The Climate Champions Program
Resilience Office staff and Climate Champions at Loko Ea Fishpond.
What is the Climate Champions Program?
The Climate Champions Program pairs community-based organizations with a Climate Champion Intern who will implement a project that will help the organization adapt to the impacts of climate change. This program was created in response to perspectives shared during the community engagement process for the City's climate adaptation strategy called "Climate Ready Oʻahu." It is jointly hosted by the six community-based organizations listed below and the City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.
The City was awarded a $1 million dollar grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Grant to continue this program through 2026.
The 2024 program is underway! We are excited to see the Champions’ projects develop over the summer and increase their communities' climate resilience capacity. Follow the Resilience Office for program updates.
2024 Program Details
Program Dates: May through August, 2024
Program Design: Climate Champions (interns) have been placed with one of the below six organizations. This is a part-time paid internship with weekly work expectations ranging from 5-20 hours/week for 4 months. Orientation for all seven Climate Champions occurred in April 2024, with the program launched in May, and a celebratory hōʻike in August 2024.
Applicant Requirements:
Must be 16 years or older
Students and kūpuna are encouraged to apply!
Benefits:
Paid, part-time internship
Participate in professional development opportunities and workshops hosted by the City and County of Honolulu Resilience Office
Make a positive impact in your community
How to Apply: Applications are closed for the 2024 cohort. Applications for the 2025 cohort will open in spring 2025.
2024 Project Descriptions
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Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization
Project: Educating the community about becoming Firewise-certified. Taking action at the local level around wildfire preparedness and community resilience.
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Trees for Honolulu's Future
Project 1: Providing stewardship for newly planted trees at Makalapa Park and supporting efforts to improve the resilience of the park.
Project 2: Redesigning and promoting the Treemendous card game as a tool for educating students about the science, health and cultural significance of local tree species
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Mālama Learning Center
Project: Supporting the efforts to grow native and food plants, while educating the community about our work at these sites as it relates to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
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KEY Project
Project: Supporting efforts to grow native and food plants. Coordinating and raising awareness for fighting the invasion of little fire ants.
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MAʻO Organic Farms
Project: Integrating climate change throughout the development of our Indigenous Agroecology Strategy, a five year plan to establish, implement and sustainably manage our farm.
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Mālama Loko Ea Foundation
Project: Building community resilience through developing and piloting environmental justice/climate education and community workshops.
2024 Climate Champions
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Ashley Bare
Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization
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Honuʻāina Nichols
Mālama Loko Ea Foundation
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Jalfine Aritos
Trees for Honolulu’s Future
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Kinson Eria
Trees for Honolulu’s Future
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Keʻalaʻiliahi Ford
Mālama Learning Center
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Sherry Cassetta
Trees for Honolulu’s Future
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Mark Murphy
KEY Project
Cohort 1 (2023)
The Climate Champions Program was successfully piloted during the summer of 2023 in partnership with five community-based organizations. These organizations provided space and support for Climate Champions to implement climate adaptation projects that advance both the organization's mission and implementation of aspects of Climate Ready Oʻahu. Check out the video for an overview of the pilot program.
