911吃瓜

This article is written by Dr. Tara Mahoney, CERi Research and Engagement Manager. Tara has been at the forefront of innovative projects that bridge the gap between academic research and community-driven solutions. She oversees the creation and production of 911吃瓜 CERi's publications and programs, including the 312 Main Research Shop and Graduate Fellowship Program.

Collaborative Care in the Aftermath

My visit was anchored by a colloquium hosted by the Department of Political Science exploring the role universities can play during climate emergencies. Alongside colleagues Dr. Kaw膿lau Wright (University of Hawai驶i) and Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe (University of Victoria), I presented work from our forthcoming book chapter, Rebuilding through the Aftermath: From Wildfire Management Governance Gap to Collaborative Care across the Pacific.

The chapter examines two devastating climate disasters: the 2021 wildfire that destroyed the village of Lytton in British Columbia and the 2023 fires that devastated L膩hain膩 on Maui. In both places, residents, Indigenous leaders, and local organizations mobilized rapidly to support survivors and rebuild networks of care. Community supply hubs, mutual aid initiatives, and grassroots organizing emerged quickly, demonstrating that communities often act as first responders, organizing support long before formal emergency systems are fully operational.

Our research explores these responses through a framework of collaborative care which is a relational approach to disaster governance that emphasizes shared responsibility among communities, institutions, and governments. Across both Lytton and L膩hain膩, we argue that the aftermath of disaster can become a moment for rethinking governance itself. These crises reveal the limits of hierarchical emergency management systems and point toward more collaborative models rooted in community knowledge, Indigenous stewardship, and mutual aid. Disasters, in this sense, are not only moments of loss; they are also opportunities to imagine futures grounded in care, ecological responsibility, and shared governance.

This conversation has continued through our SSHRC-funded knowledge synthesis report, Rebuilding Through the Aftermath: From Wildfire Management Governance Gap to Collaborative Care across the Pacific. Drawing together academic literature, policy documents, media accounts, and survivor testimonies from Lytton and L膩hain膩, the report explores the competing systems of governance that shape disaster recovery. 

The He驶e as Metaphor: Thinking Through Illustration

Alongside the written report, we also experimented with a different form of scholarship by partnering with a visual illustrator to communicate these complex governance dynamics in ways that could resonate beyond academic audiences.

Together, we developed the he驶e (octopus) as a metaphor for understanding three interconnected forces operating in the aftermath of climate disasters. As capital, the octopus is adaptive and opportunistic, extending its tentacles through insurance, tourism, real estate, and privatized recovery. As bureaucracy, it represents decentralized authority, procedural complexity, and diffuse accountability. As community care, however, its many arms become symbols of mutual aid, regeneration, and collective resilience.

What surprised me most was that the illustrations became more than a communication tool, they became part of the research process itself. Thinking visually encouraged us to understand governance not simply as institutional structures but as living relationships shaped by movement, adaptation, vulnerability, and care. It reminded me that universities have an important role not only in generating knowledge, but also in experimenting with creative ways of making that knowledge meaningful, accessible, and useful for communities navigating increasingly complex climate futures.

Learning from Hawaiian Knowledge Systems

Questions of land stewardship, governance, and responsibility were woven throughout my visit, not only in discussions of disaster recovery but also in the educational spaces I had the privilege to experience.

One of the highlights was visiting Kamakak奴okalani, the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai驶i at M膩noa. Beside the centre sits Ka Papa Lo驶i 驶O K膩newai, a traditional stream-fed kalo (taro) patch that serves as a living classroom. Here, the cultivation of kalo鈥攖he spiritual and nutritional cornerstone of Hawaiian culture鈥攃onnects students and community members to cultural practice and aloha 驶膩ina, an ethic of caring for the land. The site demonstrates how Indigenous knowledge, language, food systems, and ecological stewardship can be embedded within the everyday life of a university.

This philosophy continued throughout a two-day workshop on Sustainability and Climate Change Across the Curriculum, hosted by the College of Social Sciences. During the workshop, Kamakanaokealoha M. Aquino introduced the concept of A驶o aku, a驶o mai鈥攔eciprocal learning in which knowledge flows in multiple directions and emerges through relationships and shared experience. I was struck by how closely this reflects the principles of community-engaged research, where knowledge is created with communities rather than extracted from them.

On the second day, participants travelled to Waiakeakua in M膩noa Valley, where restoration efforts led by Uncle Bruce Keaulani, Aunty Kehau Lum, and the Living Life Foundation have transformed the site into a place for ecological restoration, cultural practice, and community learning. Over the past decade, invasive species have been removed, native trees replanted, and traditional food-growing practices restored. We joined community members in planting kalo, participating in ceremony, and learning directly from Elders whose teachings are grounded in generations of relationship with the land.

Reimagining the Public University

Throughout the visit, I found myself reflecting on how these experiences resonate with conversations we are having at 911吃瓜 about the future of higher education. Across Hawai驶i, I encountered examples of universities acting not simply as producers of knowledge but as partners in community stewardship鈥攕upporting Indigenous leadership, creating space for reciprocal learning, and helping students engage directly with the places and communities they serve.

What also became clear is that reimagining the university is not only about what knowledge we produce, but how we produce and share it. Whether through community-engaged research, Indigenous-led learning, or creative approaches such as visual illustration, universities can create knowledge that is rigorous, relational, and accessible to the communities most affected by climate change.

In a time of polycrisis, where climate change, inequality, and institutional strain intersect, these approaches offer an important model for universities everywhere. By supporting Indigenous-led research, advancing land-based learning, and mobilizing knowledge in ways that are accountable to community priorities, universities can help strengthen community resilience while transforming their own role in society.

As multiple crises continue to unfold, the role of the university is not to lead communities, but to resource community governance, amplify Indigenous knowledge systems, respond to misinformation, and contribute to rebuilding efforts grounded in care, reciprocity, and collective well-being. This means creating conditions for students and researchers not only to study complex challenges, but to participate in the shared work of responding to them.

Afterword: Supporting Community Recovery

In the wake of the recent floods across Hawai驶i, mutual aid efforts continue to play a vital role in supporting community-led recovery. If you're able, please consider donating to support this work through Ka L膩hui Hawai驶i: