A non-profit Friends Group supporting the three national wildlife refuges located on Kauaʻi.
Together, Friends can do so much…
Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges (FKWR) serves as a nonprofit “Friends Group,” supporting the environmental and wildlife conservation, historic preservation and community education programs of the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex, which is administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and includes Kīlauea Point NWR, Hanalei NWR and Hulēʻia NWR.
Our organization seeks to help by offsetting operational expenses and providing in-kind staffing assistance. Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges also manages the Friends Nature Store and Visitor Center at Kīlauea Point NWR, supports environmental education programs, administers an annual scholarship, conducts community outreach and much more!
Current Events, News and Activities
“The shell lei of Niʻihau”
Presented by Linda Paik Moriarty
“Niʻihau Shell Leis”, published in 1986, was the first book to document this unique and enduring Hawaiian art. Niʻihau, the privately owned and least populated of the Hawaiian Islands, was traditionally known for fine woven mats and decorated gourds. Lei pūpū, the tradition of fashioning lei of tiny shells from the island’s pristine beaches, is now its most celebrated and cherished art form, passed from one generation to the next. It features three generations of lei makers as well as the history and evolution of the Niʻihau shell lei from the time of Captain James Cookʻs third voyage to today.
Free Lecture: Tuesday, November 17th, 5:00-6:30pm
Princeville Community Center and on Zoom.
Seabird Fallout Season
Every year on Kauaʻi, between late September and mid-December, shearwater and petrel fledglings will leave their burrows and take their first flight out to sea.
These young birds use the light of the moon and stars to navigate out to see and can become attracted to man-made outdoor lighting. The fledglings circle the lights until they become disoriented and exhausted and fall to the ground, where they may be injured or killed by cars, cats and dogs.
If you find a downed seabird and it is not near a burrow, please call the Save Our Shearwaters hotline (808) 635-5117 and deliver it to a aid station near you.
Ka Pae ʻĀina O Hawaiʻi Nei
“Ka Pae ʻĀina O Hawaiʻi Nei” is a culturally centered educational program and a community created mosaic mural that is being developed through a collaboration with the Garden Island Arts Council.
The place-based inspired mural is being developed through a series of community workshops, in which volunteers will help to create an 80-foot-long by 4-foot-high mosaic mural.
The mural will depict the topography of the entire Hawaiian Archipelago, helping us tell the geographic and cultural story of these islands and atolls, how the High Hawaiian Islands fit within this long history, and how these protected lands and waters serve as a refuge for a wide variety of native Hawaiian wildlife species.
UPDATE: The finished mural is currently being installed on the retaining wall at Kīlauea Point NWR. The Refuge will be formally presenting this gift to the public on June 6th. Make a reservation and plans to join us!
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