UH Hilo Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai hosted event May 3 to recognize this year’s retirees and longtime employees’ service milestones.
Recent retirees and employees marking milestones of 10, 20, and 30 years at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo were recognized at the 2018 Awards and Recognition Celebration on May 3.
Leomi Bergknut—Student Leadership Development Coordinator, Campus Center, 6 years.
Susan Brown—Professor of Psychology, 31 years.
Robert Hamilton—Instructor and Student Support, 21 years.
Janis Iyo—Research Support, 30 years.
Jackie Johnson—Professor of Drama, 37 years.
Kolin Kettleson—Director of Auxiliary Services, 27 years.
Ivy Losh—Office Assistant, Campus Center, 10 years.
Eileen Lovell—Associate Professor of Nursing, total 20 years.
Avis Masuda—Associate Professor of Education, 10 years.
Barbara Meguro–Instructor of Computer Science, 15 years.
Gordon Mitchell—Janitor, 31 years.
Neal Nagao—Building Maintenance, 30 years.
Hazel Reece—Junior Specialist Lab Coordinator, Nursing, 10 years.
Bill Sakai—Professor of Horticulture, 41 years.
Irene Sakamoto—Assistant, Human Resources, 23 years.
Alan Sugiura—Supervisor, Auxiliary, 36 years.
Mike Tanabe—Professor of Horticulture, 42 years.
Erlinda Walker*—Office Assistant, Financial Aid, 19 years.
10 Years of Service
Lee Barnette-Dombroski
Lee Chee Chang
Kurt Dela Cruz
Tom Dewitt
Kirk Flores
Farrah-Marie Gomes
Ken Hupp
Gene Johnson
Shana Kaneshiro
Carolyn Ma
Cindy Mohandie
Jonathan Price
Eric Rodrigues
Dolly Roth
Efren Ruiz
Ghee Tan
Veronica Tarleton
Keri Ann Tomita
Rebecca Yamashita
Jing Yin
Brian Wissman
20 Years of Service
Cyrena Belaski
Emmeline De Pillis
Andrea Duyao
Michelle Fernandez
Andrew Grabar
Amy Jones
Sharon Kessinger
Peter Mills
Madeline Sehna
Vladimir Skorikov
Enbao Wang
30 Years of Service
Erik Cleveland
Alton Okinaka
Dean Miyose
Tammy Tanaka
About the photographer:Bob Douglas is a local artist, photographer, and sometimes part-time student who volunteers his photography skills to the Office of the Chancellor and UH Hilo Stories.
The ʻAha Haumāna Native Hawaiian Student Symposium and Conference helped students to better translate their undergraduate experiences and degrees into actual careers.
An annual student conference to promote Native Hawaiian leadership, community engagement, language and cultural parity was recently held at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.
This year’s theme at the ʻAha Haumāna Native Hawaiian Student Symposium and Conference was “Career Pathways” to help students to better translate their undergraduate experiences and degrees into actual careers. There were about 80 students from UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College who attended.
“By inviting [presenters] predominantly UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College alumni with diverse backgrounds, we aimed to exemplify that one’s major and degree does not necessarily limit one’s career options,” says Kalei Baricuatro, leadership development facilitator at the the Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center.
Since its first year in 2016, the ʻAha is coordinated and sponsored by the Mōkaulele Program (a cooperative program funded by a U.S. Department of Education Title III Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions grant awarded to UH Hilo and Hawai‘i CC under the chancellors’ offices of both institutions) and the Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center. This year, organizers broadened the collaboration by also working with the I Ola Hāloa Center for Hawaiʻi Life Styles program at Hawaiʻi CC to coordinate the event and reach more students.
“One of the Title III grant activities is building capacity through leadership development,” explains Gail Makuakāne-Lundin, executive assistant to the chancellor at UH Hilo. “The intent is to increase Native Hawaiian students participating in leadership development opportunities of which the ʻAha is one of the annual opportunities. These activities have a direct link to increasing student leadership development skills and engagement.”
Baricuatro, who serves as facilitator of the Mōkaulele program, says this year’s event, held on Sept. 15, was a full day starting with a kīpaepae ceremony to orient and welcome students into the space of learning for the day. Peer mentors and staff members from the hosting departments beckoned in participants with pahu (drumming), pū (blowing of conch shells), and hula, to start the day with a cultural foundation.
