Kuhane Blackburn

Hawaii resident Kuhane Blackburn is an accomplished teenager dedicated to help save endangered and protected species. Since he was 13 years old, Kuhane Blackburn has been working together with his mother to handle, feed, and care for injured and abandoned birds in his local community. Kuhane Blackburn’s efforts have garnered recognition from and resulted in donations to the Hawaii Audubon Society, of which he is a member.

Kuhane Blackburn learned his environmental consciousness from his family. Kuhane Blackburn’s mother possesses federal and state rehabilitation permits that allow her to care for protected species. In 2006, when his mother discovered a colony of displaced shearwater chicks on a lot in their local neighborhood, Kuhane Blackburn and his father helped her build shelters for the baby birds until a more suitable home could be found for them. Their altruistic efforts were acknowledged in the Hawaii Audubon Society’s February 2007 newsletter and led to a private purchase of land that was subsequently donated to the Hawaii Audubon Society to be used as a preserve. Kuhane Blackburn continued in his mother’s footsteps, spending numerous weekends volunteering with the Hawaii Audubon Society to clean and restore the Freeman Shearwater bird lot. In addition to being a part of the Hawaii Audubon Society, Kuhane Blackburn also belongs to his local chapter of the Sierra Club, a prominent grassroots environmental protection organization in the United States.

Although protecting and caring for the environment is a major pursuit, Kuhane Blackburn is also extremely interested in architecture. In summer 2006, Kuhane Blackburn completed a summer program at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Now a high school graduate, Kuhane Blackburn plans to start college at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, where he will be studying to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture.