2021 in Review
As the year comes to a close, it is an opportune moment to reflect back on the year of growth we have had as Haleakalā Conservancy. We wanted to share with you 21 of our highlights of the past year to pause and look back at how far we have come.
Without further ado, 21 of our highlights, in no particular order, of what we have accomplished together this year.
We refined our mission and intention, defining that as the philanthropic partner to Haleakalā National Park, we support projects that preserve Haleakalā National Park within our three pillars of preservation, conservation, and education.
We brought on two new fantastic board members, adding Colleen Medeiros in February and Alison Cohen in October. Read more about them, and the rest of our board, here.
Our Founders Circle donors have made it possible for us to move forward confidently into the next year, knowing their altruistic and ongoing support will allow us to expand our strategy.
Our Board of Directors and Staff
We funded the refurbishment of the nēnē pen, reducing nēnē gosling mortality and protecting Hawai'i's State Bird.
We funded an educational video about our endemic forest birds to bring attention to how avian malaria is decimating our bird populations while generating engagement about the mitigation efforts.
The Conservancy was able to bring on our first Executive Director, Olena Alec, first in a part-time capacity that soon moved to full-time to steward the organization.
We were the recipients of a 2-year grant from The Makana Aloha Foundation, a commitment that has covered much of our early overhead so we could focus on the work itself.
Our lovely Americorps VISTA intern, Camryn Riddell, was able to sign up for a second term, bringing her passion to the formation of the organization.
As 2021 was the first year in funding projects within the Park, we also had to determine our areas of support, refining them to be preservation, conservation, and education. We then were able to select projects that aligned with those pillars.
We were selected as one of the 5 local nonprofit recipients of the Subaru Hawaii "Share the Love" campaign.
We were accepted as a 1% for the Planet nonprofit partner, allowing members to feel confident in giving to a vetted environmental organization.
We were generously offered a donated office space at the Wailea Gateway Center, which we have taken full advantage of and share with The Merwin Conservancy.
The board and staff took tours of both districts of the Park to understand the needs of the Park and put faces to the names of the staff doing the work.
We have created our social media accounts and we have steadily gotten more followers on both Facebook and Instagram. Follow along if you haven't already!
We opened an online retail store so anyone can support Haleakalā Conservancy while also receiving fun merchandise.
We funded frontline research in the attempts to save the kiwikiu through a project to utilize song meters to monitor and track the current population and location of our endangered forest birds. 16 song meters were purchased and to be distributed across the Eastern slopes of Haleakalā.
The Song Meter project above was funded through 100 Women who Care Maui, a generous group of women who meet quarterly to hear from 3 non-profits and select one of them to receive at least $10,000. We were honored to have been selected and have since been able to report back that the project was able to expand from 10 to 16 song meters, thanks to their generosity.
Our website has grown from a landing page to a robust website with helpful information and updates on projects.
We have been generously connected to so many incredible conservancies and park thought leaders across the US, joining Friends Alliance virtual conferences and events to ensure we aren't reinventing the wheel.
This photo, because it is hard to overstate the majesty of this place.
And last, but certainly not least, a highlight of the year has been meeting and speaking with so many people who hold Haleakalā National Park near and dear to their heart. Thank you for being here and joining us.
Mahalo nui loa and a hui ho! See you in 2022!