Honolulu Community College Celebrates Culture and Sustainability

Honolulu Community College brought together more than 320 students, staff, and community members for a day of Hawaiian cultural activities, music, and sustainability-focused learning at its annual Hoʻolauleʻa celebration.

1 minute read

May 5, 2025, 9:00 AM PDT

By Clement Lau


Honolulu Community College building.

LittleT889, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons

More than 320 students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered at Honolulu Community College on April 23, 2025, for the annual Hoʻolauleʻa celebration, which honors the campus's cultural garden, Ka Māla o Niuhelewai. Held in the campus courtyard and Hale Kawelohea, the event featured live music, Hawaiian food, and hands-on cultural and sustainability activities such as poi pounding, native plant giveaways, genki ball making, and a recycled art contest. A resource fair with 32 vendors also offered information on education, health, and community programs.

The celebration emphasized place-based learning and the campus’s responsibility (kuleana) to Native Hawaiian culture and land. Professor Alapaki Luke, who helped establish Ka Māla o Niuhelewai in 2010, thanked the community for its continued support and highlighted the garden’s role in restoring traditional practices and values, including the cultivation of kalo (taro).

The event concluded with a traditional Hawaiian lunch, serving over 300 meals featuring dishes like kalua pig, poi, and lūʻau. With support from over 100 volunteers, Honolulu CC’s Hoʻolauleʻa brought the campus community together to celebrate Hawaiian identity, sustainability, and shared stewardship of the land.

Friday, May 2, 2025 in University of Hawai'i News

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Aerial view of Albuquerque, New Mexico at sunset.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico

An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

May 16 - Source NM

Close-up on white bike helmet lying on pavement with blurred red bike on its side in background abd black car visible behind it.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes

Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

May 16 - Wood TV 8

Muni bus on red painted bus-only lane in downtown San Francisco, California.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels

Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.

May 16 - Mass Transit