At the back of Kalihi Valley, a project is under way that demonstrates the good that can come from deep community involvement and sound common sense.

The project, as described by Advertiser staff writer Mary Vorsino, will one day become a 100-acre nature park, offering hiking, camping, cultural activities and the healing force of nature to the highly urbanized residents of Kalihi and other parts of urban Honolulu.

The park will be directly linked to Kokua Kalihi Valley, a longstanding nonprofit that offers health and social services to immigrants, indigent residents and others.

The parcel of land has been designated for park or recreational use for years, but nothing happened. It was leased out for commercial use (a nursery) and eventually became a dumping ground for waste and a haven for invasive plants.

All that is changing, largely through the hard labor of nearby residents and through grants of money and services from a variety of local sources. The project also enjoyed a $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is focused on "active living by design" as a way to encourage health and wellness in challenged communities.

The brightest part of this story is that this is not a "solution" imposed by someone else; rather, it comes out of the community's desire to improve and heal itself through its own energy and effort.

As this nature park emerges, it should serve as a model for similar efforts elsewhere on O'ahu and around the state.