Voluntourism in Hawaiʻi

The deep connection shared between Hawai‘i’s breathtaking natural world and many of us fortunate to live in these Islands is powerful. As you plan travel to the Hawaiian Islands for your clients, consider suggesting activities inviting them to mālama (“care for”) Hawaiʻi. Volunteer Mālama Hawai‘i activities offer participants real connections to our natural world alongside opportunities to preserve, protect and restore much of what makes our Islands so unique. Multiple Hawai‘i nonprofits and community organizations host regular opportunities and workdays for residents and visitors to volunteer their time to mālama Hawai‘i. These include activities like beach cleanups, invasive plant species removal, native-tree planting, fishpond restoration, and much more. Invite your clients to have fun on vacation while making an impact on the future of the Hawaiian Islands!

Ocean Conservation and Aquaculture:
Clients with an affinity for the ocean can engage in volunteer programs keeping Hawai‘i’s beaches, coastlines and surrounding ocean beautiful and debris-free for generations to come. If your client is Kauaʻi bound, suggest they look up the Surfrider Foundation Kauaʻi Chapter’s Ocean Friendly Visitors Program or community group Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park, which host beach-cleanup volunteer workdays protecting the island’s shoreline, reefs and marine life. On Maui, visitors and residents are invited to be community scientists for a day, participating in the Pacific Whale Foundation’s volunteer coastal marine debris cleanup activities. And if your clients are visiting O‘ahu and enjoy hands-on volunteering experiences, connect them with nonprofit Mālama Maunalua where they’ll learn about ecological issues affecting Maunalua Bay and participate in removing invasive algae threatening marine sanctuaries in the bay’s nearshore waters.

Land Conservation and Reforestation:
Encourage adventurous and outdoorsy clients to participate in volunteer experiences allowing them to do mālama ʻāina (land)-based work. Kualoa Ranch on O‘ahu offers an eco-adventure experience where — depending on current ranch projects and needs — your clients can participate in thatching traditional Hawaiian hale (houses); assist with cleaning, planting and harvesting kalo (taro); or tend to a lāʻau (medicinal) plant garden. Maui-bound clients may want to visit the island’s breathtaking Olowalu Valley to help restore its native plant population and remove invasives from its landscape and loʻi kalo (irrigated taro terraces). Working in the lo‘i with nonprofit Kipuka Olowalu, they’ll learn about the importance of the uninhibited flow of fresh water from mountain-fed streams in preserving traditional Hawaiian agriculture systems. On Hawai’i Island, suggest your clients aid in protecting one of the South Kohala district’s last remaining native dryland forests on a volunteer workday with the nonprofit Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative. On the island’s east side, they can give their time to a rainforest environment, helping restore the native plant life of Keau‘ohana Forest Reserve with nonprofit Hawai‘i Environmental Restoration.

Wildlife Preservation:
The Hawaiian Islands offer plenty of unique experiences helping preserve native wildlife or working with animals. Your client can care for rescued animals at Leilani Farm Sanctuary on Maui, volunteer assisting with everything from feeding and grooming animals under the sanctuary’s care, to clearing and removing invasive plants. On the island of Lāna‘i, clients can volunteer time at Lanai Cat Sanctuary, which not only provides a home for hundreds of relocated stray cats to live a quality life, but also keeps them from preying on the protected habitats of endangered native Hawaiian ground-nesting birds on the island. On O‘ahu, clients can help mālama ke kai (“care for and protect the ocean”) with Wild Side Specialty Tours, employing easy-to-follow citizen science and experience opportunities to protect and preserve ocean health and marine life.

History and Community:
On O‘ahu, suggest clients help restore one of the world’s most famous battleships. Docked at Pearl Harbor’s Ford Island, the Battleship Missouri Memorial invites visitors to help care for the legendary U.S. Navy ship through volunteer sanding, painting and cleaning activities preserving its interior, exterior and history for generations to come. Clients are invited to interact with artifacts and archives sharing the stories of Maui by volunteering with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation. Here, they’ll learn about the island’s history and residents via hands-on processing and transcribing of historic artifacts and documents from Lāhainā’s missionary, whaling, sugar plantation and Kingdom of Hawai‘i eras. Maui-bound clients can also chat with and work alongside island residents volunteering at Maui Sewing Hui’s Talk Story, Sew and Feast program. And on O‘ahu, a day or several hours volunteering with the Hawai‘i Foodbank offers an opportunity to help provide safe access to food for those in need.