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Did this: Visiting Heeia fishpond

By Catherine Toth Fox • March 21, 2011 • #CatTravels, Musings, The Daily Dish

When I first visited the fishpond in Heeia years ago, I couldn’t believe the work ahead.

The hundreds-years-old fishpond located in Kaneohe was overgrown with mangrove, an introduced plant whose roots grow into the wall and loosen the rocks and corals. Invasive algae — particularly gracilaria salicornia (gorilla ogo) was growing rampant in the pond.

This wasn’t good.

But the nonprofit Paepae O Heeia has made huge progress in the restoration of the 88-acre fishpond. Much of the mangrove is now cut back and the wall is more than halfway completed. (The moi, though, died due to a spike in the water temperature.)

It was utterly impressive.

But ask anyone who works there and they’ll credit the help of volunteers. Many hands working together. That’s power.

Here’s what a recent work day with the staff looked like:

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Interested in helping out? Come down on Saturday, March 26 to participate in a community work day, held twice a month. Volunteers are needed from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (lunch is included) to remove mangrove and rebuild the seawall. Call (808) 236-6178 to make reservations or for more information.

cultureenvironmentfeatured_blogs_offledefeatured_events_offledefishpondgorilla ogogracilaria salicorniaHawaiiHawaiianHeeiaKaneohemangrovePaepae O HeeiasustainabilityToth
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About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

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24 Comments

  • Reply Kamehameha Schools March 20, 2011 at 11:18 pm

    Mahalo for sharing, Cat! Let’s get you in a lo‘i! 🙂

  • Reply Kamehameha Schools March 20, 2011 at 11:18 pm

    Mahalo for sharing, Cat! Let’s get you in a lo‘i! 🙂

  • Reply johngarcia March 20, 2011 at 11:21 pm

    I went to the fishpond once on a huaka‘i to help clean and it was an awesome experience. I think they do a monthly community clean-up and could use hands!

  • Reply johngarcia March 20, 2011 at 11:21 pm

    I went to the fishpond once on a huaka‘i to help clean and it was an awesome experience. I think they do a monthly community clean-up and could use hands!

  • Reply Cat March 20, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    @johngarcia Definitely! They could use donations, too, like 5-gallon buckets with good handles.

  • Reply Cat March 20, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    @johngarcia Definitely! They could use donations, too, like 5-gallon buckets with good handles.

  • Reply Cat March 20, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    @Kamehameha Schools YES! WHEN?!

  • Reply Cat March 20, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    @Kamehameha Schools YES! WHEN?!

  • Reply nonstopmari March 20, 2011 at 11:55 pm

    awesome. i’ve always wondered abt the fish ponds i’ve seen while flying over coastlines of various islands but have never seen one up close or understood how they worked. what’s ‘grueling’ work? hauling rocks, scraping off algae?

  • Reply nonstopmari March 20, 2011 at 11:55 pm

    awesome. i’ve always wondered abt the fish ponds i’ve seen while flying over coastlines of various islands but have never seen one up close or understood how they worked. what’s ‘grueling’ work? hauling rocks, scraping off algae?

  • Reply nonstopmari March 20, 2011 at 11:55 pm

    awesome. i’ve always wondered abt the fish ponds i’ve seen while flying over coastlines of various islands but have never seen one up close or understood how they worked. what’s ‘grueling’ work? hauling rocks, scraping off algae?

  • Reply nonstopmari March 20, 2011 at 11:55 pm

    awesome. i’ve always wondered abt the fish ponds i’ve seen while flying over coastlines of various islands but have never seen one up close or understood how they worked. what’s ‘grueling’ work? hauling rocks, scraping off algae?

  • Reply Cat March 21, 2011 at 1:35 am

    @nonstopmari Hauling rocks, especially in the buckets across that small makeshift wall. Really works the traps!

  • Reply Cat March 21, 2011 at 1:35 am

    @nonstopmari Hauling rocks, especially in the buckets across that small makeshift wall. Really works the traps!

  • Reply turkfontaine March 22, 2011 at 5:47 am

    Paepae O Heeia – good on them. wetlands and transitional waterways are among the most endangered places on the planet.

  • Reply turkfontaine March 22, 2011 at 5:47 am

    Paepae O Heeia – good on them. wetlands and transitional waterways are among the most endangered places on the planet.

  • Reply Kamehameha Schools March 22, 2011 at 5:54 am

    @Cat Will let you know ASAP! Let’s get hawai and bytemarks in the lo’i as well!

  • Reply Kamehameha Schools March 22, 2011 at 5:54 am

    @Cat Will let you know ASAP! Let’s get hawai and bytemarks in the lo’i as well!

  • Reply Kamehameha Schools March 22, 2011 at 5:55 am

    @Cat Will let you know ASAP! Let’s get hawaii and bytemarks in the lo’i as well!

  • Reply Kamehameha Schools March 22, 2011 at 5:55 am

    @Cat Will let you know ASAP! Let’s get hawaii and bytemarks in the lo’i as well!

  • Reply hawaii March 22, 2011 at 6:00 am

    @Kamehameha Schools @Cat hawaii bytemarks Sounds like good muddy fun!

  • Reply hawaii March 22, 2011 at 6:00 am

    @Kamehameha Schools @Cat hawaii bytemarks Sounds like good muddy fun!

  • Reply Cat March 23, 2011 at 8:38 am

    I’m all in! Let’s do this!

  • Reply Cat March 23, 2011 at 8:38 am

    I’m all in! Let’s do this!

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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