Breakout sessions were held on topics that included general information on graduate school, skills, and careers, to more specific topics on popular career paths for Native Hawaiians.
“We brought in UH Hilo and Hawai‘i CC alum who majored in and are working in social work, business, STEM fields, and education,” says Baricuatro.
A panel during lunch featured UH Hilo alumni who are currently working across different disciplines.
“They spoke broadly to participants about the role of cultural identity in academia, motivation for success as Native Hawaiians in their fields, and the applicability of skills developed in college in any career field,” explains Baricuatro.
Afternoon workshops featured practical topics:
Waihoʻoluʻu: The Natural Dyeing Process, A Parallel for Student Resiliency
Curating a Collection: Building a portfolio through critical thinking and design making
Personal Conservation Practices: Awareness and Personal Aloha ʻĀina Advocacy through Composting
Wahi Pana o Hilo: A Journey to Celebrated Places of Hilo for Academic Success
Kōkō Pūʻalu: Securing Connections through the Creation of Kōkō Pūʻalu (carrying net for water bottles)
“Overall, it was a great learning and networking opportunity,” Baricuatro says.
Susan Enright is a public information specialist in the Office of the Chancellor. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
At the event, students and staff gathered at the UH Hilo Campus Center Plaza to paint t-shirts with meaningful messages in support of domestic violence victims and survivors.
As part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s Women’s Center held its annual Clothesline Project event on October 17, 2018. At the event, students and staff gathered at the UH Hilo Campus Center Plaza to paint t-shirts with meaningful messages in support of domestic violence victims and survivors.
The Clothesline Project originated in 1990 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, created with the intent to educate people about domestic violence as well as serve as an outlet and healing aid for survivors, through painting t-shirts with powerful messages.
Decades later, Clothesline Projects across the country still serves to support the men and women who suffer from domestic violence. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner.
“The Clothesline Project is an awareness event to highlight domestic violence and the support for survivors we have as a community, specifically the UH Hilo community,” says Destiny Rodriguez, interim director of the Women’s Center and the LGBTQ+ Center.
The UH Hilo’s Women’s Center has been hosting the event since 2015, showing continuous support for the cause.
“UH Hilo is committed, we want to end domestic violence, we want to show students that we support them, staff and faculty as well, and to show that the community also supports these events,” explains Rodriguez.
At the event, art supplies and t-shirts were provided for students to paint slogans or sayings in honor of victims and survivors. The t-shirts were then pinned up along one side of the plaza.
“We typically like to leave up the t-shirts for a couple of days in the plaza so that students can see the positive messaging and the support that we have for one another and to show that you’re not alone, your voice is important, and we are here to assist in any way possible,” says Rodriguez.
The t-shirts are painted with the intent of showing the realities of domestic abuse and to give hope to those suffering from it.
“Sometimes people paint little anecdotes about their own lives or about the lives of people that they know, sometimes they paint positivity phrases,” says Shay Lewis, a student volunteer at the Women’s Center where she formerly served as program coordinator.
Oftentimes, victims of domestic violence find it difficult to reach out for help or are fearful of speaking out on their situation. The Clothesline Project recognizes those factors and provides a way to show victims that they are not alone and that they have advocates on campus that they can talk to about their struggles.
“It’s good and very pertinent to have these kinds of events because it really does draw those people out that otherwise wouldn’t necessarily go out seeking those resources,” says Lewis. “The resources are put out right in front of them and it’s there for them to engage with. When people walk by, maybe they see themselves, maybe they see a loved one. It’s all about giving people a platform to talk about these issues in a public setting.”
Nate Myers, program coordinator at the LGBTQ+ Center and student at UH Hilo, also participated in the Clothesline Project to show support for the cause.
“My mother was a really big victim of domestic violence,” shares Myers. “What the Clothesline Project means to me is supporting my mother in a way, I’m telling her thank god you got out of that and you stood up to your abuser because a lot of times, victims don’t.”
Myers painted a shirt with the message, “She only hit me once,” in support of people in the LGBTQ+ community suffering from domestic violence as well as men who are abused by their female partners, to bring awareness to their stories.
“Once is enough, once is too much,” says Myers.
