Stewardship Partner - Koʻolau Ranch

LEPEULI STEWARDSHIP & COMMUNITY PROGRAM SITE

Hawaiʻi Land Trust leads ʻāina-based restoration and community programming to steward a 10-acre coastal portion of the ahupuaʻa of Lepeuli, Kauaʻi, in partnership with Koʻolau Ranch and the Chan Zuckerberg family. Established in Fall 2024, this stewardship partnership supports planting native species, improving wildlife habitat, honoring the area’s cultural history and practices, and creating meaningful community engagement opportunities.

Ahupuaʻa: Lepeuli Moku: Ko’olau Size: 10 Acres
Year Stewardship Began: 2024
Land Protection Strategy: Stewardship partnership
Conservation Values: Cultural practice and education, shoreline access, endangered wildlife, critical habitat restoration, and recreation
Land Features: Coastal and dryland forest habitat, marine shoreline, and nearshore reef systems

About Lepeuli

The 872-acre ahupuaʻa of Lepeuli is one of eleven traditional land divisions within the moku of Koʻolau on the rugged northeastern coast of Kauaʻi. Although comparatively smaller in size, Lepeuli (translated to “dark border”) has provided generations of Native Hawaiian ʻohana with an abundance of resources found on both land and water. Records indicate the use of freshwater springs to feed into loʻi kalo (irrigated taro patch), cultivation of Polynesian-introduced plants, and perhaps most notably the harvesting of the prized limu kohu (red algae species), widely regarded as the best on island.

Abundance is also evident in the native plant and wildlife species that call Lepeuli their home. Today, honu (green sea turtle) forage the nearshore reef, ʻīlio holo i ka uaua (Hawaiian monk seal) breed and wean their pups in the safety of the shallows, seabirds traverse in search of feeding grounds and establish colonies, ʻopihi (limpet) and limu thrive in the intertidal zone, and endemic and Polynesian-introduced plants continue to characterize the landscape.

Volunteer at Lepeuli

Join us every third Wednesday of the month, 8:30am to 11:30am for some hana (work)!

Sign Up Here

Please bring the following with you:

  • Protective clothing (long sleeved shirts, long pants, closed toed shoes, gloves)

  • Sunscreen

  • Pack lunch

  • Water bottle

To inquire about a partnership or to bring out your school group, email Tiffany Morgan.