The goal of this project is to empower hawaiis indigenous fishpond practitioners, coastal communities, and local government with environmental data customized to individual watershed needs in…

The Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded $890,000 under the Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects program (CFDA 11.469) to the Purple Maia Foundation on October 1, 2022 for a project grant concluding on March 31, 2024.

The grant funds a project to empower Indigenous fishpond practitioners, coastal communities, and local government in Hawaii with customized environmental data to support biocultural restoration and climate change monitoring and mitigation efforts. Key activities include conducting community outreach meetings with approximately 40 fishpond managers to gather stakeholder perspectives on barriers to effective fishpond restoration. The project also involves designing, developing, and deploying environmental sensors to collect data on watershed conditions tailored to individual needs. This data will aim to strengthen fishpond management practices and climate resilience in local communities that once relied on sustainable coastal aquaculture.

Activities

This project has three main components. 1) conduct multiple community outreach and design meetings that engage a network of approximately 40 fishpond managers and community-service organizations to gather insights and perspectives relating to the most important environmental, climate, or technological barriers to effective fishpond restoration for food production. This process will help to inform development of environmental sensors. 2) design, develop and deploy environmental sensors TH