Through the painted messages, the UH Hilo Clothesline Project speaks up for domestic violence survivors and victims and shares their stories to bring hope and recognition to their struggles.
“The Clothesline Project is basically our voices, because for a long time being abused was the norm,” says Myers.
The Women’s Center and the LGBTQ Center provide many resources to the campus community throughout the year. For more information visit the websites or contact Destiny Rodrigues.
About the author of this story: Alyssa Mathews is a freshman at UH Hilo planning to major in business with a marketing concentration. She graduated from Waiakea High School and is a UH Hilo Chancellor’s Scholar.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
In recognition of Global Diversity Awareness Month, students were asked to submit art, video performances, or writings on what it means to be part of a campus ranked as the most diverse four-year public university in the country.
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo celebrated Global Diversity Awareness Month last week by recognizing student art, performances, and writings on what it means for the campus to be the most diverse four-year public university in the country. Three students—Allison Dupre, Diamond Mundy, and Jacinda Lee Angelsberg—who each won a $500 prize for their creative works, were recognized at an event held on the Campus Center Plaza celebrating UH Hilo’s diversity ranking by the Chronicle of Higher Education 2018 Almanac. Students, faculty and staff gathered to listen to live music, interact with campus organizations, and admire the works of the students who competed in the art/poetry/performance contest.
“The purpose of the fair was to celebrate University of Hawai‘i at Hilo being the most diverse university in the U.S. by providing an opportunity for a diverse group of students, faculty and staff to gather and enjoy an afternoon together,” says Dana Ko‘omoa-Lange, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences who chairs the UH Hilo Diversity Committee that organized the event.
Student Awards
To celebrate the diversity of the student body, the Diversity Committee requested that interested students submit creative works highlighting what it means to be attending the most diverse four-year university in the country. Entries could be written work, artwork, or performance art. Students competed for awards including a $500 Inspired by Each Other Scholarship, Vulcan tickets, and t-shirts.
“We decided as a committee that we wanted the student presentations to be an opportunity for students to share what it means to be a part of the most diverse university, to get the students’ perspectives,” says Ko‘omoa-Lange.
The following winners each received a $500 scholarship called “Inspired by Each Other.”
UH Hilo business major Allison Dupre, who hails from Anchorage, AK, won the $500 prize with her work, “The Diversity Tree,” a mixed media piece—the top part of the piece is melted crayon wax, the black paint is acrylic, and the lettering is stickers. The lettering spells out a quotation by American entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes: “Diversity, the art of thinking independently together.”
“It represents everybody’s unique and individual personality, and since UH is one of the most diverse schools here in the U.S., it [represents] that we’re all together as a community, and we’re all here for one purpose, which is education, whether educating or being educated,” says Dupre. “It represents our community and where we come from and how we’re all here together.”
Student Jacinda Lee Angelsberg also won a $500 scholarship with her poem, “Embracing the Rainbow of Diversity.” Angelsberg, whose hometown is Hilo, is earning baccalaureate degrees in psychology and Japanese. Her winning poem:
Embracing the Rainbow of Diversity
In this world of racist commotion
Each person is a separate drop
Reluctant to form an ocean
Racism ceases to stop
Brotherly love is a sea
Of limitless possibilities
That very few seem to see
Reduce clashing waves of hostilities
By valuing the rainbow of ethnic diversity
For its colors are mixed together without division
Teach loving-kindness in Hawaii’s university
To achieve the awakening vision
Of oneness and acceptance
Not appreciating the ostracized minority
Drains equality of its unifying essence
As the unenlightened majority
Are narrow-minded
To beloved cultural differences
Opposing mindsets so one-sided
Create the hindrances
Of togetherness and harmony in society
Judging based on ethnicity
Pigment tones have a unique variety
Yet all souls are bounded by connected elasticity
And are the same, beautiful hue
Do not remain separated and divisively torn
Apart to understand an equal view
Within thy heart so unity shan’t become forlorn
Unwillingness to embrace
Each race
Regardless of colored skin
Prevents humanity from being a kin
People are not meant to disperse
In this diverse universe
Spread the virtue of compassion
Love one another with a deep passion
Through the healing aloha spirit
The central core of thy being can hear it
Reverberate synchronized tides of peaceful mana
To unite mankind as one interconnected ohana
Student Diamond Mundy also won $500 for her art piece that colorfully captures diversity.
