Celebrating Wetlands With Tours, Talks, Food

Kailua and its wetlands will be the focus of the 2012 guided tours coordinated by ‘Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi and the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club starting this Saturday during the Ramsar World Wetlands Day at Kailua United Methodist Church.

Tour reservations already have begun for the Feb. 4 tour of the Kawainui-Hamakua marsh complex and Ulupo heiau, which is free. Other tours request the donation is $10 for nonmembers and $5 for members of the two groups, with proceeds supporting their cultural and ecological restoration work at the heiau and Na Pohaku o Hauwahine. Call 263-8008 or send requests to email@ahahui.net. (Future tours will start at 8:30 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month, except for July and August.)

Ramsar World Wetlands Day, meanwhile, will be open from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the church grounds, offering exhibits, food, entertainment, lectures, native plants sales, a climbing wall and other hands-on activities for keiki. Performers include singer Keale (with an original tribute to Kawainui Marsh), Na Kupuna O Koolau and Hawaii Loa.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources will show its documentary featuring actor Jason Scott Lee, The Rain Follows the Forest, at 11 a.m. followed by a discussion with DLNR staff. Also planned is a malassada sale for the Windward Ahupua’a Alliance and an HI-5 recycling drive, offering a free malassada for every 20 containers brought in.

For details about the fair, call 247-6366.