This isn't from my masters program, but rather my Bachelor's program. For my "thesis of sorts", I looked at Traditional Ecological Knowledge/Biocultural Restoration in Hawaii. For those who haven't heard of it before, the gist of it is using place-based knowledge employed by those who have historically lived in the region. In the case of Hawaii, this means drawing from sustainable practices that were historically used by the Native Hawaiians.
I'm not posting too much on it here, but that's just because I am linking the entire 19 page paper that me and a partner worked on for ENVR 480: ENVR History in the Community. My partner's name has been removed for privacy reasons. I've also included the poster we made, so you can have just a brief look at Biocultural Restoration in Hawaii if reading full academic papers aren't your thing.
Double post today, but itâs not the last even though this is the last assignment for the course! There is one more Iâd like to post from a different course (my last Bachelor degree course actually), but for now let's look at how to start a nonprofit organization in Hawaii! Not as fun as looking at pretty fish or cool trees, but perhaps this will be relevant to someone looking to start a nonprofit, or someone who needs the information for various worldbuilding reasons. The information is all summarized from this article written by the Chamber of Commerce, where you can find more in depth information.Â
Step One: Select a Name
The first step is of course giving your new organization a name. The name must be specific to the goal of your organization to avoid any confusion on its purpose, although it doesnât have to include things such as âInc or Co.â. Before picking a name, you should check to see if there is already an organization with that name. A link to the name search site can be found on the main article page.
Step Two: Nomination a Hawaii Registered Agent
Youâll need a representative, also known as a statutory or service of process agent, to represent the organization to the Hawaii Dept of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. They will handle things such as correspondence, tax notifs, compliance info, legal documents, and summons on behalf of the organization. Anyone can fill this role, even yourself, but they must meet the below requirements:Â
Must have a physical address in Hawaii
Should have regular business hours at said location
Must be a Hawaii resident over 18
If you are looking at a business entity, they must be registered to operate in Hawaii
They must consent to being the Registered Agent
Step Three: Recruit Board MembersÂ
Youâll need a board of directors to operate in Hawaii. Some important roles include structural guidance, financial management, hiring of executive directors, and more. There are two main requirements for this board:
At least three non-related directors
Minimum of one officer to record board meetings
While you donât need elected officers, they can greatly help the organization. Some officers recommended for election are as follows: Treasurer, President, Vice President, and Secretary.Â
Step Four: Consent to Bylaws and Conflict of Interest Policy
Two main documents will need to be created during the Boardâs first meeting: Bylaws and Conflict of Interest Policy.Â
Bylaws declare whether the nonprofit is a membership organization, what actions are prohibited to board members, and time limits for those board members. Conflict of Interest Policy is the organizationâs code of ethics, listing out rules that everyone must obey within the organization.Â
Step Five: Select A Hawaii Nonprofit Startup Corporation Structure
There are a few different types of organizations, which are pasted below directly from the article:Â
Mutual benefit corporations: This type of nonprofit corporation is a type of organization similar to other mutual benefit corporations found in common law nations. These corporations may or may not opt for state and IRS tax-exemptions.
Public benefit corporations: Public benefit NPOs are created for charity purposes, considered charitable organizations, and act as social welfare organizations. These corporations developed for the public benefit include religious and charitable organizations formed to generate public and social good.
Mutual benefit common interest development corporations: These are the nonprofit formations created under the Davis Stirling Common Interest Development Act to administer common interest development, such as a homeownerâs association.Â
Religious organizations/corporations: These nonprofits are solely for religious purposes, such as a church.
