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Outside Hawaiʻi TV

Brought to you by Mālama Learning Center

Outside Hawaiʻi, the longest running series on Spectrum OC16 television, is now a program of the Mālama Learning Center. With the passing of Executive Producer, Cal Hirai, whose final wish was to have Mālama Learning Center produce his show, this transition began in January 2021. Outside Hawaiʻi will continue to tell uplifting stories about conservation of the environment and cultural heritage of the people of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. This is a kuleana (responsibility) that we carry with pride and aloha.

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Telling OUR Stories as Islanders

Environment, Conservation, and Cultures of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific

Outside Hawaiʻi airs on Spectrum OC16 on Sundays at 6:00 pm and other time slots. It is also available on OC16.tv as video on demand and on this website (see Full Episodes). We have an exciting new episode every month.

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Honoring Cal Hirai's Legacy

A Witness to Life

Cal Hirai, who lived most of his life “behind the scenes,” made a tremendous impact on people and places in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.  While his life was cut short on December 12, 2020 due to cancer, he made his indelible mark in media with a purpose, and his work will continue to educate generations to come. 

Natural Interests

Cal was a family man and a fisherman, taking after his father.  He worked on an aku boat and did some recreational pole fishing but his real love was spearfishing as a free diver.  He did not fish only for recreation -- he fished to catch and eat!  He became a good cook and knew how to prepare all the seafood he caught such as reef fish, octopus, and lobster.  Cal was a world traveler going to islands in the Pacific including nearly all Hawaiian Islands, Palau, Tahiti, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, England, Spain, Morocco, and various places in the continental United States, including Florida where he swam with the manatees.  His favorite place was the Marshall Islands in Micronesia, a place he visited probably a dozen times.  On each of his travels, he chronicled stories through his camera lens and captured not only stunning images of nature but also interviews with local people who shared their real life stories.

A turning point in his career and worldview was his trip to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (now known as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument).  He participated on the outreach team on the first NOWRAMP (reef assessment and monitoring program) in 2002.  Swimming with ulua and sharks bigger than himself, and seeing thriving coral reef ecosystems, he was sold on conservation.  He became a stalwart communicator for their causes and was not afraid or ashamed to be considered a conservationist even though some of his fishing and hunting buddies might have thought differently.

Contributions to Society

Cal’s show on Outside Hawaiʻi is perhaps the only locally produced and consistently running series that tell stories about invasive species (e.g., roi, wiliwili gall wasp, coconut rhinoceros beetle, invasive snails/rat lungworm) as well as native species (e.g., seabirds, forest birds, sea turtles, monk seals, reef and pelagic fishes, native plants) and native ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs, estuaries, forests).  He was an advocate of place-based education and loved working with youth and teachers from Waiʻanae through the Mālama Learning Center.  Cal worked with nearly every conservation agency in Hawaiʻi to tell their stories in ways that tens of thousands of local people could relate through his statewide television show at prime time. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from OC16 in 2016, which he accepted with his long-time host and close friend, Jenn Boneza.


Calʻs last wish was to have his show, Outside Hawaiʻi, continued as a vehicle for change and he gave this kuleana and privilege to the Mālama Learning Center.

Ways to Help

We Need Your Kōkua Today!

Your support is important to achieve Calʻs vision with the Mālama Learning Center. There are many ways you can contribute towards this cause, and every little bit that you commit goes a long way in helping us fulfill our collective vision. Learn more about how you can get involved.

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Partner with Us

Share Your Video Content

Outside Hawaiʻi has a statewide reach on television and the internet. This is an incredible opportunity to share YOUR stories. Please let us know if you have high quality video materials that you have the rights to share with us on television, and we may be able to get your stories on future shows.

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Volunteer Your Time

Help Us Soar

Many shoes are needed to fill Calʻs big slippahs! You can volunteer in various ways, such as story development, shooting, video editing, writing scripts, and creating collateral material.

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Make a Donation

Show Your Support

Please contribute to help us perpetuate Calʻs visionary legacy. Funds will be used for the production of new shows and archiving Calʻs memorable shots.  Your contribution to Mālama Learning Center is tax deductible as allowed by law. You may mail a check payable to Mālama Learning Center to P.O. Box 1662, Honolulu, HI 96806 or Pay Online.

Contact Mālama Learning Center

Get in touch with Mālama Learning Center to learn more about our new partnership with Outside Hawaiʻi. Please ask for Pauline Sato for specific information.

P.O. Box 1662, Honolulu, HI 96806

8083058287

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Cal Hirai
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