Shad Kane describes Kapolei Regional Park as the piko, or the center, of the region, where a heiau once stood and which served as the place where Hawaiians were said to bring offerings of food and other goods to the konohiki, the regional leader.

The hula mound at the park is rooted in a deep cultural history that Kane, a member of the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club, has extensively researched. He hopes residents will one day understand and appreciate the significance of the area.

“The thing that is so interesting about Kapolei, and this is what we all have in common, is that we come from someplace else,” said Kane, a Makakilo resident since 1971. “It would be good for the entire community to have a sense of place … with where we live, work, gather and play. No better place to do that than a park.”

With the help of Kane, along with Hawaiian civic clubs and community groups, Councilwoman Kymberly Pine hopes to bring more awareness to the rich culture rooted in parks across the Leeward Coast by erecting signs, storyboards and other markers detailing the area’s Hawaiian history. Pine, whose district stretches from Ewa Beach to Waianae, said the goal is to help residents take ownership of their parks and care for them.

“We realized that the most important thing that you can do is to bring to the person a sense of honor of who they are and where they came from,” Pine said. “There are just so many incredible stories throughout Oahu that have been really lost. We don’t want to ever lose the history that has made it so special.”

Pine said she is also looking into introducing legislation this month to expand the project, which could solicit partnerships and donations from businesses islandwide.

Rochelle Kawelo, president of the Waianae Hawaiian Civic Club, said the group helped to restore the heiau at Pokai Bay several years ago and that signs detailing the history of the area would be great for the community. She added that other parks along the Waianae Coast would be good sites to further explore the Hawaiian culture.

“I love that idea because we used to be the stewards of a heiau at Pokai Bay,” Kawelo said. “There are … residents along the Waianae Coast that show their respect, and they actually go there and help to clean up the heiau.”

City Parks and Recreation Director Michele Nekota said she likes Pine’s idea but that there need to be efforts to ensure signs are durable and vandalism-proof.

“I think it’s, of course, a good idea so that people understand the history of the parks,” Nekota said.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell has pledged to refurbish some of the aging and damaged facilities at the city’s nearly 300 named parks, including playground equipment and bathrooms. In an effort to secure additional funding for parks, Pine and Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi introduced a bill in October that would create a process for sponsorship of city facilities, parks and other programs.

The measure was deferred in November by Pine, who said she would like to gather more input. Pine said the parks cultural initiative could work hand in hand with the sponsorship bill in seeking private donors.

“It is going to take extra funding. I think the interest is there in the private sector,” Pine said. “(But) we have to come up with some type of universal signage. It’s not an easy task.”

Kane, who previously served as chairman of the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club’s cultural resource committee, added that he hopes storyboards and other signs, as well as more community interest and presence at the parks, will discourage graffiti and vandalism.

“It will only come from these kinds of projects where you have the kinds of people that you want to show presence in a place to minimize graffiti, to minimize drinking in the parking lot (and) minimize trashing the place,” Kane said. “The only way to resolve something like this is a sense of presence.”