Step Six: Prepare and File Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation
These will need to be filed with the Hawaii Dept of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and must include the following:Â
Organizationâs Name
Statement of Purpose
Provisions for both Fed and State tax-exempt purposes
Name and Address of Registered Agent (see step two)
A nonprofit form can be found linked on the main article.Â
Step Seven: File an Initial ReportÂ
This is not a requirement for Hawaii, but since it was listed on the article I included it here
Step Eight: Secure an EIN (Employer Identification Number)
This number, also called a Federal Employer Identification Number, is useful for opening a business bank account and applying for tax exemption in the State of Hawaii. A link to the needed form can be found in the main article.Â
Step Nine: Apply for Federal Tax Exemption
To be exempt from taxes, you will need to complete Form 1023. This form includes information such as (taken directly from article):Â
Various details regarding the nonprofit organization in HawaiiÂ
The organizationâs historyÂ
The organizationâs financesÂ
The organizationâs structureÂ
The organizationâs governance policies
The organizationâs operationsÂ
Activities that your organization will be involved in and moreÂ
You can also find instructions on filling out the form in the main article.Â
Step Ten: Apply for Hawaii State Tax Exemption
Although most states require a separate application for exemption from state taxes, in Hawaii the IRS determination letter that grants federal tax exemption also exemption from state taxes.Â
Step Eleven: Other Applicable Permits and Licenses
All applicable permits and licenses are required to operate within Hawaii, which can be secured by filing in Form BB-1 and getting your state tax identification number. In Hawaii, nonprofits can also benefit from raising tax-deductible donations to fund the organization.Â
Step Twelve: Submit an Annual Report
Once youâre up and running, you will need to submit annual reports with the Business Registration Division of the Hawaii Dept of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Due dates for your nonprofit will need to be determined first, and Form D-2 will need to be filed online.Â
For the Annual Report, the following information must be included (pasted directly from the article):Â
The organizationâs nameÂ
The organizationâs principal addressÂ
The state that the nonprofit was initially formedÂ
The statement of purposeÂ
The name and physical adjust of the registered agent in HawaiiÂ
The name and address of the principles, including directors, officers, members.
The date and signature of the individual filing the annual report Â
Next Steps
The article gives some suggested next steps for you in your nonprofit endeavors, such as opening a business account, hiring a business accountant, obtaining insurance, building a website, and signing legal documents. There is also a helpful FAQ section, answering some of the questions people often have.
Source: https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/nonprofit/hawaii Â
In place of a cool fish picture, have an image of Jurassic Valley from the top of the mountain!
I seem to have amassed a decent following after my last post, so welcome new people! You've found my Grad School blog for my Biodiversity Stewardship class (Summer 2023) where I post various finished assignments. I am but a humble Natural Resource major, so if you want to reach out and talk about anything you see on my blog please do!
This week, I'll be looking at an agency within my study area. In this case, I looked at the Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project. While it is technically more of a project rather than a true organization, I wanted to highlight it since I am looking at the organization in two of my classes. Additionally, my first option (Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources) had zero information on its history even when I went to Wikipedia so I focused on the MKFRP.
According to their page, the official description reads: "The Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project (MKFRP) is a collaborative project of the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU)".
Meanwhile, their intro paragraph reads:
High up on the slopes of one of the tallest mountains in the world is a distinct forest that occurs nowhere else on earth and is home to spectacular native plants and animals, including the critically endangered palila. DLNR is working hard to maintain this jewel for future generations, and this website will share the story with you.  Aloha mai nei!
Below is a "speedrun" of their mission, history, staff numbers, and feature plans/challenges.
For ease of navigation, I have linked the main sources below:
This week is a look at the typical trees that a visitor to Hawaiian might see! For the uses, many of the uses listed were from traditional Hawaiian society.
All trees were taken from this page: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/info/big-tree/
We're back in Hawaii this post, looking briefly at the overall climate of the region before shifting to some invasive species. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are some of the main ones listed on the Invasive Plant and Animal list on the NPS page for Hawaii.
This week, I looked at the app Seek by iNaturalist. This app's main function is to identify a species by pictures taken by the user, which allows you to investigate certain species without typing in haphazard descriptions into the google search bar. It also saves you extensive flipping through various identification books, especially when you have nothing to go off of other than sight alone.
Since I'm not in Hawaii at the moment, this will actually be some common species within my home state of South Carolina.
When I first got it, I ended up taking a picture of the thing closest to me. That thing happened to be my cat, which the app immediately said was a "Domestic cat".
It also gave me a bronze badge for getting my first "Mammal" species, which immediately creates a game of sorts. And I mean that in the best way. It's almost inspiration to get out and see how many more badges you can get just in your backyard alone.
