We Experienced it, And made that CHANGE . WE ARE THE CHANGE !

The beginning of this program, we were all grouchy and always wanted to stay home or go to the beach or what not. But as each day goes by, we increase more knowledge, intelligence, and love for our community. It build character in most of us and became leaders of our own. This journey was absolutely a first time for all of us and a great start. It was a challenge for such young teenagers to spend their summer in school and to wake up every morning, however, the field trips and work they do each day motivated to keep going and to continue this adventure. 

Ka Papa Lo'i O Kānewai, UH Manoa

Ka Papa Lo'i o Kānewai is a cultural garden center for Hawai'inuiākea school of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It's a  very unique resource for the University and the surrounding community. This Kanewai sustains a absolute fine collection of Taro and shares it's resources with the community. The Kanewai provides cultural and educational opportunities for students and the community in General, just by promoting the Hawaiian Language. There was also the stream which was very beautiful and peaceful, it showed such potential and love the students of Hawai'i has given to this inspirational place. It was a great piece of art and absolutely creative. We enjoyed every part of it. Also the Hale, it was very relaxing. The campus itself was stimulating and gifted with all sorts of art or paintings and sculptures made from such extraordinary people back then. It's a huge and massive which the students could not believe but it was interesting and fascinating. We all can't wait to graduate and attend the University of Hawaii In Manoa :)

PVT Landfill in Nanakuli

PVT Land Company, Ltd. Operates PVT Landfill in Nanakuli which is a licensed construction & demolition material solid waste landfill.  Operating the Landfill, PVT Land Company is licensed to accept asbestos-containing material and petroleum contaminated soil.  They have 7 layers and are all useful for the landfill. We got to see the actual landfill still in the process of making which was very elegant and impressive but sure is a lot of work. It was a huge amount of space being made. Luckily, Dr.Yamamoto gave us a bus tour and explained to us all about the landfill and how much work is put into it. There are massive trucks coming in daily that are weighed before coming in.

Ever wonder where all your waste is going?

HPOWER stands for Honolulu Program of Waste Energy Recovery thats located in Kapolei. The facility serves the municipal waste disposal needs of more than 850,000 residents and more than six million visitors a year. The facility processes up to 3,000 tons per day of solid waste which creates or generates up to 90 megawatts of energy for the Hawaiian electric company. They also recycle steel and aluminum alloy. It's very massive but quite dangerous if your not wearing a hard safety cap or goggles. It was actually cool and unique of how their system works, and we realized how much we throw away each day.

NO PANIC, GO ORGAAANIC !

Ma'o Farm is a Non-Profit organization in rural Lualualei Valley and they provide tasty vegetables to local consumers and also offer career direction and leadership training to Oahu's Youth. These interns are from ages 18-24 and work the farm 3 times a week while attending Leeward Community College. Our adviser for the day was Terry Langley and she gave us a tour of the whole farm and the spot they rented. All of this farm work and crops are done by the hands of the interns and farmers and are packaged and delivered as well. It's quite a useful process or system that should expand.

Aunty Terry showed us all of their actual crops that they have planted there. It was a first time experience for most of to see an actual lettuce or "Dino Kale" and other types of Kale growing or sticking out from the ground unlike being in plastic bags in stores. It was fascinating seeing how these grow and how easier it is. Also how these are being made to provide for stores like Foodland and Organic stores. 

We got to pull out some weeds that were surrounding the Brasicus. These are being watered Over head instead of under. There were also Spiny Amaranths that were very "SPINY". But we managed to pull it out anyways. The farmers do this pretty much everyday.

We made ourselves a snack with Aunty Terry which was Sassy Salad. We all made our own dressing and ate it with our Sassy salad. Our other activity was to actually make organic PIZZA's ! Every group had something to do .

1. Roll out the Dough
2. Spread the Sauces all over the Dough
3. Place the toppings like Mushrooms, Cheese, Hakulei, Etc.
4. Put into the Clay Oven
5. EAT IT ! 

Do the same process but with DESSERTS. ( Banana, Mango Juice, Pineapples)

It was DELICIOUS and ONO, everybody agreed that it was better than Hawaii's Best Pizza, Pizza Hut. It was very healthy and tasty. A great activity to do together and were very thankful to Aunty Terry and especially Ma'o farm for having us and sharing their experience and teaching us such convenient and cool information. Our Weather was Very bright and Shiny and Enjoyable. Mahalo Nui Loa. 