“Diversity means that despite everyone’s differences, we’re still able to come together and that’s why in my painting, I made everybody a different color, different features, because no matter what, we’re still able to be friends,” says Mundy.
A campus that embraces diversity
At the event, tables were set up by a variety of clubs and organizations showing the diversity of cultures and activities at UH Hilo. The LGBTQ+ Center, Women’s Center, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and the Water Polo Club were among some of the campus organizations that gathered at the event in support of embracing diversity.
Students and faculty were encouraged to take pride in their diversity, whether it be diversity in culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious beliefs, or even something as simple as hobbies or interests, as a way of learning from one another and creating a more unique experience at UH Hilo.
Through celebrating diversity and encouraging inclusion, acceptance, and becoming more culturally aware, UH Hilo creates a campus community in which people are constantly learning from each other, not just academically, but also about different perspectives and lifestyles. In becoming more aware and sensitive to differences, students become open to more opportunities and experiences.
“Diversity on campus is important, because colleges and universities are where we learn,” says Jennifer Stotter, emcee of the event and director of the UH Hilo Office of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action. “By bringing people together from all kinds of backgrounds, we have the greatest opportunity to learn from each other and be exposed to all kinds of new ways of thinking, new experiences, which will in turn enhance our learning and increase innovation.”
Having diversity on campus also enables UH Hilo to produce graduates from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds who are entering fields where there is a lack of diversity, creating more representation for minorities.
“We’re hoping to enhance the participation and success of diverse students and have better representation in different fields of study and in the workplace,” says Ko‘omoa-Lange.
About the author of this story: Alyssa Mathews is a freshman at UH Hilo planning to major in business with a marketing concentration. She graduated from Waiakea High School and is a UH Hilo Chancellor’s Scholar.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
The diverse staff at Ke Kalahea, made up of students with different interests and backgrounds, is creating a publication reflective of the most diverse four-year public university in the country.
Every Friday from 12:00 to 3:00 pm, the staff of Ke Kalahea, the student-run news publication at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, hosts News and Brews, where students are invited to come to Campus Center to drink coffee, share stories, and discuss events happening on campus.
The student paper has been around for decades, put together to inform, entertain, and bring to light different things on campus. It’s published in both hard copy (glossy magazine) and online formats by a diverse team of writers, copy editors, photographers, photography editors, layout designers, layout editors, graphics artists, calendar editors, social media managers, and webmasters who make their vision come to life.
This semester, the staff is made up of students with different interests and backgrounds creating a publication that is both accessible to, and representative of, a wide audience. This makes sense at the most diverse four-year public university in the country, a ranking given to UH Hilo by the Chronicle of Higher Education earlier this semester.
“It’s important for us to acknowledge that everyone has a very different vision,” says Peter “Holden” Chao, a geology and natural science major serving as the paper’s editor since last year. “Taking their views and being creative has been something we’re trying to do. What we’ve tried to do is highlight people and things that are ongoing, both good and bad.”
Working at Ke Kalahea gives students a chance to learn and gain experience operating a newspaper publication, not the least of which is developing skills in journalism and storytelling.
“Journalism to me is the art of writing the truth,” says business major Elijah Kahula, a writer for Ke Kalahea. “I think we all aspire to become masters of this art in one form or another. We’re trying to push toward that by having the skill, the passion, and the vocation to really make it to that next artistic plane.”
The students working at Ke Kalahea encourage inclusivity and open their doors to everyone.
“I think we do a good job of not making it exclusive,” Kahula says. “Anyone can walk in here and anyone can contribute if they have an editorial idea or something like that, it’s open to submission.”
The paper provides a way for student needs to be addressed through commentaries and articles.
“It allows a voice for people who are struggling to find a way,” says marine science major Kasumi Collins, a layout editor. “Maybe you see something on campus and you don’t know who to talk to about it, but you have the newspaper. It creates a place to go to where you can talk about your concerns and have someone look into this. As a community on this campus, it’s important for us because we all also go to this school.”
Ke Kalahea wasn’t on Collins’s radar last semester, but now the budding layout editor is all in. “I think that having an actual, accessible, online paper that is actually publishing things all the time, as well as having News and Brews every Friday and having activities so that people can come into the office and see that we’re actual people, is huge.”
