During the month of September, Wahiawā celebrated the achievement of becoming a Certified Blue Zones Community^®! To celebrate, Wahiawā hosted a bike safety workshop for keiki and a community scavenger hunt, where participants could win awesome prizes! Mahalo to Wahiawā Fresh! for helping to lead the community celebration, and to all the residents, businesses and community organizations that participated. Stay tuned on more news on how you can stay healthy in Wahiawā!

Keiki and parents loved the bike safety workshop

Blue Zones Project launched in Wahiawā in August of 2017 alongside communities of Mānoa-Makiki-McCully-Mō‘ili‘ili (4M) and Kapolei-‘Ewa as part of a multi-phase plan behind the communities of North Hawai‘i (2015), East Hawai‘i (2015), and West Hawai‘i on Hawai‘i Island (2017); Ko‘olaupoko on O‘ahu (2015); and Central Maui (2017). 

Over the course of three years, more than 15% of the adult population in Wahiawā participated in an approved activity and over 5,071 residents were engaged with Blue Zones Project. Since 2017, Wahiawā has seen an increase in the Well-Being Index score from 62.7 to 64.5%, and an increase in the Life Evaluation score of those thriving from to 52.1% to 58.7%.

Overall, 10 worksites, eight schools, six restaurants, one grocery store, and eight faith-based organizations have become Blue Zones Project Approved^®, all of which are key community influencers within the community. Schools, worksites, restaurants and grocery stores have made huge strides in well-being that have drastically improved the environment for students, employees and customers in Wahiawā . In addition, 22 non-profits and civic associations in Wahiawā have become a Blue Zones Project Participating Organization and are key partners in engaging the Wahiawā community.

Through the collaborative support among these Wahiawā organizations, many new and innovative well-being programs and activities were launched to impact the community. For example, the Wahiawā Youth Wellness Ninjas were formed, which empowered our keiki to learn and promote well-being within their schools and community.

Blue Zones Project - Wahiawā staff with Ninja volunteers 

Blue Zones Project community partners such as Wahiawā Fresh!, ‘Olelo Media, Wahiawā Community Business Association (WCBA), Wahiawā General Hospital, Hawai‘i Public Health Institute (HIPHI), Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii, Hawai‘i Bicycling League, Bikeshare Hawai‘i, AARP Hawai‘i, Trust for Public Land, and City & County of Honolulu – Department of Transportation, to name a few, have supported programs and advocacy across Honolulu County and the state. Because of these strong partnerships, Wahiawā helped to pass several policy legislations related to food, tobacco, and the built environment, which are proven to improve community well-being. Various advocacy groups, organizations, and citizens have been passionately engaged in policy work for the past three years with Blue Zones Project. One of the most significant wins was the budget inclusion of the long-awaited California Avenue Complete Streets project, a $7.2 million improvement along Wahiawā's primary transportation corridor. 

Furthermore, Blue Zones Project participants in Wahiawā reported higher levels of financial well-being, produce consumption, purpose, and physical well-being; and 62.4% of residents engaged with Blue Zones Project indicated that they want to live and age in Wahiawā versus 52.5% who were not engaged with Blue Zones Project. 

Wahiawā Youth Wellness Ninjas at the Ninja Summit

On behalf of Blue Zones Project, we applaud the community leadership team, committees, volunteers, organizations, and community members for your effort and commitment to community well-being! We also thank HMSA for the sponsorship that made this possible. 

Ho‘omaika‘i Wahiawā!