Huli ʻia is an observational process documenting seasonal changes and shifts across entire landscapes, ma uka to ma kai and everything in between, above and around. It is a tool used to identify dominant correlating cycles to support and guide our management and best-practices in supporting a productive and thriving community: ʻĀina Momona.

Huli ʻIa documents these natural changes over time, identifies dominant cycles within certain species or occurrences (flowering, fruiting, presence/absence of flora/fauna, cloud formations, spawning or recruiting of fish species, etc), and assists in identifying correlations between species and/or occurrences as indicators of the other. Basically, when one thing happens (a flower blooms in mass) it indicates that another occurrence (a fish is spawning in mass) is happening. It allows natural cycles to support and guide our management practices in contrast to months of the year guiding these practices, which, with the impacts of climate change are difficult in allowing the flexibility needed to ensure the best times to rest areas or species and/or to harvvest areas or species. Huli ʻIa strengthens the kilo or observer in community members (supporting the cultural practice of kilo), establishes and deepens intimate relationships between people and place (supporting more conscious kamaʻāina), and provides a community with guidance to support sustainability, health and wellness, and mālama ‘āina (participation in caring for our resources).

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