Even with blurry photos taken by zooming in from afar, the app was spot on with the two birds that just happened to visit my feeder back to back; a Downy Woodpecker and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
It is also pretty good with plants, instantly identifying some rogue Garden Strawberries left over from two years ago when one pot from the store overspilled and decided to plant itself in the ground.
There were some species that it couldn't identify exactly, but it gave you the closest match. I'll forgive it on this one, especially since one of those was just me taking a picture of the ground moss I'm helping overtake my yard. It did get the Bumble Bee in the flowers, though. And while it didn't know the exact flower species, it did say it was a Rhododendron or Azalea of some sort.
For all images, it will keep track of them and when possible, give you a nice blurb on the species as well as the Kingdom, Pylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. It also tells you how many have been observed nearby and how many have been observed worldwide. Finally, it gives you a seasonality chart that shows when the species is most likely to be seen in your area.
Overall, a very beginner friendly and engaging app!
This week I looked at using WebSoilSurvey. As I explored the site, I had this tutorial up in a separate window to help me find my way around. The tutorial is broken down into segments, with the titles of each displayed on the time bar at the bottom (not sure exactly what the red progress bar is called on Youtube). This segmentation of the tutorial is helpful for going back later, as you donât have to rewatch the whole video to find what you need help with.Â
For this specific assignment, I took a look at Kualoa Ranch Nature Preserve since I am familiar with that particular area. I mapped out MĆliâi, an ancient but still active Hawaiian fishpond carbon dated around 800-1000 years old. This area boasts sustainable practices, and I was curious how that affected soil quality. Since I was not sure of the exact boundaries, I used the coastline and the road as guidance for creating my AoI.Â
It also has the capabilities to import and use a preexisting shapefile, so those with more prior areas of interest from prior projects in GIS programs can import them into the site. However, I did not use this function. WebSoilSurvey also allows you to copy the link of your site to share with others or save it for future use. Here is the link for mine. Finally, you can also export your shapefile for future use.Â
Moving on, I clicked the soil map tab and was presented with this map legend of the different soil types in the area. As you can see, I got lots of clay.Â
Below is the map itself, with orange borders defining the boundary of different soil types and letters telling you what soil type is where. Well, except in the case of W which is just >40 acres of water.Â
There are also ways to just download the soil survey for an entire town, but I did not use that application. However, as always, Iâll be filing that resource away for future worldbuilding projects. Get some semi-literal dirt under my nails to make different locations even more realistic from a biodiversity standpoint, even if Iâm the only one whoâd find it interesting. Iâm sure Tolkien would have loved this, but I digress.Â
You can go into the soil data further by clicking Soil Data Explorer which took me to âSuitabilities and Limitations for Useâ. There you can see the ratings of the different soils, as seen below.Â
As you can see, thereâs also plenty of other limitations to explore. I poked around with a few, but some lacked definitive data for the selected area. More populous/well known areas would probably have better data, but Iâve noticed that Hawaii as a whole often lacks research compared to some areas in the Contentious US.Â
Each information set also comes with a description at the bottom, making the maps very âbeginner friendlyâ as see below with the example of drainage class.Â
You can also do a custom soil survey, but I didnât opt for that route for this assignment. However, as mentioned earlier, it will come in handy for future Worldbuilding endeavors. All of the data is downloadable, making it good for official reports or standard offline viewing for more casual users.Â
Overall, the interface was simple and straightforward, making it very user friendly even to someone with zero experience (myself). Itâs also easy to use even if you donât have an advanced degree in something, which is good if youâre someone who happens to hyper-fixate on random facets of the natural world or are looking to craft a more believable world from a biodiversity standpoint. 10/10, would definitely recommend.Â
Below are some relevant links related to biodiversity in the Hawaiian Islands. The main links I looked for were climate, geography, protected areas, wind patterns, and ocean currents. These are all the main factors influencing the climate and therefore the biodiversity of the Hawaiian Islands. Sources with scientific basis were desired over tourism-based blog references. In the protected areas, Kualoa Ranch and Hanauma Bay received their own links due to personal experience with them. Website landing pages were also favored, as they offer people the chance to pick which specific link theyâd like to explore. Due to Hawaiiâs location in the middle of the Pacific, numerous links on MMA (Marine Managed Areas) were included.Â
Climate
Climate of Hawaii Interactive Map
NOAA Climate of Hawaii Page
Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii
Evapotranspiration of Hawaii
Solar Radiation of Hawaii
Encyclopedia Britannica Climate of Hawaii
Hawaii: Climate Data.org
Geography
Hawaii: United States GeographyÂ
Maps of Hawaii
Islands and CitiesÂ
Rivers and Channels
Places and Landmarks
Satellite Map
Protected Areas
PapahÄnaumokuÄkea Marine National Monument
About MMAs Hawaii
Marine Managed Areas Interactive Map
Hawaiâi Marine Life Conservation Areas
Marine Protected Areas in Hawaii PDF
Monuments and Sanctuaries: What's the Difference?
