HVNP Receives Donation of More Than $153K From Specialty License Plate Program

A cultural program at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is getting a financial boost thanks to a donation of more than $153,000 through a specialty license plate program.

The Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association on Feb. 28 presented a check to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh for $153,356. According to a press release, these funds will be dedicated to supporting the ʻIke Hana Noʻeau (Experience the Skillful Work) craft demonstrations and workshops through video.

These popular workshops were, in pre-pandemic years, open to visitors on the park lānai for instruction in such Hawaiian arts and crafts as lei making, lauhala weaving, hula and much more. Now the park hopes to develop ʻIke Hana Noʻeau instructional videos to be available online for everyone, around the world.

The specialty HVNP license plates, Hawai’i’s first specialty license plates, with their lava flows and nēnē geese, were authorized by a 2015 state law to raise funds for resource protection and education projects at Haleakalā and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Parks on Maui and the Big Island, respectively. Revenues from the specialty license plate program are distributed by Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association.

For more information about how to purchase a specialty plate, click here.