Last year, we saw firsthand the devastating consequences of not being attentive to ‘aina, when raging fires on Maui and Hawaii island caused unprecedented destruction. These avoidable disasters were exacerbated by numerous environmental issues, including invasive brush and drought conditions driven by climate change.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

We can act now to aloha ‘aina. By adequately funding conservation, we not only preserve our islands’ unique native plants and animals and the lands that nurture our health and well-being, we protect communities from further devastation while investing in our natural heritage for future generations.

Surveys show that this is what the people of Hawaii value.

A statewide poll commissioned by The Nature Conservancy and the Care for ‘Aina Now coalition showed 99% of voters agree that our beaches, reefs and parks are essential to Hawaii’s quality of life. An overwhelming 97% believe that it is our kuleana, or responsibility, to protect our ocean and lands for future generations.

Significantly, 4 out of 5 Hawaii voters believe that state government programs are critical to protecting natural resources. These results are striking considering that many of us no longer have the opportunity to directly experience Hawaii’s healthiest native ecosystems, which remain protected by being remote and inaccessible.

While we may not often get the chance to walk through a native cloud forest, harvest maile or see the scarlet flash of an ‘i‘iwi in flight, we are still in pilina — connected to ‘aina through relationship.

The people of Hawaii understand that the pilina between us and our environment is unbreakable. Even if we never walk among ‘ohi‘a lehua, we know they are why we have fresh, clean water. Even if we never see native birds, we know they are part of our ‘ohana. We are all connected. That is why we must act now to invest in conservation and stewardship before the next disaster.

There are many ways to invest. Places like Ho‘oulu ‘Aina, a 100-acre nature preserve in Kalihi Valley, demonstrate how caring for the ‘aina connects and heals us. A project of Kokua Kalihi Valley (KKV), we celebrate the reciprocal benefit of caring for land and human health.

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We know we have the power to change; we’ve done it before. At a time when Hawaiian language and traditional practices were nearly extinct, our kumu imagined a different future, a pono future. They took action.

Today, ‘olelo Hawaii is spoken in our streets, canoe voyaging traditions connect the world, and keiki are born into a world where aloha ‘aina is normalized.

Today, we are the ones imagining a pono future. We imagine a future with clean air and water, healthy reefs, thriving forests, and native birds from mauka to makai.

We imagine a future safer from disasters like fire and flood. And we imagine a future where Hawaii’s people find healing and connection through access to healthy native forests and shorelines.

But to get there, we need to invest and act. Investing in nature means growing your knowledge, building your pilina and getting serious about land management tools. It also means sharing stories of the land and dreams for the future. It means appropriately funding conservation and natural resource management.

This Earth Day, join us in calling on our state lawmakers to invest in aloha ‘aina — may our actions today create a pono future for our beloved Hawaii.

Ulalia Woodside Lee is executive director for The Nature Conservancy, Hawai‘i and Palmyra; Puni Jackson is Hoʻoulu ʻAina director for Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services.