Sierra Club of Maui to
honor 3 volunteers

WAILUKU » A retiree, a graphic artist and a marine biologist are being recognized today by the Maui Sierra Club for their volunteer environmental work.

Hannah Bernard, co-founder of the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, and Geoff Moore, owner of Silver Moon Graphics, are receiving Volunteer of the Year Awards for 2005.

Nobuo "Nobu" Suda will be receiving the group's Malama 'Aina award for his longtime work caring for natural and cultural resources.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for the club's annual meeting from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kaunoa Senior Center in Spreckelsville.

Group spokeswoman Lucienne de Naie said Suda, 79, a retired landscaper, has devoted thousands of hours to leading hikes and educating people about places on Maui.

De Naie said Suda has helped to clean beaches and is a volunteer caretaker of a Keanae heiau.

"It's because of him that the heiau is free of overgrowth," she said.

Bernard has been instrumental in helping to establish a monitoring and information kiosk program in the Ahihi-Kinau and Keoneoio coastal areas in South Maui, de Naie said.

Moore has donated his graphic art talent to produce a number of environmentally informative illustrations, including a map of cultural sites in Makena and a newsletter for Maui Tomorrow, she said.