The staff is enjoying the diversity of their team.
“I think that this semester has definitely been the most successful, out of all three that I’ve worked, simply because we have a bigger team, more variety, and so many different backgrounds,” says layout editor Kaipo McKeague, a geography and environmental studies major. “We’re growing more, getting more and more known.”
Through the paper, the staff is able to share their perspectives and speak up for the students at UH Hilo by creating a diverse and open publication.
“This is a sum of all of our parts,” says editor Chao. “Ke Kalahea in a certain sense is kind of like a small family.”
New and Brews
The next News and Brews is on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, noon to 3:00 p.m. at Campus Center room 202-A. The talk-story session is open to all students with a valid UH Hilo ID.
About the author of this story: Alyssa Mathews is a freshman at UH Hilo planning to major in business with a marketing concentration. She graduated from Waiakea High School and is a UH Hilo Chancellor’s Scholar.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
The event showcased the amazing ethnic and racial diversity found in the multicultural student population at UH Hilo.
The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo celebrated United Nations Day with the annual United Nations Day Parade at the Library Lanai, Nov. 16, 2018. The event showcased the amazing ethnic and racial diversity found in the multicultural student population at UH Hilo. Following the parade, students performed world music and dance, and presented educational displays.
Photos by Raiatea Arcuri for UH Hilo Stories, click to enlarge.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
Lines were long at the Campus Center Plaza as students from the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management sold the poinsettia plants they had grown and nurtured at the University Farm Laboratory in Pana‘ewa.
The annual poinsettia plant sale was held today at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Lines were long at the Campus Center Plaza event where students from the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management sold the beautiful poinsettia plants they had grown and nurtured at the University Farm Laboratory in Pana‘ewa. Sharad Marahatta, assistant professor of tropical cropping systems, is faculty advisor of the project. Plants were $5 each and sold out quickly!
Click photos to enlarge.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo 2018 Fall Commencement was held Saturday, Dec. 15, on campus at the Vulcan Gym. Approximately 192 students received degrees and/or certificates from the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Natural and Health Sciences; the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management; the College of Business and Economics; the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy; and Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, and for various post-graduate credentials.
Lieutenant Governor Joshua Green gave the keynote address, and English major Kai Anthony Gaitley was student speaker.
Click photos to enlarge. Video of entire commencement ceremonies follows photos.
Opening Ceremonies
Keynote and Student Speaker
Mortarboard Communication
Conferring of Degrees
Celebration
About the photographer:Bob Douglas is a local artist, photographer, and sometimes part-time student who volunteers his photography skills to the Office of the Chancellor and UH Hilo Stories.
Ecologist Matthew Knope is collaborating with researchers at Arizona State to investigate which model of teaching scientific inquiry results in better outcomes for students. And he’s using his classroom as the testing ground.
The idea of bringing real, faculty-driven research into the classroom, rather than “cookbook” exercises with known outcomes, is commonly referred to in the field of science education by the acronym CURE or Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences. At the forefront of this nationwide movement to upgrade undergraduate science curriculum is Matthew Knope, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo specializing in speciation and extinction, who is introducing his students to advanced research methods.
“While CUREs have been largely shown to be effective for a wide variety of student learning outcomes, much remains to be learned about how to best deliver CUREs in different educational settings with a diverse array of learners,” says Knope. The ecologist is collaborating with researchers at Arizona State to investigate which model of teaching scientific inquiry results in better outcomes for students. And he’s using his classroom as the testing ground where his students generate data themselves vs working with data that is given to them.
In fall 2018, the CURE philosophy was put into practice in Knope’s evolution course (BIO 357) where students learned about organic evolution as a unifying theory of biology—topics covered the history of ideas of evolution, adaptation of populations, genetic drift, molecular evolution and the neutral theory, quantitative genetics, speciation and phylogeny, biogeography, macro-evolutionary trends, and mass extinctions. Students in the class collected data on the ecology and extinction risk of terrestrial birds and mammals and then analyzed the data in R, a computer programming environment that can be used for statistical analyses.
Maya Munstermann (Instagram), a UH Hilo graduate student in the tropical conservation and environmental sciences program, provided students in the class with a list of more than 1,000 species each of birds and mammals. The students were assigned to seek out data on the habitat associations, feeding behavior, and mode of locomotion in animal life encyclopedias and peer-reviewed scientific journal articles for each species. The goal of the project was to pinpoint the combinations of ecological modes of life that are significantly associated with an elevated risk of extinction.
