Preserving Hawaii’s paradise

An increasing number of Hawaii residents and travelers are volunteering to help preserve Hawaii, activities like pulling invasive nonnative plants or protecting sea turtles eggs from predators.

But if you should be so inclined, where do you start? Who do you call?

Kirsten Whatley’s new book, Preserving Paradise: Opportunities in Volunteering for Hawaii’s Environment, is a helpful guide featuring more than 70 organizations.

Preserving Paradise is easy to navigate through, by island and project. Readers can easily find out projects that match their interests and time frame, whether it be hours or months.

Whatley even rates how hard each project is and provides the necessary information about how to sign up and who to call.

“This book doesn’t just tell you how to walk more lightly, it shows you how to actually give something back,” says Whatley, who lives in Maui. “I wanted to offer people a more authentic way to experience Hawaii, a way to build relationships that would help sustain our Islands’ environments far into the future.”

Copies are available for $9.95 at Island Heritage Publishing and Amazon.com. For more info, click here.

To learn how Hawaii’s government and citizens are working to protect endangered reefs, seals, plants and turtles, read “Preserving Fragile Hawaii” by Catherine E. Toth in our upcoming January/February 2009 issue of HAWAII Magazine.