Some 1,800 volunteers activated their aloha ʻāina during the Moʻokuapā lā hana and celebration at Heʻeia Loko Iʻa on Dec. 13, 2025. The historic day on ʻĀina Pauahi in the Koʻolauloa ahupuaʻa of Oʻahu saw these dedicated participants complete the final 300 feet of the 1.3-mile kuapā. They filled that gap with 120,000 pounds of ko‘a passed hand to hand in buckets. In addition, volunteers cleared and opened five new lo‘i, cleaned six existing lo‘i and dug a 700-foot ‘auwai to carry freshwater from He‘eia Stream to the fishpond. 

The accomplishment would not be possible without the vision and dedication of KS ʻĀina Ulu partner, Paepae o Heʻeia. Founded in 2001, the nonprofit provides Hawaiian culture-based education via stewardship of the 800-year-old fishpond, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

As kahu, Paepae o Heʻeia organized scores of supporters who worked over nearly 25 years — a generation — to restore the kuapā and health of the pond, which had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer recognizable.  

The Moʻokuapā gathering celebrated the ea — restoration — that’s taken place here, and its inoa is significant. Moʻo means “perpetuation,” and kuapā refers to the wall that encircles the loko iʻa.  

Not all Hawaiian fishponds have kuapā. The walls of most of the ones that do are straight or semi-circular. He‘eia Loko Iʻa is unique, its kuapā is circular with no start or end points. 

For Keahi Pi‘iʻōhiʻa KSK’06, Paepae o He‘eia’s restoration coordinator, that metaphor of unbroken connection to place is meaningful. He believes his kuleana is putting people in the footprints of the kūpuna. Even if their ancestors were never at He‘eia Loko I‘a, he pointed out, they can be the first person in their ‘ohana to kōkua it. 

“The mana they leave in the pōhaku, the mana they leave in the ko‘a, remains,” Pi‘iʻōhiʻa said. “I hope when their mo‘opuna come, they feel that. Whether your lineage, your moʻokūʻauhau, existed here for 800 years or whether today is the first day your moʻokūʻauhau begins, it never leaves this place.” 

Seeing He‘eia Loko Iʻa fully restored was a dream come true for Ānuenue Punua KSK’94, one of Paepae o He‘eia’s eight founders and its first education program coordinator. She grew up in Kāneʻohe, went to parties at Heʻeia State Park and, like many people at the time, didn’t know about the 88-acre pond. 

It was a daunting task to remove the thick forests of mangrove that covered it and its kuapā. “I remember being stuck in mud, knee deep,” Punua said. “We were working with no chainsaws, just hand tools. Then you start to break away the invasive mangrove, and you realize the stones are still there…If we didn’t do this work, thousands of people would not know (the pond) was here.” 

And it’s not over.  

“We’ve got to keep the rocks up,” said Keliʻi Kotubetey KSK’96, Paepae o He‘eia’s assistant executive director and another one of its founders. “The weeds continue to grow. We have invasive plants, crabs, fish. It is our collective responsibility to continue the maintenance to increase the productivity of our pond.” 

Moʻokuapā participants lunched on some of that bounty, including fish, ‘ulu, ‘uala, cassava, kalo and kalo leaves. Paepae o He‘eia’s mission is to nourish the community in every sense of the word. “We’re honored, privileged, to take on the responsibility of feeding people from this place,” Kotubetey said. “Feeding minds, feeding hearts and feeding bodies.” 

Neil Kahoʻokele Hannahs KSK’69, former director of Kamehameha Schools’ Land Assets Division, acknowledged the revival of He‘eia Loko Iʻa began with the revival of traditional cultural practices. The leaders of Paepae o He‘eia understood that restoring the pond would require engagement of the community — it would be hard work not done for the people, but with the people. 

As time passed, others noticed the progress at the pond and started to look at things on an ahupua‘a scale. “How do we get not just my land, my pond, my lo‘i kalo, my punawai to work, but how do we get the system to prosper?” Hannahs said. “That’s a return to ancestral wisdom.” 

He‘eia Loko Iʻa is indeed an impressive, inspiring model of success. “Look at all the people here today,” Hannahs said. “They recognize that this is an asset for our entire lāhui. We can proudly stand and say we took care of the work together. Think about that — to earn your place in a lineage that goes back so many generations, to be somebody who contributes to the strength of that line. That’s a legacy!” 

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