Hawaiâi: Conservation.org
NPS Hawaii Park List
Hawaii Natural Area Reserve System
Hawaiâi and Palmyra: The Nature ConservancyÂ
Hawaiâi Biodiversity: Natural Reserve Areas
Kualoa Ranch: Private Nature Preserve
Hanauma Bay State Park
Ocean/Wind Currents
Kuroshio Current
Current Forecast: Hawaiâi
Little Islands Big Wake: NASA
How Currents Carry Marine Debris to the Hawaiian Islands
This week I worked with MyMaps, a GoogleMaps based application that allows me to save/explore certain areas relevant to my studies. I worked alongside this tutorial for ease of learning and to speed things along so I didnât have to go back and forth between the video and the test map. This map was centered around the main islands Hawaiian Archipelago (Hawaiâi, Maui, Molokaâi, O'ahu, and Kauaâi) and focused on things like sustainable agriculture, ecotourism destinations, and nature preserves. For the purpose of this assignment, I chose one area of each category to showcase:Â
Sustainable Agriculture: Kualoa Ranch (Spoon and Fork Icon)
Ecotourism: Waimea Canyon State Park (Hiking Icon)
Nature Preserves: Volcanoes National Park (Volcano Icon)
The user interface of My Maps is very friendly and simple. You wonât need any fancy coding or GIS skills to use it, which offers non-academic opportunities to people like writers who want to save certain locations for worldbuilding or reference purposes (which I certainly plan to do in the future). Back to the biodiversity side of things, MyMaps enables you to mark areas that are important to biodiversity for a myriad of reasons, whether that be preservation or education to the general public about biodiversity. Kualoa Ranch is an example of education, as it offers behind-the-scenes tours of how they grow their food in accordance with the ancient sustainable practices of the native Hawaiians. Volcanoes NP is a good example of preservation, as the park operates in accordance with the National Parks mission to âpreserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generationsâ (About the National Park Service 2016).Â
When it comes to the individual locations selected, there are quite a few customization options available. You can select different icons (as mentioned above), but you can also color code them for things like different projects. I didn't do that for this assignment, but when I use this in the future for non-academic endeavors I can color code based on stories. Each location you pick has the option of adding images to the Infocard (shown below with Volcanoes NP). Once again, this has both biodiversity and writerly applications.
When you zoom in on one particular area, you can outline the area with MyMaps. While I didnât use this application, there is a way to import a data table into My Maps to get a more accurate outline of a desired location. This can be used for mapping vulnerable areas that are key to protecting biodiversity, such as Hanauma Bay (not shown on map) which serves as an important reserve for different species of fish and corals.Â
For finishing it all off, there are numerous options on the main card of the map. One of the most useful that I found was the âset to default viewâ. This enables me to preset where I want the map to open whenever I click on the Hawaiian Archipelago project, which saves me a lot of scrolling and dragging. Although I didnât use any of the embedding options, it should be noted that much like a google doc or drive file, you have to enable sharing permissions in order to share it with others.Â
That's all for this week! Happy mapping!Â
Sources:Â
âAbout the National Park Serviceâ. March 30, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/aboutus.htm#:~:text=The%20mission%20of%20the%20National,of%20this%20and%20future%20generations.Â
Hello everyone! I'm back with another Biodiversity post for my Biodiversity Stewardship class! This time, it is a PowerPoint on Ecology, specifically with Hawaii in mind. I have included some slides as a "teaser" of sorts, but the 31 slide presentation is available through the link above. For personal security reasons (since this is the internet), I have used my pen name.
