ʻĀina-Based Education & Connection
We welcome the community to share in aloha ʻāina. We love the lands of Hawaiʻi and all that it provides for us. To help people form reciprocal relationships with special places throughout our islands, we invite residents and visitors to engage with the land by putting their hands in the soil, removing invasive species and marine debris, and planting native plants or food crops.
Connect With Us
We look to the future and acknowledge that new relationships with ʻāina are essential for the cycle of reciprocity to continue. Our team of site specific Educators have years of experience building and co-creating curriculum with teachers. We strive to provide positive, interactive learning experiences that incorporate the unique aspects of our sites and Hawaiʻi.
HILT has an ʻāina-based education program at each of our community preserves. We empower teachers, students, and parents to take learning outside, where science, history, and culture come to life. We have a variety of videos from HILT sites across the islands.
We believe that ʻāina encompasses the relationship between people and all the lands that feed us, whether they be natural, cultural, agricultural, or urban. Visit one of our fee-owned properties and learn about conservation, history, culture, and biology through our free, guided hikes.
This Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Interdisciplinary Training Program pairs the health and healing found in mālama ʻāina, with investment in future psychological healthcare professionals and social workers through a partnership between Hawaiʻi Land Trust and the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
We share our value of alakaʻina, to express and cultivate leadership, through our Youth Programs. Training future ʻāina stewards is integral in HILTʻs long term success and the health of our pae ʻāina. These youth programs and internship opportunities further solidify the pilina between community and ʻāina.
HILT educates learners of all ages about the entire watershed, and the role and function of HILT’s land within the broader ahupuaʻa. We collaborate with other stewards and educators to connect keiki to their entire ahupuaʻa. Cultural practice on site is foundational in educating our communities on long term stewardship rooted in a Hawaiian Culture worldview.
