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You're in for a special treat in two installments! HPPA board member of long standing, Donna Barr, has a deep connection to American Sāmoa and Sāmoa, traveling back and forth and investing a good part of her life in that island nation. We benefit enormously from having her on our board for that and many other reasons. Donna is a writer, too, with a published book about her time in the Peace Corps in then-Western Sāmoa. Please enjoy this first part of a two-parter blog that Donna was kind enough to write for all of us.

Part Two will post in two weeks.

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In addition to my love for all of Hawaii’s national parks, one of the reasons that I joined the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Pacific Parks Association is my particular interest in our park partner the National Park of American Sāmoa. I first visited the park in 2008 when I was a volunteer with Peace Corps in Sāmoa (formerly Western Sāmoa), only a thirty-minute flight from the other end of the archipelago. Imagine my delight when Peace Corps placed me in the home of the Superintendent of O Le Pūpū Puʻe, Sāmoa’s first national park founded in 1978, and the first national park in the South Pacific islands. The park was only two miles down the road from my Sāmoan village! (In 2023 I wrote a blog post about the unique and amazing National Park of American Sāmoa - https://www.hawaiipacificparks.org/blog/115-three-weeks-in-Sāmoa-by-guest-blogger-donna-barr).

Sāmoa is made up of two main islands, Upolu and Savaiʻi, along with several smaller islands. The national park is a wedge of island habitats on the southern coast of Upolu. The park’s name describes its magnitude. From O Le Pūpū – the massive lava cliffs endlessly battered by wind, sea, and salt – to Mount Le Puʻe (3,373 ft). The rocky mountainous backbone continues to Mount Fito (3,608 ft), the second-highest mountain on Upolu, sitting just 10 meters shorter than nearby Mount Vaivai. Covering 11,519 square miles, the park encompasses a diverse range of ecosystems, including upland and lowland forests bisected by deep valleys, marshlands, and coastal cliffs.

O Le Pūpū Puʻe National Park is home to two montane herbaceous marshes as well as parts of the Mataloa and Saʻaga Rivers, and has been designated a Ramsar site, a wetland area of international importance under the Ramsar Convention to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands worldwide. Here in the national park, the island’s best-preserved remaining tropical forest is part of the Queens Commonwealth Canopy, a network of forest conservation programs throughout the Commonwealth of Nations endeavoring to save one of the world’s most important natural habitats.

Starting at the small Visitor Center and gardens, a network of trails fans out, ranging from easy strolls to challenging day hikes. with informational signs highlighting areas to explore, conservation endeavors, and efforts to protect native flora and fauna – including the newest signage commemorating King Charles’ visit to the park in 2025 when His Majesty attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sāmoa. 

It’s a short walk (1,150 feet) from the Visitor Center under the rainforest canopy to the cascading pools of Togitogiga Falls. Along the way colorful fruit doves coo, or the endangered Tongan fruit bat may be roosting or soaring above. It’s told that in these cool waters the legendary warriors of ancient Sāmoa would bathe, relax, and condition themselves after battles or rigorous training. The forest path continues to the Peʻapeʻa lava tube cave about a one hour walk through the jungle. Hiring a local guide is recommended on this leg of the trail, as tourists tend to get lost! The cave was named after the peʻapeʻa (white-rumped swiftlets) which sing from its depths.

Hardy hikers can start on the six-to-eight-hour round trip walk from the trailhead near Papapapaitai Falls along the South Island Road, trekking along the slopes of Mount Puʻe to the cloud forest atop Mount Vaivai. Here you can hear the wailing call of the maʻomaʻo, the forest honeyeater, and on a clear day, see sweeping views of both north and south sides of Upolu Island.

I enjoy this park so much whenever I visit Sāmoa that I have more to say about it! Next time: another stunning walk to the coast and the unique blend of conservation and culture in O Le Pūpū Puʻe, Sāmoa’s treasured national park.

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Learn about the O Le Pūpū Puʻe National Park.

Learn about the National Park of American Samoa.

Shop the National Park of American Samoa.

Aloha, I’m Clint, an Information Technology Support Specialist with Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association. I joined HPPA in 2026 after coming across the position the same day it was posted. I tend to be selective about employment, and this role checked a number of important boxes, so I applied right away.

My work involves integrating with a small team to support national park visitor center stores and staff across Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, and American Samoa, handling everything from point-of-sale systems and network connectivity to device deployments and day-to-day technical issues. My goal has always been to do work that holds up end-to-end and does not come at the expense of integrity, wellness, or forfeiture of a life well lived. HPPA stood out immediately in this regard. An IT role that directly supports parks, along with a team of dedicated people who clearly care about what they do, made it something worth being part of.

Read more: Connected to the Work, Connected to the Land

Over the past 10 months, visitors to our Hawaiʻi and American Samoa national park stores have been incredibly generous. At checkout, they have consistently chosen to add a donation to their purchases, and those small gifts have added up to an extraordinary $356,000.

That is a powerful number. But more importantly, it is a powerful demonstration of how much people care about their national parks.

Every dollar donated at a park store stays in the park where it was given, helping support native wildlife, Hawaiian cultural programs, local visiting students, youth ranger programs, and other important work. Behind every dollar donated is a person who made a simple choice from a big heart.