The students’ data analysis yielded some surprising results. In the case of mammals, the data showed that being arboreal (living in trees) elevated a species’ risk of extinction significantly over other habitat associations. For birds, species that primarily live on the ground and feed by walking around and foraging for immobile prey (such as cranes) were found to have a significantly elevated risk of going extinct.
There have been five major extinction events throughout Earth’s history, and there is general consensus among scientists that Earth is currently entering a sixth such event, appropriately designated as the Holocene or Anthropocene extinction. In a scientific study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2017, scientists used the terms “biological annihilation” and “decimation” to describe what humans are doing to other vertebrate life on the planet, ending with a final somber warning that humanity will ultimately pay the price for this widespread loss of animal life. As one student in the evolution course remarked after her presentation during the class research symposium, “once a species is lost, it is lost forever.”
Students utilized data on extinction risk from the International Union Conservation of Nature Red List, which is an international scientific effort to inventory the conservation status of the planet’s species, ranking species from least concern all the way to already extinct. The Red List has entries on more than 96,000 species and lists a quarter of those as threatened, endangered, or already extinct. Uncovering which habitats, feeding behaviors, and modes of locomotion make species the most vulnerable is key to conservation strategies.
Presentations
The students in BIO 357 presented their findings at a poster symposium at the end of last semester on Dec. 6. Melia Takakusagi, a senior majoring in biology with a concentration in cell and molecular biology, said the classroom research and presentation experiences she gained were valuable. “It taught me a lot about data analysis and it’s helped me with my communication skills,” she says. “We had to present our results in public, which is a challenge for me sometimes. But I’m hoping to go to medical school and I think these skills will help with interviews and other such things.”
“Their findings were phenomenal in that we can now pinpoint a handful of combinations of basic ecological factors that are most significantly associated with the risk of extinction,” says Munstermann. “The results from these data can provide prioritization techniques directly to resource managers.”
Knope says the results of the students’ work can be applied locally here in Hawaiʻi as well. “We can definitely apply this research to aid in conservation in Hawaiʻi. In fact, the global data sets used by the students in the evolution class include Hawaiian bird species, and we can now easily extract those species from the data set and look directly at their ecological signatures of extinction risk.”
UH Hilo undergraduate biology major Michael Morrissey agrees. “These results will allow conservationists to devote resources properly when it comes to conservation,” he says.
Researching Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences
The motivation for the transition to CURE is new research in biology education that finds undergraduates often benefit from involvement in authentic, open-ended inquiry-based research in the classroom. The CURE approach can also benefit faculty, who often think of teaching and research as competing demands on their time.
Knope is collaborating with Sara Brownell, associate professor, and Katelyn Cooper, post-doctoral scholar, of the Biology Education Research Lab at Arizona State University, who are leaders in the field of biology education research, on investigating best practices for bringing CURE into undergraduate biology classes.
In particular, the team is investigating whether students have better outcomes—project ownership, perceptions of themselves as scientists, and intentions to pursue a research related science career—when they generate data themselves vs working with data that is given to them.
“We are testing these hypotheses and others in my evolution classes this year and next year,” explains Knope.
Munstermann believes that it is important to bring authentic, open-ended inquiry-based research into undergraduate biology classes.
“I think exposing students to statistical modeling this early on in their careers is vital if they plan to pursue any field in the biological, ecological, and conservation sciences,” Munstermann says.
About the author of this story: Leah Sherwood, a graduate student in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program at UH Hilo, is an intern in the Office of the Chancellor. She received her bachelor of science in biology and bachelor of arts in English from Boise State University.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
UH Hilo student leaders watched opening ceremonies of the 2019 Hawai‘i State Legislature and met with members of the Hawai‘i Island Delegation to discuss topical issues on Wednesday. They are spending three days at the capitol as ambassadors of UH Hilo.
Student leaders from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo are attending the first three days of the opening session of the Hawai‘i State Legislature, Jan. 16-18. They have met with most of the Hawai‘i Island delegation including Sen. Russell Ruderman and Representatives Richard Creagan, Nicole Lowen, Mark Nakashima, Richard Onishi, Joy San Buenaventura, David Tarnas, and Chris Todd. Senators Kai Kahelei and Lorraine Inouye were in meetings but their staffs hosted the students for lunch on Wednesday.
