The County of Kaua`i Parks and Recreation Department has been making good use of the Makauwahi Cave Reserve lately. Although we are not a county park, the Reserve’s policy of making the site available free of charge for any compatible use by local individuals and groups, and the wide range of interesting activities that are available, makes it an ideal venue for – almost anything! For instance, Mayor Bernard Carvalho joined the County Parks employees for a team-building program for managers and staff back in March. The group had such a good time there that they decided to add the site as a venue for their ever-popular summer enrichment program (day camp) for local children.

Mayor Carvalho takes part in a County Parks team building exercise at Makauwahi

This is one of their weekly field excursions, in which a group of 100 to 200 kids come out every Wednesday. They enjoy touring the cave, planting trees, playing games, and visiting with the eight tortoises in our experimental restoration project. Summer intern Mary Coulombe of Northern Arizona University, who grew up on Kaua`i, has done a fantastic job coordinating this program. If you visit this summer, she may also ask you to fill out a survey questionnaire designed to help us make the site even better for public use.