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KPLT supports both economy and environment
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| Kaua‘i Public Land Trust has preserved more than 178 acres of land and recently acquired a 150-acre conservation easement in the Kilauea River valley that will never be developed. Contributed Photo |
By Coco Zickos - The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘î has seen its fair share of development over recent years, yet as the island’s natural beauty fades away into a cloud of red dirt and bulldozers, one local nonprofit organization continues to help preserve as much open space as possible for the benefit of multiple generations to come.
On Earth Day, the Kaua‘i Public Land Trust as part of its efforts to enlighten the public on the importance of the environment created a campaign in support of locally owned businesses that play a significant role in maintaining a sustainable community, said Jennifer Luck, executive director for KPLT.
“Small businesses and locally owned businesses are vital to the health of our economy and our island,” she said in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s so important to keep money here on Kaua‘i.”
KPLT Board President Bill Chase agreed on the necessity of supporting the island’s small businesses.
“To buy local and support mom and pop stores as much as possible is extremely important,” he said Thursday. “We’re targeting the establishments that are actually not the big chains, but smaller, local businesses, where residents go to shop.”
Wednesday marked KPLT’s first annual event — Buy Back Kaua‘i — where residents and visitors were encouraged to patronize locally owned small businesses that agreed to donate a portion of Wednesday’s proceeds to KPLT in order to help sustain the nonprofit’s operating costs, such as appraisals and attorney fees, said Luck.
In return, KPLT offered to “vigorously promote” each business through various outlets.
“It seemed like a good idea to help contribute towards having land on the island for preservation,” said Christine Bayley-Wortley of Hanalei’s Kaua‘i Nut Roasters, when asked why she chose to participate.
Patronizing local businesses and not taking them for granted is important, she added, because you never know when they might no longer be around.
“The campaign was not just to raise money for Kaua‘i Public Land Trust, but to help divert traffic to these stores that are the backbone of the Kaua‘i lifestyle and the reason we love this island,” said Chase.
Luck shared similar sentiments.
“We really envision Buy Back Kaua‘i to become an island-wide event on Earth Day that not only benefits the land trust, but benefits and draws attention to the locally owned business and small business owners.”
To date, KPLT has preserved more than 178 acres of land and recently acquired a 150-acre conservation easement in the Kilauea River valley, according to Luck.
“Let’s get these really precious places out of the way from development,” said Chase.
KPLT is currently working on the expansion of Black Pot Park in Hanalei and is the fiscal sponsor for funding on Coco Palms.
The Friends of Coco Palms — an ad-hoc steering committee formed in an effort to purchase the historic Coco Palms property for public benefit — hopes to work with the community to create a plan for the property, Luck said.
“They envision it having a cultural component, an open-space component, and a revenue-generating component that enables the property to sustain itself in the future,” she said.
Luck added that she was thankful to the businesses who signed on as part of the Buy Back Kaua‘i campaign and was inspired by the community’s support in KPLT’s endeavors.
“For the first year, it was a good effort and we’re really happy,” she said. “We hope it grows by leaps and bounds.”
For more information visit www.kauaipubliclandtrust.org
• Coco Zickos, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
On Earth Day, the Kaua‘i Public Land Trust as part of its efforts to enlighten the public on the importance of the environment created a campaign in support of locally owned businesses that play a significant role in maintaining a sustainable community, said Jennifer Luck, executive director for KPLT.
“Small businesses and locally owned businesses are vital to the health of our economy and our island,” she said in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s so important to keep money here on Kaua‘i.”
KPLT Board President Bill Chase agreed on the necessity of supporting the island’s small businesses.
“To buy local and support mom and pop stores as much as possible is extremely important,” he said Thursday. “We’re targeting the establishments that are actually not the big chains, but smaller, local businesses, where residents go to shop.”
Wednesday marked KPLT’s first annual event — Buy Back Kaua‘i — where residents and visitors were encouraged to patronize locally owned small businesses that agreed to donate a portion of Wednesday’s proceeds to KPLT in order to help sustain the nonprofit’s operating costs, such as appraisals and attorney fees, said Luck.
In return, KPLT offered to “vigorously promote” each business through various outlets.
“It seemed like a good idea to help contribute towards having land on the island for preservation,” said Christine Bayley-Wortley of Hanalei’s Kaua‘i Nut Roasters, when asked why she chose to participate.
Patronizing local businesses and not taking them for granted is important, she added, because you never know when they might no longer be around.
“The campaign was not just to raise money for Kaua‘i Public Land Trust, but to help divert traffic to these stores that are the backbone of the Kaua‘i lifestyle and the reason we love this island,” said Chase.
Luck shared similar sentiments.
“We really envision Buy Back Kaua‘i to become an island-wide event on Earth Day that not only benefits the land trust, but benefits and draws attention to the locally owned business and small business owners.”
To date, KPLT has preserved more than 178 acres of land and recently acquired a 150-acre conservation easement in the Kilauea River valley, according to Luck.
“Let’s get these really precious places out of the way from development,” said Chase.
KPLT is currently working on the expansion of Black Pot Park in Hanalei and is the fiscal sponsor for funding on Coco Palms.
The Friends of Coco Palms — an ad-hoc steering committee formed in an effort to purchase the historic Coco Palms property for public benefit — hopes to work with the community to create a plan for the property, Luck said.
“They envision it having a cultural component, an open-space component, and a revenue-generating component that enables the property to sustain itself in the future,” she said.
Luck added that she was thankful to the businesses who signed on as part of the Buy Back Kaua‘i campaign and was inspired by the community’s support in KPLT’s endeavors.
“For the first year, it was a good effort and we’re really happy,” she said. “We hope it grows by leaps and bounds.”
For more information visit www.kauaipubliclandtrust.org
• Coco Zickos, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
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