Hawaii Ahe Banana Poka Round-Up: Talk About Creative Ways to Recycle!

Kylie Wilson and Abby Polzin, Camping up at Kokee and decided to join in on the festivities.

By: Melissa K. Ha’o

(Kauai)– When you think of a poka, what images come to mind? A lively jig that you might see on Dancing with the Stars? Well you would be wrong. The poka is not a dance, the Polka is. The excitement felt as if going to watch some fancy dancing was quickly replaced by the elation of watching every day people work together to remove this invasive species. It was a breath of fresh air to witness such committed souls with a common goal. Their simple hope was to give native plants the chance to grow, reproduce, and thrive in this modern day world.

The Banana Poka is an aggressive South American vine with a beautiful pink blossom. Brael Soria, a field supervisor for Hui o Laka’s Kokua Koke`e claimed, [this “weed”] grows like a net, covering other plants and blocking out the sun. Plants will die without enough sunlight.”

The Banana Poka Round-Up is meant to be both fun and informative. For two days prior to this Sunday afternoon, volunteers, campers, environmental groups, and Koke`e museum staff spent hours tracking down these “weeds” and removing them. This plant grew a lot like Indiana Jones’s whip, spiraling and twining like climbing ivy. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to remove. It is important to get this “weed” before it has the chance to get too thick.

Once collected, they placed the plants under a huge tent. Then volunteers showed visitors how to make beautiful baskets and wreaths using this plant as both the ribbing for the basket and the material to weave it all together. It was amazing how they formed such ornamental, yet practical, items from what is essentially forest garbage. Talk about creative ways to recycle!
Several groups were there teaching the public about invasive plants and animals, groups like the Forest Bird Recovery Project. Stuart Fety, a seasonal worker, was there painting pictures of endangered birds on kids faces. When not entertaining children, he is working on collecting and analyzing data on native birds. While there is still a lot of work to be done, he did share that some of the native species of birds are in decline. They are hopeful that other species will show growth and that the species that are disappearing will also recovery in time.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom when it comes to Natives life. Groups like the American Cancer Society was there handing out color changing bracelets to help remind you about the importance of sun protection. As the bracelet “detects” UV exposure the beads change color, letting you know its time to seek shade, put on sun screen, and be more careful.

Its events like this one that really let the public know what is going on. The Round-Up also hoped to shed some light on all of the great things that the museum does as well. They help to organize community events such as the Banana Poka Round-Up and races like the Pedal to the Meadow. But they are also responsible for the up keep of the roads, getting volunteers to hunt down and collect invasive species, keeping Koke`e from turning into an amusement park for locals and tourists alike, renting out cabins and keeping the park looking so pristine.

The Round-Up has been going strong for more than twenty years. Volunteers, both young and young at heart donated their time and talents to make this event such a huge success. Between live music, a crowing contest, a keiki (and some adults) costume parade, face painting, great food, and great people, this was a day not too miss. It was full of information and fun in the sun. Hopefully with events like this one, the Koke`e museum and Hui o Laka will continue to lure folks into there web of fun and education. In time perhaps we all can return Koke`e (and one day Kaua`i as a whole) back into an original paradisiacal glory.