Help the Honolulu Board of Water Supply restore the native forest in Makaha Valley by removing alien trees on Saturday, June 28.

Meet at the entrance of the Wai‘anae Small Boat Harbor at 8:15 a.m. From there, volunteers will carpool to the site.

Be prepared for a moderate 30-minute hike to the service site.

For more information call Arlene Buchholz at 988-9806 or Randy Ching at 942-0145. Visit www.hi.sierraclub.org.

The Sierra Club, Hawai‘i Chapter is looking for volunteers to help remove invasive Himalayan blackberry on Mau‘umae Trail on June 14.

The service project will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor) is a thorny vine native to western Europe. Division of Forestry and Wildlife “Hawai‘i’s Most Invasive Horticultural Plants” list includes all species of the genus Rubus. Blackberry forms dense impenetrable thickets that exclude other native plant species, and make access difficult for hunters, hikers, and other visitors to forests.

These thickets can produce 7,000 to 13,000 seeds per square meter, which can remain dormant in the soil for several years.

Blackberry occurs in only a few locations on O‘ahu. We can get rid of it before it takes over!

We will hike along a well maintained trail for one hour before arriving to the site. The hike to the work site will be an hour long on a hot, sunny, exposed ridgeline.

This volunteer trip is for advanced hikers. Expect difficult hiking. Bring bag lunch, hiking shoes, sunscreen and water.

Meet at the Church of the Crossroads parking lot.

RSVP to 286-4616 or oisc@hawaii.edu.

The Sierra Club, Hawai‘i Chapter is working with Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi at Kawai Nui Marsh on Saturday, May 24.

Volunteers will work in a native plant garden off Kapa‘a Quarry Road in Kailua.

Meet at 8:30 a.m. on the right side of the road about one mile from the intersection of Kapa‘a Quarry Road and Kalaniana‘ole Highway.

Bring work gloves, water, lunch, insect repellent, tools such as sickles and pruners.

For more information call Arlene Buchholz at 988-9806 or visit www.hi.sierraclub.org.

The Sierra Club, Hawai‘ Chapter is hosting a cleanup of Sandy Beach on May 18.

Volunteers will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the bathrooms at the eastern side of the beach park. The cleanup will take place along the highway and coastal areas until 10:30 a.m.

Bring water and wear a hat, closed-toed shoes and sunscreen. (No slippers!) Bags and gloves will be provided.

For more information call Tred at 394-2898 or Deborah Blair at 955-4168. Visit www.hi.sierraclub.org.

Marine Debris Forum will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the Hawaii State Capitol.

It’s a free, public event at the Hawai`i State Capitol organized by the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i and the Conservation Council for Hawai`i.

For more information, please visit: http://www.b-e-a-c-h.org

Bishop Museum and Hawai‘i Maritime Center will participate in Smithsonian Magazine’s nationwide Museum Day promotion on Saturday, Sept. 27.

Free admission cards admitting the bearer and one guest free of charge will be available in the September 2008 issue of Smithsonian Magazine or downloaded easily at www.smithsonianmagazine.com/museumday.

Museum Day celebrates the country’s cultural offerings, allows the dissemination of knowledge, and brings Americans together. Last year nearly 450 museums and cultural institutions nationwide participated in the effort, which emulates the Smithsonian’s Washington, D.C. year-round free admission policy. The complete list of participating museums across the nation is available at www.smithsonianmagazine.com.

This year’s event happily coincides with the Textile Society of America’s 11th Biennial Symposium hosted in Honolulu Sept. 24 to 27. This international arts event includes a city-wide effort to present exquisite textile collections and exhibitions in more than 16 different venues throughout Honolulu. Bishop Museum joined by other major museums such as Mission Houses Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, and University of Hawai‘i Art Gallery, and other galleries around Honolulu are presenting spectacular textile exhibitions from their respected collections. These exhibitions will be on view during Smithsonian’s MUSEUM DAY event, creating a unique opportunity for residents and visitors to see the exhibition of their choice at no charge. (For more information about the city-wide schedule of TSA-related textile exhibitions go to www.textilesociety.org.)

On view at Bishop Museum will be “Ili Iho: The Surface Within.” featuring significant textile treasures from the Museum’s renowned Hawaiian collection paired with a selection of contemporary Hawaiian textile arts created by native Hawaiian artists. Guest curated by Maile Andrade, this special exhibition invites native Hawaiian textile artists to interpret their own material culture in contemporary ways.

The Museum Day Admission Card is good for one-day use only on Sept. 27. The Admission Card will be collected upon entry and is redeemable for general admission for the presenter and one guest. Only one Admission Card per household is allowed. The Museum Day Admission Card may not be used with any other offer and no rain checks will be offered.

“We are proud to join the Smithsonian’s effort to promote awareness about the integrity, importance, and relevance of our nation’s cultural institutions,” says Blair Collis, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Bishop Museum.

Bishop Museum will be open Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Hawai‘i Maritime Center will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org. Or go to Smithsonian Magazine’s web site at www.smithsonianmagazine.com/museumday.

Learn all about the gentle giants of the sea in this robotic traveling exhibition from WondeWorks at the Bishop Museum.

The exhibit, which opens at 9 a.m. today at Castle Hall, tells their 54-million-year-old story, from early life on land to their journey back to the sea. Life-size robotic whales illustrate the major categories of whale origins, adaptions and behavior from feeding and reproduction to swimming, vocalization, respiration, and diving. The exhibit will feature full-sized robotic versions of a Baby Gray whale, a Humpback whale and an Orca, and animated heads of a Northern Right whale and a Sperm whale.

On exhibit May 17 through Sept. 21. For more information visit www.bishopmuseum.org.

World Ocean Day was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Although not yet officially designated by the United Nations, an increasing number of countries mark June 8th as an opportunity each year to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.

The Ocean Project, working closely with the World Ocean Network each year, helps to coordinate events and activities with aquariums, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, universities, schools, businesses.

For more information visit www.theoceanproject.org.

The Hawai‘i Ocean Film Festival will be held on Aug. 22 and 23 at Hanalei Bay on Kaua‘i.

The films will start at around sunset both nights.

In its 9th year, the festival will showcase the Top 10 independent short films submitted from around the world in short (2-9 minutes), medium (10-30 minutes) and feature-length formats.

The films will center around an ocean theme, from the historical value of the sea to their future in peril. The goal is to enlighten viewers about the issues affecting the marine ecosystems we share.

To learn more call (808) 652-3392 or visit www.hawaiioceanfilmfestival.org.

The Mayor’s International Year of the Reef (IYOR) Community Task Force, Ola Nā Papa I Pūlama ‘Ia (Cherish the Living Reefs), is proud to announce its major event for the year. (Click here to learn more.)

IYOR Reef Night will be held at the Maui Ocean Center on Sunday, June 22, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. The event includes an invasive species cookoff featuring ta‘ape and locally-grown produce, educational displays, a photo wall, lectures and demonstrations, poster contest for school-age children and entertainment, and much more.

Cost is $16 adults ($11 for kama‘aina), $13 children ($8 for kama‘aina).

For more information visit www.mauioceancenter.com or contact Kuhea Paracuelles at (808) 242-1180 ext. 26 or kuhea.paracuelles@mauicounty.gov.