About Me
My name is Kaulana Kanno. My first name is Hawaiian and means famous. It’s an inoa pō, which means it was given to me in the night. When I wasn’t yet born, my aunty had a dream where my mom was holding a little girl’s hand named Kaulana. When my mom heard this story, she knew she had to name me Kaulana because my aunty had that dream for a reason. I am 17 years old and have been at Kamehameha Schools for my entire life. I went to Kamehameha Preschool in Nānākuli and then got into Kamehameha Elementary for kindergarten. I live in a family of five, with an older sister and younger brother, who are both two years apart from me. I’ve played soccer since I was five years old and haven’t stopped since. I play for our KS Girls Varsity Soccer team and play outside for Leahi Soccer Club. The most important things to me are God, family, and friends, and I would do absolutely anything for them. I live in Mililani, but am originally from Makakilo, or the ahupuaʻa of Honoʻuliʻuli. Honoʻuliʻuli is home to the Waiʻanae mountain range and has the Kona wind running by Puʻuokapolei. There isn’t a named rain for this area, but my beach for Honoʻuliʻuli is Kalaeloa.
Why Mālama Honua?
As a Hawaiian growing up surrounded by haole people all my life, I’ve come to realize the positives and negatives with having been colonized. I definitely am grateful for the technology we have today, but I don’t think that overpopulating our islands and polluting the land that we need is the best option. I’ve accumulated this mindset through the countless years I’ve spent at KS. Through many field trips, I’ve been able to clean up beaches and get a glimpse of what it can do to the environment. I’ve been able to work at fishponds and loʻi to see how invasive species can hurt our native plants. I’ve been to the leaving of the Hōkūleʻa multiple times. I’ve also been able to see some of the last remaining lehua tree forests that literally have to be protected and cared for so the species can thrive. I don’t think I’ve gained this mental goal of saving the earth by one big realization, but instead a combination of experiences throughout my life that has opened my eyes to the real problems in Hawaiʻi and around the world.
In this class, I want to dig deep into a mixture of my Hawaiian roots and the science behind it. I want to get my hands dirty in the loʻi and learn about the environmental issues at hand. I want to be an educated Hawaiian haumāna so that I can go into the world and raise awareness for issues that need to be heard. I want this class to set the basis for my goals and reinforce my passion for the land. I want to be able to feel a connection to my ancestors so that they can see me trying to fix past mistakes and I want to dig into important Hawaiian values like mālama and pono. I want to learn this year. Not only for me, but for others so I can pass on the knowledge that needs to be spread.
Aloha ʻāina means “love for the land”. To me, this means having a certain respect for the ʻāina that cares so much for you. This means loving the environment around you and not hurting it in anyway. This is because our ancestors believed that we came from the land. In the story of Papa and Wākea, they give birth to the islands and future gods eventually give birth to the first premature baby that turns into kalo plant, and then the first human, which directly relates us to kalo. This also shows that we are related to the islands that we call home. From here comes the belief that we are literally connected to the ʻāina and should therefore care for the land as it cares for us. The Hawaiian culture is rooted in its connection to the land, and without it, we would be nothing.
Aloha ʻāina directly relates to mālama honua because if you love and respect the land, then you will want to care for the land that makes up the entire earth. This means not only literally caring for the land, but for the plants and animals that inhabit it and the oceans inbetween. I think both mindsets compliment each other, thus creating an entirely new perspective on the world and how you should treat it. I think as Hawaiians, we have the obligation to care for the earth and love the ʻāina. It’s what our ancestors believed in and what we should do for the future generations of Hawaiians yet to come.
In this class, I want to dig deep into a mixture of my Hawaiian roots and the science behind it. I want to get my hands dirty in the loʻi and learn about the environmental issues at hand. I want to be an educated Hawaiian haumāna so that I can go into the world and raise awareness for issues that need to be heard. I want this class to set the basis for my goals and reinforce my passion for the land. I want to be able to feel a connection to my ancestors so that they can see me trying to fix past mistakes and I want to dig into important Hawaiian values like mālama and pono. I want to learn this year. Not only for me, but for others so I can pass on the knowledge that needs to be spread.
Aloha ʻāina means “love for the land”. To me, this means having a certain respect for the ʻāina that cares so much for you. This means loving the environment around you and not hurting it in anyway. This is because our ancestors believed that we came from the land. In the story of Papa and Wākea, they give birth to the islands and future gods eventually give birth to the first premature baby that turns into kalo plant, and then the first human, which directly relates us to kalo. This also shows that we are related to the islands that we call home. From here comes the belief that we are literally connected to the ʻāina and should therefore care for the land as it cares for us. The Hawaiian culture is rooted in its connection to the land, and without it, we would be nothing.
Aloha ʻāina directly relates to mālama honua because if you love and respect the land, then you will want to care for the land that makes up the entire earth. This means not only literally caring for the land, but for the plants and animals that inhabit it and the oceans inbetween. I think both mindsets compliment each other, thus creating an entirely new perspective on the world and how you should treat it. I think as Hawaiians, we have the obligation to care for the earth and love the ʻāina. It’s what our ancestors believed in and what we should do for the future generations of Hawaiians yet to come.