Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund
We have a story to share – one centered on the actions of our communities and all who love Hawaiʻi. Our story will inspire future generations to continue to engage no matter where they live. Our story is your story.
In 2026, Hawai’i Wildlife Fund celebrates working in Hawaiʻi nei for 30 years. We have protected native species and habitats, and provided environmental educational and habitat restoration opportunities for our community members and visitors since 1996. We have protected nearly 14,000 sea turtle hatchlings and their mothers, secured hundreds of acres of sensitive forest and coastal lands for conservation and cultural preservation and removed more than 450 tons of marine debris from our shorelines and reefs.
Our story is about hope. Hope for the future of our natural world. But our hope is fueled by actions and powered by our own communities and visitors from around the world.
Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of Hawaiʻi’s native wildlife. Our programs are focused on the islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui, and we support actions statewide including coastal habitat restoration on Kauaʻi (in partnership with Surfrider Kauaʻi).
Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund designed and operates the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center at Whalers Village in Kāʻanapali on Maui which we opened in 2021. The Discovery Center is a multi-media education center that combines a dynamic blend of art and science to inspire visitors to want to learn more and to take actions to protect our natural heritage.
From volunteering, internships, donating or adopting, we offer you access to co-create our story and ways that it will become yours to tell.
Me ke aloha pumehana,
Hannah Bernard – HWF Executive Director & Co-founder
Megan Lamson – HWF President & Hawaiʻi Program Director
- HWF Mission Statement
- Check out our eco-tips guide for island visitors HERE.
Latest News & Events
December 2025 Newsletter
All the News from HWF & HWDC
(Accomplishments from our 29th year!)
HWF’s 30th Anniversary Events!
Join us July 17th at the Hilo Hotel!
(Click the image for PDF)
Friday, July 17th, 2026 at the SCP Hilo Hotel, Hawaiʻi island from 4:00 – 6:30 pm
Free admission – including music, pupus, beverages, and a silent auction!
Sunday, October 4th, 2026 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi Island (aboard Fair Wind Cruises) Sunset Tour
Ticketed admission – including music, pupus, beverages, and a raffle for prizes!
Tuesday, November 10th, 2026 in Paʻīa, Maui at Flatbreads Pizza
Free admission, includes a silent auction! Food and drinks for purchase.
👉🏼 Visit this page for more details! 👈🏼
Follow HWF on IG and sign up for our Newsletter to keep posted on our upcoming 30th Anniversary Events!
What We Do
Participate
From The Blog
HWF Marine Debris Research Supports International Pacific Eel Trap Fishery Study
HWF team members co-authored a landmark study tracing North Pacific eel trap debris to its source — and pointing toward real, multinational solutions.
Announcing our first Patrick Conant Memorial Scholarship Recipient, Duncan Anderson
In February 2026, we were excited to launched a memorial scholarship for graduate students focusing on Hawaiian wildlife in honor of the late, great [...]
Meet our first 2026 Kaʻū Scholarship winner, Kuʻumanu Breithaupt
Meet one of our 2026 Kaʻū Scholarship winners, Kuʻumanu Breithaupt
The Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center in Lahaina, Maui
Maui is still in a tender, vulnerable state after the devastating wildfires that destroyed Lāhainā and took the lives of 100 people on August 8, 2023. There is not a person on Maui who is not in some way affected by this historic tragedy, but the response of our own and greater global communities have been inspirational.
The Hawai’i Wildlife Discovery Center is located one mile north of the burn zone, and remains intact. Because HWDC is a learning center in a zone that remains open, and in response to thousands of displaced families, HWF staff and consultants joined together to collaborate on a revisioning of the mission of the Center to more directly support our young haumāna (students), many of whom have no classroom.
Together with many local organizations, HWF has offered the Discovery Center in Whalers Village with this new mission “To provide a safe space, centered around our connection to nature, where keiki can learn, feel listened to, and be nurtured with Aloha.”
HWDC is open to the public (daily 9:00am – 3:00pm) and still has regular visits from cruise ship passengers and Road Scholars groups, among others, but our priority is our own future generations.
Enjoy this video about our Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center at Whalers Village,
and the work Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund does.
Visit this page to see how you can Mālama (take care and give back) on the islands with HWF!
