikapu when the area was proposed for thousands of housing units and supported the county's purchase of 500 acres to protect traditional burial grounds at Wai'ale.
Sierra Club Maui members also supported a ban on plastic bags in 2008 and a bill that effectively limited the taking of live fish for the aquarium trade.
Club members and allies also pushed for an environmental review of the high-speed Superferry to prevent the spread of invasive species. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in the organizations' favor, saying a study was needed.
Club members and supporters have also taken Maui County to court to reduce ocean pollutant loads from sewage injection wells in West Maui. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the coalition's favor in another landmark case, and the county was required to gradually upgrade its reuse of more reclaimed water.
In 2020, the Sierra Club Maui Group and the Ma'alaea Village Association led a community effort to preserve 250 acres of land once proposed for 1,000 houses.
The iconic landscape across from Ma'alaea Harbor and Maui Ocean Center was purchased to manage flooding and wildfire risks.