Through a tangle of kiawe trees and dry overgrown brush, paved coral stones mark a section of an ancient trail — a trail that’s expected to be among the natural features of an envisioned 77-acre Kalaeloa Heritage Park on the plains of Ewa.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority is working with the Kalaeloa Heritage and Legacy Foundation to restore remnants of a Hawaiian community dating back to circa 1450, including the sites of former dwellings.
"These cultural structures are unique," said Shad Kane, a Makakilo resident involved in the restoration. "They are substantial cultural structures."
HCDA, a state agency, has submitted its final environmental assessment. A copy may be reviewed at the state Office of Environmental Quality Control. Public comments were accepted previously.
The proposed project includes a multipurpose cultural center, botanical greenhouse, maintenance shed and caretaker/security cottage.
The foundation, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit, will provide support to operate an interpretative area where visitors will be guided along a trail that includes an area with remnants of an early Hawaiian village.
Most of the proposed development will take place in an area previously bulldozed for military purposes.
HCDA received the 77 acres of Kalaeloa land from the Navy after Barbers Point Naval Air Station was closed in 1999, redistributing some 3,700 acres of land to city, state and federal agencies.
Tesha Malama, the agency’s Kalaeloa director of planning and development, said the next step is for the foundation to secure a long-term lease.
Malama said such a lease, expected to be in place by summer, will help efforts to secure grant funding opportunities.
Centuries ago, the site was part of a dryland forest full of native foliage and birds. The introduction of Polynesian rats destroyed the native vegetation, according to archaeological studies.
The number of forest birds declined before any evidence of humans on the Ewa plains, according to scientists.
The site survived a number of major changes in the Ewa landscape, including the plowing and cultivation of thousands of acres of sugar cane following the successful drilling of artesian water in a venture headed by James Campbell in 1879.
As part of the naval air station, the site served as a buffer between airstrip and ocean.
Kane, a foundation director and a member of Hawaiian Civic Club ‘Ahahui Siwila Hawaii O Kapolei, said the coral-stone trail is studded with occasional upright stones 6 to 8 feet apart, marking the edges of the path — a feature that is similar to the way Tahitians build paths.
The trail, once about 4 miles long and used as an access to salt ponds, extends for about 300 yards in the park.
Sinkholes containing fresh water have walls around them to keep out trash and once served as an oasis for growing noni trees, whose fruits are used for Hawaiian medicinal purposes.
Kane said there are records that show sinkholes were used to help capture birds that had swooped into the area to gather up fallen noni fruit.
Kane said the opportunity to glimpse the everyday life of centuries ago will give the heritage park’s visitors a greater appreciation for the ingenuity of early Hawaiians.
In 2012, hundreds of volunteers helped build a traditional Hawaiian kauhale out of stone, wood and grass, which now serves as a gathering place for visitors.
The foundation organizes community work days and offers cultural site tours, and is working with some schools on restoration projects, including the reintroduction of native plants.
"We want to integrate the park into their curriculum," Kane said.
