HVERI Newsletter – December 2025
Reflecting on Resilience: A Year of Innovation, Education & Community Power
Aloha HVERI ʻOhana,
As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on a year of extraordinary volcanic activity and equally extraordinary community response.
From lava fountains rising 1,500 feet into the air to AI-powered workshops in schools across Hawaiʻi Island, this year proved what we already knew: our island communities are strong, creative, and committed to preparedness.
Through it all, your support helped us deliver accurate, trusted information and educational experiences to thousands, online, in classrooms, and face to face at fairs, science nights, and summits.
We're deeply proud of what we accomplished together. As we prepare for 2026, we mahalo you for being part of this journey.
Stay resilient, stay connected,
Lou Ettore
Executive Manager, Youth Program Director, HVERI
Kīlauea's Record-Breaking Year
37 Eruptive Episodes, 1,500 ft Lava Fountains
From December 2024 to November 2025, Kīlauea experienced 37 eruptive episodes, including 12 lava fountains exceeding 1,000 feet, one reaching as high as 1,500 feet. While all activity remained within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, volcanic gases and lightweight tephra reached communities up to 40 miles away, affecting Highway 11, Kaʻū, Puna, and beyond.
The most intense episodes occurred during a federal shutdown, when public communication from the US Geological Survey was limited. During this critical time, HVERI’s livestreams, social media posts, and community updates became a trusted source of real-time volcanic information, filling a major gap and keeping thousands informed.
As we move into 2026, episodic activity is expected to continue. HVERI is preparing to expand its volcano education efforts with new tools and accessible monitoring resources that help people understand what is happening and what comes next.
Watch Volcano Tracker live Thursdays at 5 p.m. HST https://www.youtube.com/@HVERI
2025 Impact - Volcano Education by the Numbers
Volcano Education by the Numbers
This year, HVERI reached communities across Hawaiʻi and beyond with timely, accessible volcano science and preparedness education.
194 short articles shared (average 2–3 paragraphs)
1.19 million reach and 93,000 engagements
30 short videos (average 5 minutes)
169,000 reach and 79,000 engagements
28 livestream broadcasts (average 1.5 hours)
87,000 reach and 37,000 engagements
18 of this year’s livestreams included American Sign Language interpretation
Since 2018, our volcano education efforts have produced 1,588 content pieces, including 327 livestreams, reaching over 10.2 million people and generating 1.8 million engagements.
In the first half of 2025, we livestreamed three remote events using Starlink internet, portable solar power, and mobile gear. This same tech serves as our emergency broadcast backup, ensuring we can continue to reach the public even during major disruptions.
Science in Action
From Toolkit to Keiki
In 2025, our Volcano Outreach Traveling Toolkit was deployed at 9 events across Hawaiʻi Island, engaging over 1,250 youth in hands-on, minds-on science learning.
From elephant toothpaste eruptions to corn syrup lava flows, lava lamp viscosity demos, crater collapse simulations, and stomp-rocket lava bombs, keiki explored volcanic science in unforgettable ways. Highlights included Science Nights at Keonepoko Elementary, focused outreach in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates with the Boys & Girls Club, and collaborations with the Hawaiʻi Science and Technology Museum.
After two years in use, the current version of the toolkit is being retired at the end of 2025. A new and improved version, featuring updated components, stronger curriculum alignment, and expanded accessibility, will launch in 2026.
Moʻolelo Meets Machine
Youth, AI, and Culture
What happens when you put storytelling, place-based learning, and cutting-edge technology in the hands of youth? You get powerful visual moʻolelo rooted in Hawaiʻi Island and the voices of the next generation leading the way.
This year, through our new program Youth Resilience Through Place-Based Visual Storytelling Using AI, students explored volcanic landscapes, cultural themes, and their own creative instincts using AI image generation tools. In partnership with Pōhaku Pelemaka, we held six workshop days with 15 students, guiding them from prompt to finished visual, all grounded in the places and stories they know best.
The overwhelmingly positive response inspired something even bigger: the launch of our AI Traveling Literacy Lab, a mobile digital hub that brings storytelling, creativity, and career exploration to underserved communities across the island.
Next year, it gets even better. In 2026, we’ll take the lab to six schools for a new round of AI-powered Career Days, in collaboration with local STEM and resilience partners.
Digital Resilience Program
Trusted Information, Trained Hubs
In 2025, HVERI strengthened its Digital Resilience Program by training 9 community members from 4 emerging Digital Resilience Hubs, building new capacity for local response when disasters strike.
The Hawaiʻi Tracker Facebook Group grew to 178,000 members and continues to serve as our flagship hub and training ground. With new hubs joining the network, our total digital reach expanded to 270,000 subscribers, representing an 83 percent increase over Hawaiʻi Tracker alone.
This year, we also
• Supported Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense with livestreaming and outreach
• Delivered digital literacy and AI safety training to 50 community members
• Continued development of Hybrid Resilience Hubs, combining physical and digital support systems for deployment in 2026
Digital Resilience Hubs are becoming the emergency radio of the 21st century, enabling real time, two way communication when it matters most.
Community Collaboration
In 2025, HVERI participated in or co-hosted six major preparedness events across Hawaiʻi Island, reaching more than 1,000 residents with live education, resources, and hands-on outreach.
We joined the Makuʻu Farmers Market Preparedness Series with the Hawaiʻi Animal Kuleana Alliance, connecting with 140 community members. At the Revitalize Puna Preparedness Fair in Pāhoa, we engaged with another 90 participants, while the Kona Preparedness Fair drew more than 500 residents for demonstrations, livestreams, and AI tools in action. Our team also provided support and documentation at the Vibrant Hawaiʻi Resilience Hub Summit held at KMC.
Throughout these efforts, we partnered closely with organizations including Hawaiʻi Volcano Observatory, VOAD, Boys and Girls Club of Hawaiʻi, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and the Pacific Tsunami Museum.
Looking ahead to 2026, we are preparing to expand into new areas including Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, where we will co-develop programming with the Ocean View Resilience Hub to support Southwest Rift Zone communities.
It’s Giving Tuesday
It’s Giving Tuesday
Help Us Cross the Finish Line
We are just $2,000 away from reaching our year-end goal of $5,000 and with your help, we can get there.
This year, your support helped us deliver life-changing programs across Hawaiʻi Island. From weekly volcano updates that reached millions, to hands-on science with over 1,250 keiki, to AI storytelling workshops, livestreams, and preparedness fairs, your generosity turned ideas into impact.
Now, as we head into 2026, we need your help to keep that momentum going. Every gift, no matter the size, helps us:
• Share trusted volcano education across the island and beyond
• Bring science and digital literacy to youth in rural communities
• Train digital disaster hubs that reach people in real time
• Create culturally grounded tools for the next generation of resilience leaders
Your donation is more than a contribution. It is an investment in the future of Hawaiʻi, in safety, education, and the strength of our communities.
Donate now at hveri.org/donate
Together, we can finish strong and rise even stronger.
