On Saturday August 23, 2003 approximately 10 community members participated in the KBAC Kāne‘ohe Stream Walk in Kane‘ohe. This walk was led by Stephen Kubota, the Program Director for the Ahupua‘a Action Alliance, and Project Champion for the Kane‘ohe-Kahalu‘u Community Vision Team's Stream Restoration and Maintenance Master Plan Project.

This unique streamwalk featured many environmentally- interesting features, including:

• Waikalua Fishpond (click for map);
• The stream mouth;
• A waste treatment plant; and
• A golf course.

Despite the poor signage to the site, everyone found the public parking lot. Most of the participants were unaware both a stream and fishpond exist so close to Kane`ohe town!

Location of the fishpond

Stephen pointed out that petroleum-based pollutants often make their way into the streams from our urban areas, showing two important characteristics:

1. They are volatile, meaning that they can "evaporate" in the hot sun; and
2. They tend to float on water.

These 2 characteristics of these chemicals that many of us believe are "washed out to sea", really just return when the wind blows them back to land or they return on incoming tides!

Stephen also explained how some pollutants are "hydrophobic", and instead of being washed away by water, these pollutants tend to bind to sediment. These compounds can then enter the food chain when the sediment is eaten by small invertebrates like shrimp or crayfish, and tend to add up (or "bioaccumulate") in larger organisms -- like humans -- who eat the affected fish, shellfish, or other organisms. Bioaccumulation of these "persistent organic pollutants" can have far-reaching consequences as organisms often migrate great distances - bringing our pollutants to some of the world's most remote places!

Some participants noticed that more dirt than sand the beach on parts of the makai wall of the fishpond. We learned that dirt from bare streambanks washes off the banks and into the bay where it covers the beaches and smothers reefs. Stephen also noted that using natural fibers common such as coconuts and palm fronds as ground cover can slow the flow of water into a stream, giving dirt a chance to settle out.

Additionally, when too much leaf litter enters a stream, it adds too many nutrients to the stream. Historically, the Hawaiian fan palm, or loulu, commonly grew near the coast. Because it generates very little leaf litter, people should revegetate streamside sites with loulu.

Discussions of traditional Hawaiian culture permeated the entire streamwalk, from the origins of place names to the importance of public access to stream and ocean resources. This last point expressly felt by everyone who had difficulty finding this beautiful spot!

At the end of the we all completed KBAC's Awareness Survey.

Click here to see the results of that survey and their comparison with past KBAC assessments made using the "Stream Awareness Survey".