In this presentation, I go over the basics of ecology, endemism and island biogeography, the applications of ecology/biodiversity, some threats to ecology in Hawaii, and finally some things that we can all do to help lessen our impact.
Just over a week ago, the UoH created a new AI tool to aid in coral reef identification! This will allow researchers to cover a much wider area far quicker, and also allow them to study reef areas without risking damage to particularly sensitive reefs.
Because I am both an environmentalist and a worldbuilder, my answer is twofold.
As a worldbuilder, it gives more of a sense of believability to worldbuilding. Regions with a diverse array of species/ecosystems are more likely to have a realistic feel given the complexity of real life. Additionally, it also is more likely to draw readers in as people usually like material that has many species to fall in love with. From a writer perspective, biodiversity allows for more creative expression and lets you create multiple cool critters living and interesting together in one area.
Now, onto the environmentalist side of things.
For Animals
Diversity is key even down to the genetic level. Actually, especially at the genetic level. With a wider gene pool, species have higher levels of resiliency to things like diseases and cataclysmic events since there is a greater likelihood that one or more individuals have beneficial traits that keep them alive. These individuals can then pass this down to their offspring, creating a more resilient population. Biodiversity allows predator species to have a larger selection of prey, so if one prey species declines for whatever reason they still have other prey to sustain them. More diverse ecosystems are more likely to survive pressures as well, as there is greater chance of species making it through the trauma.
For Humans
If looking at biodiversity benefiting humans, there are also quite a few examples. Even as small scale as a farm, using different crops in rotation helps prevent nutrient deficiency. It also helps keep the food supply chain thriving if a blight attacks a certain crop (ex. potatoes). Biodiversity on a wider scale offers unmeasurable benefits for the medical industry, as many of our medicinal products rely on extracts from both plants and animals. From a purely intrinsic perspective, people also enjoy biodiversity for its aesthetic attraction. After all, many people enjoy hiking and exploring more if the area has a diversity of terrain/species/sights.
At the end of the day, biodiversity provides benefits for both animals and humans in intrinsic and extrinsic ways.
For me, at its core biodiversity is âdiversity of plant and animal species in the biosphereâ. In other words, the more species in an area, the more biodiverse it is. That could be bad (if most of those are invasive) or good (regions with primarily native species). Doing a quick search, google itself says biodiversity is âthe variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystemâ. For a more scientific source, the American Museum of Natural History lists biodiversity as âthe variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain lifeâ (What Is Biodiversity 2023). I like my simplistic definition of biodiversity, but I will alter it to simply say âdiversity in the biosphereâ to include genes as well as bacteria and other non plant/animal things. It does make me think, however, about whether or not we include non-living things such as rocks/water/air since they are technically a part of the biosphere.Â
Hawaii is an excellent case study in both biodiversity (being included in the Polynesia/Micronesia Biodiversity Hotspot) and endemic species. Hawaii is also ground zero for endangered species, with 44 percent of all endangered/threatened plant species in the US being found in Hawaii despite Hawaii being only 1% of the US landmass (SPECIES BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE 2022). While I may have originally gotten interested in Hawaii due to a mix of worldbuilding research and Star Wars/Jurassic Park, after using it for some projects in my bachelor degree program I began to realize how important the island chain is for both sustainability and biodiversity.Â
The biggest thing I found in my bachelor degree was the use of biocultural restoration in the Hawaiian Islands. This interested me due to the meshing of community involvement, familial commitment, holistic approaches, and intergenerational integration which all together enable more resilient methods to protect native biodiversity. I was lucky enough to see this in action a few weeks ago when I visited Kualoa Ranch on the island of Oahu, where they still use traditional methods to grow crops and raise livestock. Using both past research and my recent experiences, Iâd like to dig deeper to see what techniques are most helpful to biodiversity.
