Video: UH Hilo’s Kaleo Pilago gives public talk on Maunakea stewardship

The talk, “Maunakea Stewardship,” is part of this semester’s Kuleana and Community Weekly Talk Story gatherings.

Title page for Kaleo Pilago's public talk "Maunakea Stewardship." UH Hilo Kuleana and Community Weekly Talk Story Building Community Through Conversation. Photo of Kaleo.


Kaleo Pilago gave a public talk Oct. 4 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo on the stewardship of Maunakea. Pilago is education and outreach coordinator for the Center for Maunakea Stewardship. He has been at UH Hilo since 2007, and has worked in both student and academic affairs.

The talk, “Maunakea Stewardship,” is part of a series of weekly gatherings held this semester at UH Hilo where students, faculty, staff, university retirees, and members of the local community get together in a safe and welcoming environment to share their thoughts around a common topic.

The goal of the series, named Kuleana and Community Weekly Talk Story: Building Community Through Conversation, is to strengthen the university’s connections to the local community through conversation. Topics cover Maunakea stewardship, mental health, better communication, houselessness in Hawaiʻi, entrepreneurship, and more. Following a short talk by a featured guest, attendees break out into discussion groups and then share their manaʻo (thoughts) with everyone.

Pilago’s talk and the event discussions that followed focused on projects and activities that support the management and protection of Maunakea’s natural and cultural resources such as community engagement projects, hands-on stewardship opportunities, and culturally responsive program planning efforts.

Other topics included the incorporation of Native Hawaiian language, history, and culture into daily operations on the mauna, and field projects and community outreach activities that support the UH 10-campus Indigenous serving institution initiatives.

The talk was held at the Kilohana Student Success Center located in Edwin Mookini Library.

The Kuleana and Community series is sponsored by the UH Hilo Office of the Chancellor, Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center, Kilohana Academic Success Center, Center for Global Education and Exchange, and Assistant Professor of Communication Colby Miyose and Associate Professor of Sociology Alton Okinaka.

Don’t miss the complete Kuleana and Community series

UPDATED with links to video recordings of each talk:

Aug. 30: Colby Miyose, “Communicating with Empathy” (this presentation was not recorded)
Sept. 6: Gerald DeMello, Historic Preservation Advocate, “Preserving Hawaiʻi’s History”
Sept. 13: Charmaine Higa, UH Hilo Professor of Psychology, “Small Shoulders, Big Worries: Understanding Childhood Anxiety in a Post-Pandemic World”
Sept. 20: Randy Kurohara, Executive Director, Community First, “Kuleana Health: Our Responsibility for Health”
Sept. 27: Clifton Sankofa, Educator, “Reclaiming Health Through Food”
Oct. 4: Kaleo Pilago, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Center for Maunakea Stewardship, “Maunakea Stewardship”
Oct. 11: Beverly Tese, Community Activist, Prizma Hawaiʻi LGBTQ Center, “Representation”
Oct. 18: Carla Kuo, Executive Officer, Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce, “Supporting Local”
Oct. 25: Brandee Menino, Chief Executive Office, HOPE Services Hawaiʻi, “Empowering Our Community: Exploring Services That Strengthen Us”
Nov. 1: Mike Miyahira, UH Regent and Business Owner, “Best Practices for Family Business Owners”
Nov. 8: Julie Mitchell, Executive Director, Kuʻikahi Mediation Center, “Conflict Prevention and Resolution”
Nov. 15: Sue Lee Loy, Hawaiʻi County Council Member and State Representative-Elect, “UH Hilo’s Role in the Community”

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