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Book release events: “Finding Home, a Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey” by Caren Loebel-Fried

Join artist/author Caren Loebel-Fried for the launch of her new book, “Finding Home, A Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey” published by University of Hawai‘i Press.

Caren will share the behind-the-scenes of this inspiring story, her adventures researching the endangered ‘Ua‘u, the Hawaiian Petrel, in their colonies throughout the Hawaiian Islands, and how she created the art for this book. Special guest speakers whose work inspired this book will join Caren and present at several of these book launch events. ‘Ua‘u, Hawaiian Petrels, are endemic Hawaiian seabirds that soar huge distances day and night, powered by wind. They are guided by scent and an inner magnetic map, and only touch land once a year when they meet their life mate at their burrow and together raise one chick.

For 60 million years, ‘Ua‘u have made a living off the ocean, nesting in Hawai‘i far from predators. Hawaiian legends tell of seabirds darkening the sky as they returned from the sea; their guano washes down from the mountaintops, nourishing the land and offshore coral reefs. But since the arrival of humans, ‘Ua‘u numbers have plummeted to near extinction. “Finding Home, a Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey” is based on the true story of these amazing seabirds and the people working to save them.

Caren Loebel-Fried is an artist and author from Volcano, Hawai‘i, who learned the ancient art of block printing from her mother. Conservation and the natural world are her inspiration and the foundation of her work. Caren creates award-winning books for children through adults, and art for conservation organizations, government agencies, and Hawaiian Cultural organizations, providing educational materials about wildlife and cultural connections. Caren finds birds to be excellent conservation ambassadors, teaching families and communities about the health of the forest and the ocean. She has done extensive fieldwork with seabirds in their remote breeding grounds throughout Hawai‘i. Caren’s other award-winning illustrated books include “A Perfect Day for an Albatross“, “Manu, the Boy Who Loved Birds“, and “Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits“. Original art for Finding Home was acquired by the Hawai‘i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts for their “Art in Public Places” program. Caren aims to bring people closer to the natural world in the hope that they will want to help care for it.

Book release events

Kona Stories Book Store, book talk and signing event
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 12-2pm (HST)
Location: Kona Stories Book Store, 78-6831 Ali’i Drive #142, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Link: https://konastories.com/

Friends of Kaua‘i Wildlife Refuges Mo‘olelo Series
“Finding Home, a Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey”
Date: Tuesday October 15, 2024
Time: 5-7 pm (HST)
Location: Princeville at Hanalei Community Association, 4334 Emmalani Drive, Princeville, HI
(Available for viewing after the event)
Link: https://www.kauairefuges.org/princeville-moolelo

Guest speakers:

  • Robby Kohley, Director of Aviculture, Pacific Rim Conservation
    Robby has extensive experience in avian ecology and aviculture in particular. Robby was the Research Coordinator and Facility Manager for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawai‘i Endangered Bird Conservation Program at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center from 2007-2009, and also has worked for State of Hawai‘i on the Maui and Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Projects, for the American Bird Conservancy on translocation of the Millerbird from Nihoa to Laysan, for the Institute for Wildlife Studies, and for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge as a seabird monitoring crew leader on Buldir Island. He joined Pacific Rim Conservation in 2015 to oversee all aspects of PRC’s aviculture and captive rearing program. 
  • André Raine, Science Director, Archipelago Research & Conservation
    André has worked on seabird conservation projects on Kauai and the wider Pacific for 13 years. During that time he has initiated multiple projects to save endangered seabirds (particularly the ʻaʻo or Newell’s Shearwater and ʻuaʻu or Hawaiian Petrel), pioneered the use of a range of monitoring technology to locate rare seabirds in remote mountains and tracked birds to their feeding and wintering grounds. Originally from Bermuda, he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia in the U.K. André has also led bird research projects around the World including Bermuda, England, Malta, Zambia, Papua New Guinea and American Samoa.

Kilauea Point Nature Store, book signing event
Date: Oct 16, 2024
Time: 11am- 1pm (HST)
Location: Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kilauea, HI
Link: https://www.kauairefuges.org/shop

Hawai‘i Island Festival of Birds
Date: Oct 26, 2024
Time: 9am-5:30pm (HST)
Location: Grand Naniloa Hotel, Hilo, HI
“Finding Home, a Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey” presentation and book signing
Extensive programming honoring Native birds and biodiversity
Link: https://birdfesthawaii.org/

California’s Central Coast State Parks Association, Mind Walks Lecture Series
“Finding Home, a Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey”
Date: Nov 15, 2024
Time: 1 pm (PT) virtual presentation
(Available for viewing online after the event)
Link: https://centralcoastparks.org/mind-walks-lectures-finding-home-a-hawaiian-petrels-journey/