All about Soil :

We had a very enlightened guest who teaches at the University of Hawaii who is An associate Specialist in Soil fertility, Ph.D Jonathan Deenik. He says that Healthy and productive soils are the foundation of a secure food system. Here in Hawai'i, soils vary across the landscape, developing management strategies that maintains soil health is quite a challenge. He had us do Soil samples to monitor the Nitrogen, Ph, and Potassium levels to see how much of each is in the soil. We also got to do some research on the Soil types of the west coast which was different from all the other places on Oahu. It was a whole lot of information but very interesting to learn in such a small time but it was very useful. We enjoyed his lesson, and would be happy to learn more amazing things. Much Aloha ! 

Hawaii Agriculture Research Center / Health

HARC is a private non-profit organization that supports a viable agricultural sector by researching and applying relevant science and technology to achieve practical solutions and by identifying new agricultural opportunities. They are aiming to develop new technologies to help forward and sustain agriculture in Hawaii. Our speaker was a Plant molecular Biologist from Taiwan but went to University of Manoa in Plant Physiology and Agricultural engineering. She taught us how to identify the sex
determination genes in Papayas. We also got to do a DNA dance.

Our next guest speakers are Pediatricians and they came to talk to us about the importance of our health and how we should change it or start eating right today because most of the health problems are spreading out to teenagers like us. They gave us sheets that explained whats in the things we drink and eat that is not good for us. It is very important that we eat Breakfast and not too much Sugar. Also, SLEEP is very important :) It was a very healthy lesson. Mahalo.

Piliokahe/ Palehua Nursery

We have a adopted part of Piliokahe Beach which is where we have gone to do some planting and weed work. We were split into two groups, one had to remove or weed the invasive plants that were there, and the other group had to plant the Native plants. It was a lot of work and really hot but we managed to pull through and did a very good job. After that, it was time for a quick game. The object of the game was to pick up any type of rubbish and collect all the data on a piece of paper to see how much rubbish was found. There was mostly Plastic .

After that, it was time to head back up to Palehua to do some Nursery work with Uncle Anu's wife, Maka. She had us plant some baby plants into small containers and take out some of the seeds to plant. We also got to see all of her experiments of her plants that were planted all differently. And it shows which one is working and which is not due to the growth of the plant and most of these plants were planted from months ago. It was really educating and learned some useful information in planting.

What was here before ?

Today, we have a very special guest who we see around campus all the time, Josiah Ho'ohuli also known as "Uncle Black", and Nanakuli's Ambassador. He discovers history and tales that seems to be hidden in plain sites. He joined the Marine Corps for a change of scenery, and gets involved with the community, he's a fixture at Nānākuli High and loves everything about the west side. "You have to pay attention to the Kupuna" is what he says and shares to us young ones to recognize him and other elders. Uncle black has been living here ever since, and he knows many things and was gladly and happy to share it with us. There were many things that was here long ago and is not here today. Uncle Black said, " today is all about MONEY ", which we agree with. It's changing over time and it's not "nanakuli" anymore. Us students would love to try and change it back :)

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and life to us, and caring so much about our community . We appreciate the time you took off to spend it with us and we are grateful. See you on Campus Uncle Black :)

Ms.Kirkland had us work on our Ipus in our groups of three. It was first time experience for most of us and it was cool.

Nānākuli Valley Trip

 Took a trip to the Ranch that is located at the back of our valley, to explore more about it and see what was here before and what there is now. We were guided and led by both magnificent and well known men named Bruce Koebele and Eric Enos who are both from the westside of the island. Uncle Bruce talked to us about all of the Native and Non-Native and also Invasive plants that were all posted at the ranch from many years ago. There were also some native plants that were planted there but got burned down from the fire that happened in 2005. So it is time to replant them and recreate this ranch. Kupu Hawaii, a program that empowers youth to serve their communities through character building, and service learning.

Near the stream has like a collection of the Lions Ears (Leonotis leonurus) which Uncle Bruce wanted us to pull out so that we can plant the Natives there. Lion Ears are basically large shrubs that are about 3-6 feet tall . 

After a short break, Uncle Bruce had the members of KUPU split and get into groups and help us plant the native plants. 

Group 1 : The Nanu Plant (Hawaiian gardenia)

Group 2: The Naio Plant

Group 3: Ma'o Hau Hele, the actual State Flower

Group 4: 

Group 5: Naio Plant

Lastly, we got to talk stories and listen to Uncle Enos who knew a bunch of things about Nanakuli. He mentioned some very interesting things about the back valley and the heiau here.  He builds organizations investing in continuous improvement where he can combine his technology, project, process, and leadership experience to help out.

It was a very exhausting, yet educational day for us learners and enjoyed it a lot. We made a very huge difference when we pulled the weeds and planted the Natives to help recreate what was there. Much Aloha to Uncle Bruce and Uncle Enos. Also to the KUPU program, Mahalo.

