About a dozen community members and County of Hawai‘i staff members are teaming up to lead Resilience Capacity Areas (RCAs) as part of implementation of the Kīlauea Recovery and Resilience Plan, a strategic guiding document created following the 2018 eruption.

These RCAs address six resilience categories – Social, Cultural, Economic, Natural Environment, Built Environment, and Youth – and include community-driven projects headed by Action Teams that advance the plan’s three strategies: Recovery, Readiness, and Resilience. Co-chairs from the community and County provide these teams with technical assistance and guidance to help their initiatives succeed as part of this resilience framework. 

County Councilmember Ashley Kierkiewicz, District 4, summed up the structure this way during an orientation for RCA co-chairs and Action Team members held Tuesday via Zoom: “Community is driving the action and government is showing up to support you.” 

The orientation was co-hosted by Kierkiewicz and Bob Agres, the Community Engagement and Collaboration Manager for the County’s Disaster Recovery Division. It included a walkthrough of an action playbook created to guide the co-chairs and Action Teams through the next two years.

“This will become a source of reflection and learning as we work together to build community resilience,” Agres said. He noted the process is anchored by several guiding principles, including aloha ‘āina and understanding our individual and collective kuleana. 

The RCA/Action Team process involves a 90-day action cycle aligned with quarterly Revitalize Puna community activation events. These events are open to the public and will kickoff the next action cycle and allow RCA co-chairs and Action Team members to share what they’ve learned, accomplished, and plan to do going forward.  

The first Revitalize Puna was held in June in Leilani Estates and introduced the resilience categories. The next activation is scheduled from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, and will be held virtually for community safety due to increased cases of COVID-19 on Hawai‘i Island. Stay tuned for event registration. 

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), industry and workforce development (economic), and Pāhoa Village Master Plan (built).

A special mahalo to Target for donating binders and other supplies for the Youth RCA/Action Teams! For more information on RCAs and Action Teams, and to sign up to participate, visit recovery.hawaiicounty.gov.

Resilience Capacity Area co-chairs, community affiliations*

Social

• Sharon Hirota – Housing and Community Development Specialist (County)
• Greg Armstrong – Leilani Community Association/Leilani Neighborhood Watch (Community)
• Smiley Burrows – Lower Puna Rising (Community)

Cultural

• Bob Agres – Recovery Community Engagement Manager (County)
• Leila Kealoha – Pōhaku Pelemaka/Puna CDP Action Committee (Community)

Economic

• Ashley Kierkiewicz – County Councilmember, District 4 (County)
• Susie Osborne – Kua O Ka Lā PCS/Puna CDP Action Committee (Community)
• Brent Norris – Green Collar Technologies (Community)

Built Environment

• Garrett Smith – Recovery and Redevelopment Manager (County)
• Ku‘ulei Cooper – Trustee of the Kealoha Estate (Community)

Natural Environment

• Michelle Agbigay – Economic Development Specialist (County)
• Bethany Morrison – Planner (County)
• Franny Brewer – Big Island Invasive Species Committee/Puna CDP Action Committee (Community)

Youth

• Misty Carter – Disaster Recovery Coordinator (County)

*Community affiliations acknowledge an aspect of the co-chairs’ community involvement. Co-chairs are not representing specific organizations as participants in the RCAs/Action Teams.