Puna Residents Invited to Join Resilience Action Teams

Puna residents interested in building a stronger community and assisting with implementation of the Kīlauea Recovery and Resilience Plan are asked to join resilience Action Teams.

County Councilmember Ashley Kierkiewicz, District 4, and County Recovery Officer Douglas Le co-hosted a community briefing via Zoom on Thursday, Aug. 12 to provide an overview of what Action Teams are and how residents can get involved. A recording of the briefing and interest form can be found at recovery.hawaiicounty.gov.

“Action Teams operate under the collective action framework, so all sectors of community are aligned and can move the resilience needle together,” said Kierkiewicz. “By focusing energy and resources on key projects from the Disaster Recovery Plan, we’ll make progress on achieving community’s vision for a strong, resilient Puna.”

Action Teams focus on community-driven projects that fall into one of several Resilience Capacity Areas – Social, Cultural, Economic, Natural Environment, Built Environment, and Youth. Each Resilience Capacity Area will be co-chaired by participants from the community and County who will provide Action Teams with technical assistance and guidance to help their projects succeed.

“Building a stronger community takes all of us working together,” said Le. “By joining Resilience Capacity Areas and Action Teams, Puna residents will take an active part in implementing projects that reflect the three strategies outlined in the Plan: Recovery, Readiness, and Community Resilience.”

Examples of projects led by Action Teams include establishing resilience hubs (social/economic), invasive species mitigation and native forest restoration (natural environment), protecting wahi kūpuna (cultural), and restarting the Pahoa Village Master Plan process (built environment). A track dedicated to supporting youth and building their capacity and leadership abilities is also planned.

Residents are invited to get involved by completing the interest form found on the Recovery website by Friday, Aug. 20. An orientation for Action Team members is scheduled for September, in preparation for the quarterly community activation, Revitalize Puna, set for Tuesday, Oct. 12.