Paepae O He'eia

Paepae O He'eia is a non-profit organization dedicated to caring for an ancient Hawaiian Fish pond that is located in He'eia, Ko'olaupoko, Kaneohe. It was established by a group of young Hawaiians and works in partnership with Kamehameha Schools, land owners, to maintain and manage this fish pond for the community. From all the pictures that we have seen shown by the staff there, they changed a whole lot and cleaned it up real good. This fish pond has changed over the last two years by the staff, they removed most of the Mangroves there due to all the mud it was causing and made more secure Makahā's which are very useful for that Pond.We got to see Native & Invasive Plants while walking along where the Mangroves were, and also played a little line up to see how the rocks were stacked here. These huge rocks were carried down from the mountains from the hands of Hawaiians and stacked up. 

We got to see the Makahā and the Kia'i and were told all about it. There were legends about the man who owned this pond and what would happen to those who would come and take fish or whatever without asking. The Kia'i was made right next to the gates so that the Guardians would watch for the fishes that are coming in and out. It was a very nice hale and Makahā.

Then it was time for our service and help out by removing the invasive seaweed. There were a lot surrounding the fence that was put there which has a lot of fishes inside. It was hard for them to get the water in there with all of the Limu blocking the wholes of the fence. It was a new experience for most of the students and they were scared at first but enjoyed after. As they pulled and reached for the limū, they caught Crabs, Fishes, and Shrimps as well. The best part was just reaching for it because you can't see anything beneath the water due to the mud and sand mixed and all the movement in the water. Basically, you were just feeling for it. The students had a great time, and some of them wouldn't mind doing it again.

After all of the things that has been said and taught by the staff here at the fish pond, the students had one last mission and that was to go on a Scavenger Hunt. It was a nice activity to end the day and they enjoyed it and contributed as a group.

Nānākuli Hula with Uncle Kimo

Today, we were having a very special guest that knows a whole lifetime about Nanakuli, and also had family who lived here and lives here himself, Kumu Kimo Ke'aulana. He is a Hawaiian Instructor who has been teaching at Honolulu Communtiy College since 1997. He expands the significance and beauty of his culture, Hawaiian. Uncle Kimo is an absolute natural of his kind, he has taught us the meaning of "Nānākuli" by using his skills and giving us 5 different symbols. Other than the other guest speakers, he really reached out to us and made us feel comfortable which encouraged us to sing his song that he brought to share with us, the Nānākuli Hula. Uncle Kimo went throughout the whole song which is in Hawaiian so that we would understand the meaning of the song.  It was a great pleasure having Kumu Ke'aulana sharing his story and entertaining and actually connecting with us. Mahalo and Thank You Very Much.

COCONUT ISLAND/ MOKU O LO'E "WaiWai"

Coconut Island or Moku O Lo'e, is located in Kaneohe Bay. It's a Marine research facility of the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology of the University of Hawai'i. Nobody is to live on the island, it is private and only used for research and experiments. You are to ride a boat to get there and not touch anything because everything is being experimented and tested, must ask for permission.

On our way to Moku o Lo'e, we slowed the boat down to test out one of their tools to get Plankton. Plankton is a very small organism that is eaten by whales ad Fishes.  It was shown by our guide and we got to use the Microscopes to see the actual Plankton that was caught from their useful tool. There were a lot. 

Our first activity was to separate a bucket of Poriferans, Annelids, Cnidarians, etc. We were to go into four groups and organize them into small little bowls.

Poriferans, "Pore Bearers", are sessile filter feeders or deter predators. Annelids were the Marine Worms, they're long tubes like bodies and very bubbly. There are also Cnidarians which are 'hollow stingers ', Microscopic stinging capsules called nematocysts . 

After they were all being observed, they were to be put back into the water. 

We were split into two groups and were to see different tanks that has different kinds of things inside. There are two tanks with different types of sharks. It was really entertaining and an actual first time view for most of us because we don't see sharks. There were also Black and White tip sharks that were in some type of Lagoon. A black tip is constantly moving but the White tip stays still and underwater.

There were alot of Native, Non-Native plants .

It was a Joy and a great experience to spend a day at Coconut Island with such Intelligent scientists and great Knowledge . It taught us a lot and such useful information. Would be looking forward to going back to Moku o Lo'e . 

It was also a special and a blessing day for one of our Interns Ms.Kaui. It was her 22nd birthday and she was gladly to spend it with the Wai'anae Malama Aina Field School. God bless you and thanks for the cupcakes and your cooperation. Happy Birthday !