Hawai‘i Land Trust is pleased to host Mālama ‘Āina Kākou! The event brings together Hawai‘i’s conservation advocates for an island-style sunset pā‘ina on the historic grounds at Lanikūhonua on O‘ahu’s west side.
Guests will be treated with ‘ono fare featuring locally gown and produced foods, complimentary cocktails, and live entertainment. This benefit provides much-needed operational support for Hawai‘i Land Trust to protect and steward the lands that sustain us. Your support of this event will bolster our efforts to protect lands in Kāne‘ohe and Kailua as well as ensure the protection of coastlines, wahi kupuna, and farms and ranches that produce healthy food for our community, across the island chain. E Mālama ʻĀina Kākou!
This event is sold out! Mahalo to our table sponsors!
2024 Kahu o ka ʻĀina
Denise Antolini
Hawaiʻi Land Trust is pleased to announce that Denise Antolini will be recognized as our 2024 Kahu o ka ʻĀina. Each year, the Mālama ʻĀina Kākou event honors a person, group, or organization that has made a substantial impact in conservation and sustainability in Hawaiʻi.
Denise has made meaningful direct and systemic impacts on ʻāina stewardship in Hawaiʻi by cultivating law students for decades in environment-focused studies, building partnerships among key public and private entities, leading research and publications, working on landmark legal cases, and founding and serving on important community non-profits and government boards.
Denise served on the faculty of the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, for nearly 30 years, including 9 years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She retired from the Law School in 2023 and now is Professor Emerita.
After Denise joined the Law School in 1996, she co-directed and then served as Director of the nationally ranked Environmental Law Program (ELP) from 2004 until 2011. She taught courses in torts, environmental law, legal writing, and advanced environmental law. Denise also worked on the creation and support for the Hawaiʻi Environmental Court, the first state-level natural resources/environmental civil and criminal court in the U.S. Starting in 2015, she partnered with the Judiciary to provide extensive programming and materials in bi-annual trainings for the Environmental Court judges statewide. Working with former Law School Dean Avi Soifer, she helped imagine, plan, design, and build the new Law School Clinical Building, a $9.2M LEED Gold certified project that opened for students, faculty, and legal community use in 2019.
From 2006 to 2023, she managed the Enviromental Law Program’s placement of over 30 law graduates in eight divisions of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and with partners as “Law Fellows.” Denise also worked with the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) on the design of the new Officer Academy launched in 2021, legislation authorizing DOCARE to use drones for enforcement, and the community-based Makai Watch Program through her role as President of Mālama Pūpukea-Waimea since 2005.
At the international level, she extensively engaged ELP students and faculty in the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Congress in Honolulu, then went on to serve as the Deputy Chair of the World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) (2016-2020).
Denise has also participated extensively in environmental community and pro bono service, including: State Water Commissioner (2014-2015); inaugural Chair of the City and County of Honolulu Clean Water and Natural Lands Commission (2008-2011); Member, Governor Linda Lingle Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group (2008-2010); Community Representative, Governor Neil Abercrombie Turtle Bay negotiations advisory group (2013-2014); Chair, State Environmental Council (2005-2006) and Rules Committee Chair (2004-2005); and Chair, Vice Chair, Program Chair, and member of the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association's Natural Resources (now Energy and Environment) Section (1996-present).
A graduate of Princeton University, she earned joint J.D.-M.P.P. degrees from the UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D.) and the Berkeley Public Policy School. After clerking for a federal judge for two years in Washington, D.C., she started her career with Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (now Earthjustice) in Seattle and then transferred to Honolulu in 1990, serving as Project Attorney, Staff Attorney, and Managing Attorney (until 1996), where her litigation focused on environmental citizen suits including water pollution, endangered species, water rights, and environmental review.
Denise was a founding director of the North Shore Community Land Trust (1998-2012; Advisory Board, 2012-present); Save Waimea Valley Coalition (Co-Coordinator 2006-2008); Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea (President, 2005-present); Save Sharks Cove Alliance (2014-present); Aloha Marconi Alliance (2024-present). In 2023, shortly after retiring, she was elected to the North Shore Neighborhood Board. Denise lives in Pūpūkea and enjoys volunteering for numerous North Shore ‘āina advocacy and community conservation projects.
Featured Restaurant Partners:
This year’s event will include a delicious menu curated to feature local restaurants and chefs who prioritize supporting local farmers and food producers. Hawaiʻi Land Trust works to support food sustainability in Hawaiʻi by protecting local farms and ranches. We are proud to work with these local chefs and restaurants celebrating Hawaiʻi’s vibrant food culture and local farmers.
The Asato Family Shop has an obsession for making the community happy through food. They aim to provide an experience that takes you back to “small-kid time” through local kine sherbert and treats made with local ingredients and flavors that will “broke da mouth.” Their mission is to carry on Hawaii’s food history and culture for the next generations.
Kahumana Cafe highlights produce grown at Kahumana Organic Farm, just steps from the Cafe’s physical location in Waiʻanae along with produce aggregated by the Kahumana Food Hub from backyard growers and small farmers. The highly seasonal menu also includes wild-caught fish from local fishermen, and responsibly sourced local meats. Kahumana Organic Farm and Cafe supports the mission of the nonprofit parent company to create a healthy, inclusive, and productive farm-based community with homeless families, people with disabilities, and youth. Hawaiʻi Land Trust worked with Kahumana Organic Farm, local foundations, and the USDA to permanently protect 24 acres of their farm in 2022.
Husband-and-wife team chef Wade Ueoka and pastry chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka. Together, they bring over 10 years of hard work and dedication to their culinary masterpieces, for which they’ve received multiple awards and accolades. Their innovative contemporary cuisine celebrates local comfort foods and the diverse backgrounds that make up Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine.
Ed Kenney, is an influential champion of the local farm-to-table movement that has transitioned from movement to culinary norm. He opened his first restaurant, TOWN, in 2005, followed by Kaimukī Superette, Mud Hen Water, and Mahina & Sun’s. His restaurants are lively gathering places guided by the mantra, “local first, organic whenever possible, with aloha always” and have received accolades in local and national press. In 2015, he founded FoodShed Community Kitchen which provides incubator kitchen space for small local food-centric businesses.
There’s no doubt about Roy Yamaguchi’s impact on island cuisine. Over the course of his career, the James Beard award-winning chef co-founded the Hawaiʻi regional cuisine movement, and in 2011 with Alan Wong and Denise Yamaguchi, he co-founded the Hawaiʻi Food & Wine Festival. Roy Yamaguchi Hawaiʻi Restaurants are an involved and active member of their communities and take pride in their responsibility to give back. Roy Yamaguchi has long been a proud supporter of local farms and fisherman, serving locally grown foods and products in all his restaurants, growing efforts to support as many local agricultural resources as possible.
Hawaii Land Trust is proud to announce our partnership with the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina which offers guests of Mālama ʻĀina Kākou a discounted overnight rate the weekend of the event. We encourage you to book a staycation with the Four Seasons and spend some excellent quality time with your family.
Details:
(Kamaʻāina is normally $858/night)
Garden View Rooms - $635/night
Partial Ocean View Rooms - $655/night
Oceanfront Rooms - $695/night
No Resort Fee and complimentary internet
Parking at a discounted rate of $38/day (normally $50/day)
Booking Directions:
To book, call (808) 679-0079 and ask for Reservations.
Let them know you’re booking the courtesy rate for The Hawaii Land Trust, (HILT) or Malama Aina Kakou Courtesy Room Block
