This month, we are spotlighting for travel advisors a selection of volunteer opportunities for clients interested in more interactive and immersive ways of experiencing The Hawaiian Islands’ natural world. These experiences offer opportunities to mālama (to care for) Hawai‘i’s ‘āina (land) and kai (ocean) while gaining a deeper connection to island communities and the environment.

Kauaʻi
Clients can participate in coastal and park cleanups, putting the Hawaiian value of mālama i ke kai (to care for the sea) into practice. The Surfrider Foundation Kaua‘i Chapter’s Beach Cleanups offer opportunities to remove marine debris and litter from the island’s shorelines. Volunteers pitching in at the nonprofit Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park Saturday Morning Beach Cleanup at Morgan’s Pond mālama one of the island’s most popular community and family beaches and recreation areas.
 
Oʻahu
Clients seeking hands-on volunteer experiences that combine culture, community, and conservation can participate in the monthly Hele Mua Beach Clean Up. The event supports the nonprofit’s beach restoration efforts to help protect the island’s coastal ecosystems. Those interested in learning about traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices can volunteer with the nonprofit Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, getting their hands in the earth restoring and maintaining lo‘i kalo (irrigated taro terraces) and wetlands.

Maui
Animal-loving clients can engage in meaningful volunteer work at Leilani Farm Sanctuary in beautiful Ha‘ikū, North Shore Maui, assisting with habitat maintenance, feeding, and cleanup. The Kaʻehu initiative also offers a rewarding hands-on opportunity, restoring a traditional Hawaiian fishpond and its surrounding coastal lands. The experience offers clients insight into traditional Hawaiian cultural land management practices rooted in environmental stewardship and sustainable agriculture.
 
Hawaiʻi Island
In Hilo, clients can help build habitats for endangered bird species through the ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative or join the Keep Puakō Beautiful program to protect South Kohala’s coastal environment. Working along the shoreline, volunteers help remove environmentally harmful marine debris, fishing line, and cigarette litter to protect the ocean and marine life.