Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, which inspires the support and stewardship of the Friends, consists of more than 330,000 acres encompassing a spectacular array of environments ranging from the shoreline to the 13,680 foot summit of the Mauna Loa volcano.

The Park’s most famous feature is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, Kīlauea. With over half of the Park designated as wilderness, Hawai`i Volcanoes is a showcase for Hawai`i’s unique natural, archeological and cultural landscapes.

What We Do

Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Parkworks as a Park partner under a cooperative agreement to augment Park resources by:

• offering educational programs
• administering grants
• raising funds for agreed-upon Park projects
• providing a volunteer workforce for designated Park activities

Specifically, The Friends’ organization offers an annual series of small, high-quality, educational seminars that complement the Park’s educational mission.  View current offerings under the Programs link.

Among the grant projects administered by the Friends are the National Park Service’s Parks As Classrooms program; Hawai`i Tourism Authority (HTA) grants for annual cultural festivals; and Hawai`i Council for the Humanities funds for the publication of Oral Histories of `Āinahou Ranch.

In 2005, the Friends raised the requisite matching funds for a $15,000 grant from the National Park Foundation to revise and produce updated educational materials for the Park’s Junior Rangers’ Program. Another $3,000 was raised to purchase tents for public events at Kahuku.

In addition, volunteers regularly assist in maintaining the historic `Āinahou ranch house and grounds, as well as in removing invasive plant species in critically endangered areas of the Park.