In 2018, Jay Lee returned to a park on top of a hill in Kaimuki that he had first encountered during a geology class at Kapi'olani Community College. He was shocked at how rundown the space had become. “It was like a jungle,” he recalled due to no one maintaining it. The paths on the mauka side of the park, which have been there for over a century, were not accessible because they were so overgrown with koa haole trees. There were also graffiti tags everywhere which added to the place feeling “sad and sketchy.”
Jay works at Roosevelt High School and leads the 808 Cleanups Club. He talked with his students about adopting the site, and they decided to take matters into their own hands to restore the park. They bulldozed their way through the invasive species, litter, and graffiti. In 2019, 808 Cleanups increased management of the site and added it as a weekly event to the calendar. By regularly removing any tags that pop up, we have found that vandalization happens less frequently.
Other efforts began to take shape to greatly improve the area. In 2021 a mural was commissioned over the existing structure on top of the hill by Native Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos. HECO restrung the Christmas tree flag pole and maintains it every year. The team has restored many walls with traditional Hawaiian stone weaving, rebuilding this culturally significant space that is believed to have once been a heiau dedicated to navigation and wayfinding. Kukuionāpēhā translates to Napehā's light (or beacon).
Join us every Friday from 4-6 to steward this special place and learn more about its rich history. As Jay and his students can attest, “you can see the progress each time you come."
