Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park in South Kona will be benefiting from a $1.7 million commitment by the National Park Foundation to grow its nonprofit park partners.

The foundation on Monday announced 41 projects it will share in the funding over the next year and beyond through its Strong Parks, Strong Communities program that makes “strategic investments in the park partner community,” according to a news release.

The competitive grant award to the Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will help the group partner with and support Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau park, which is of significant historical importance to Native Hawaiians and currently operates without a “friends” group, the release said.

The organization will be using the funding to create a new friends group “with a focus on preserving the culture, sharing it with residents and visitors alike, and protecting the natural resources,” the release said.

The 240-acre Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau NHP sits on Honaunau Bay and served as a place of refuge for defeated warriors, noncombatants and those who violated the kapu system of sacred laws. It contains a complex of archaeological sites, and one of its most prominent features is a massive 965-foot-long stone wall that encloses the ancient sanctuary.