Read more: The Power of That Register Round-up to the National Parks of Hawaiʻi and American Samoa

Have you ever wondered about the experience of working for an association like HPPA, which partners with national parks to support programs and projects? Enjoy this insightful guest blog by HPPA’s Wendy Hatch, a member of our frontline sales and interpretive team at Haleakalā National Park with a unique perspective.

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Read more: Coming Full Circle With HPPA at Haleakalā National Park

Have you joined our Haleakalā Silversword Watch on social media?

Keith, on our Haleakalā National Park visitor center park stores team there on Maui, chooses one Haleakalā silversword plant a summer near the dry, cindery summit of the volcano to document weekly as it finally decides to send up a massive flower stalk, unfurl it, bloom like crazy, and then die back with its one mission completed: spread those tiny seeds on the wind to ensure the next generation.

What, though, IS a Haleakalā silversword plant?

Read more: The Miracle of the Haleakalā Silversword: Resilient, Fragrant, and Singular.

Yvonne Baur is a former member of Team HPPA at our Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park store locations. She left HPPA to study volcanoes as a full time university student and volcano tour guide. She is also a a committed hiker in the park, and shared this post with us from one of her incredible long hikes in the backcountry. If this sounds intriguing to you, some tips and rules are included here.

Hilina = struck (as by wind)
Pali = cliff
Hilina Pali = "windy cliff"

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The coastal backcountry of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is a special place: hot, windy, and no shade. The few trees in this hostile area are mostly dead, the bleached-out branches standing like skeletal sentinels braving the winds. Shade is sparse to non-existent, and the whipping wind can be so strong that it literally makes you lose your balance. It is dry out there. Very dry, desert dry. Enough water is absolutely essential.

Read more: Down the Pali, Along the Shore, A Guest Blog by Yvonne Baur

Your purchases from our visitor center national park stores and online site support programs and projects at our national parks partners. When Kiry Galapir stepped into the brand-new role of E-commerce Specialist for HPPA a few years ago, she began with fulfilling incoming online order requests from our new national parks commerce site. While nearly all of the orders for natural history and Hawaiian history books, national parks apparel, fun park gifts and hiking essentials were from individuals, school orders gradually became part of that workflow. What started as standard customer service has now evolved into something much more meaningful: supporting educators across Hawaiʻi with hands-on learning tools.

Recently, we received an inquiry from Kamehameha Preschools from an administrative coordinator who wanted purchase a large set of educational plush items for their classrooms to be used as interpretive teaching tools.
The request was significant.
100 each of the following:
Makana the Nēne Plush, Makamae the Plush Gosling, Naʻauau the Plush Pueo, Kahoʻokele the Plush Petrel, Hawaiian Happyface Spider Plush, Kamehameha Butterfly Plush, Hawaiʻi State Marine Life, Marine Native Species, and Hawaiʻi Native Species finger puppets—all custom created for our park partners. We also carry honu (sea turtle), and heʻe (octopus) plush.
In total, 1,100 plush were destined for 89 classrooms across the Hawaiian Islands.

Read more: Supporting National Parks In A New Way: Bringing Native Species Plush to Keiki Across Hawaiʻi

When Leanne first interviewed for a frontline position with HPPA at our Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site store on the Kohala Coast of Hawaiʻi Island, she remembers being in survival mode. “I was surviving, not thriving, in my life then,” she says. Long days at her retail department store job, unpredictable shifts, and constant exhaustion had become her “normal”. Her niece Rebecca, a ranger at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on the southeast side of the island, came to visit during a lunch break. As they talked, Rebecca said plainly, “Auntie, this job is killing you.” Then she mentioned that HPPA at Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site was hiring for the visitor center store.

Read more: Leanne: Coming Full Circle at Puʻukoholā

Looking for a fresh way to move your body and recharge your mind? Step outside. The national parks of Hawaiʻi and American Samoa offer some of the most inspiring “workout spaces” on Earth. Whether you’re easing into a new routine or pushing your limits, there’s a trail, shoreline, or scenic stretch that meets you where you are.

We thought about some ways to get outside and move, in whatever way works for you. Fresh air, new places to discover, birds and wildlife, sweeping views, and varied terrain make every national park outing a win for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Here are eight options for easy, moderate, and more strenuous adventures. Bring a hat, sun shirt, full water bottle, snacks, a fully charged phone, and your enthusiasm!

Read more: National Parks As Your Personal Gym:  Health-Boosting Outings in Hawaiʻi and American Samoa

Hi! Iʻm Chuck Danilowski, and I am the Custom Project Management Specialist for Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association (HPPA). I ensure that any custom-made products that you purchase in our national park visitor center stores or online shop move efficiently through the Creative Services Department from initial design concept to final finished product on park store shelves. Our national park partners, and the stores we run within them, are located in Hawaiʻi and American Samoa.
 
I recently attended the Public Lands Alliance (PLA) Annual Convention & Trade Show in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Public Lands Alliance is a national organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of America’s public lands through its mission to connect, strengthen, and represent the nonprofit organizations that support these treasured places. HPPA is a member of PLA.
 
It was my first time attending this amazing gathering of like-minded professionals. There were informative and eye-opening educational sessions, a two-day trade show with vendors from across the U.S., a silent auction, and the chance to network with people I had only known through emails or phone calls. It was a time to put faces with names, and to browse product offerings that we may bring into our visitor center park stores to teach, inform, and connect to a lasting memory in someone’s mind of their national park experience. 
 

Read more: Connecting People to Parks: Stories, Stewardship, and Inspiration from the Public Lands Alliance...