Puna Residents Invited to Join Resilience Action Teams

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.