NA ALA HELE

View STARS Student Reports and Important Na Ala Hele Research Information

Na Ala Hele ("the ways to go," or "the paths to follow") is the State of Hawai‘i Trail and Access Program, administered by the Department of Lands and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Na Ala Hele was initially created in response to public concern about the increasing loss of access to trails and the threat to historic trails from development pressures. Currently, Na Ala Hele is also increasingly engaged in multiple trail use and management issues such as regulating commercial use, conducting trail improvement for resource management, improving user safety, disseminating trail related information, and determining the current ownership of historic government trails in efforts to protect these routes for potential use by future generations. Hawai‘i's trails require continuous attention to insure the quality of the trail experience, the safety of the trail users, and for the proper management of the natural and cultural resources along the trail. Na Ala Hele relies on community volunteers for providing the essential person-power to conduct trail restoration or construction projects and to assist in the stewardship of trails in Hawai‘i.

STARS students assist Na Ala Hele as "keepers of the trail" for an important and well traveled section of the historic Ala Kahakai (path by the sea). Our students not only provide trail maintenance and help keep the beaches along the Ala Kahakai beautiful, but they also engage in the research of trail plants, animals, marine life, and their ecosystems; as well as studying the geology, geography, historical and cultural issues, and human environmental impact on both the land and the sea. Our students are out working along the Ala Kahakai, or snorkeling in the sea, or surveying a lava flow, or hiking one of our many beautiful valleys or high mountain trails, almost every week throughout the school year.

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