“The students are learning a lot, and the legislators are being very generous with their time,” says Randy Hirokawa, who is UHHSA advisor and is accompanying the group on their trip.
Lawmakers shared information with the students on a variety of topics.
Rep. Todd, a UH Hilo graduate (economics and political science) explained to the students how people ascend to leadership positions in the House and Senate. He also explained the politics involved in passing bills.
Sen. Ruderman and Rep. Joy San Buenaventura explained to the students how they can get involved in supporting bills relevant to Hawai‘i Island, such as the bill to allow people to give testimony via electronic technology.
Rep. Creagan gave a mini talk on rat lung worm disease and why research dollars are needed for it.
Rep. Tarnas explained why the development of Puako for marine research is important.
Rep. Nakashima explained to them how environmental issues and opposition are working against new energy initiatives in Hāmākua, and how it led to the dairy business going under in ‘Ō‘ōkala. His point was that issues are more complex than it seems to the public.
“In short, students are learning the stories behind the politics in ways they would never learn in the classroom only,” says Hirokawa.
Photos of the Capitol grounds by Raiatea Arcuri, click to enlarge:
Photos by Raiatea Arcuri are noted with watermark on the photo. He is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo and is an intern in the Office of the Chancellor. Other photos in the story are taken by various other members of the group.
Susan Enright is a public information specialist in the Office of the Chancellor. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
The Islands of Opportunity Alliance is a network of higher education institutions from Hawai‘i and 10 Pacific Island nations with a mission to expand access to careers in STEM fields for underrepresented populations.
The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo hosted a two-day conference of educators from Hawai‘i and 10 Pacific Island nations working toward encouraging students from underrepresented populations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, commonly called STEM. The conference was held Jan. 10 and 11 on the UH Hilo campus.
At the 2019 annual conference, the Islands of Opportunity Alliance (IOA), which is led by the Office of the Chancellor at UH Hilo, kicked off their 2019 STEM mentorship programs, which are funded by $600,000 of a continuing $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Topics at the conference included inter-campus programs, curriculum enhancements, student learning communities, peer tutoring, enrichment through research experiences, the promotion of STEM graduate degrees and employment, institutional support, and sustainability plans, among other discussions and presentations.
Since its inception in 2006, the alliance has developed as a network of higher education institutions in the Pacific region within the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, which was launched by the NSF in 1991 with a mission to encourage and facilitate access to careers in STEM fields for underrepresented populations. The program is particularly aimed at encouraging students from two-year programs to continue their education at four-year institutions.
UH Hilo serves as the administrative hub of the Islands of Opportunity Alliance, which includes 10 other partner institutions in American Sāmoa, Guam, Hawai‘i, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
“UH Hilo is proud to be part of such a distinguished alliance dedicated to giving more undergraduate students hands-on experience in the sciences,” says Marcia Sakai, interim chancellor at UH Hilo and principal investigator of the program. “We share the common goal of increasing underrepresented professionals in STEM fields and I feel inspired by each member of our alliance—together we are helping to strengthen not only the scientific communities of Hawai‘i and the Pacific Island states, but also the scientific communities of the world to become more diverse in the quest for and understanding of scientific knowledge.”
Alliance goals
The conference was attended by approximately 30 participants from across the Pacific region, including campus coordinators and administrators from each of the 11 alliance institutions, as well as the governing board, two external advisory boards, and an external NSF evaluator from Washington D.C.
Joseph Genz, an associate professor of anthropology at UH Hilo, serves as IOA project director. The alliances’s day-to-day operations are handled by Mārata Tamaira, IOA project manager based at UH Hilo.
Genz says the main goal of the alliance is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students, with a focus on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students who graduate with baccalaureate degrees in STEM disciplines with strong research experiences and then go on to pursue graduate degrees or enter a STEM career back in their local communities.
“The benefit is not just the STEM degree, but what the students are going to do with their STEM degree,” says Genz. “In the vast majority of cases, that means going back home to their island communities and using their degrees to build up the capacities of their communities, fostering a system of self-empowerment.”
Genz explains NSF funds mainly support students on their respective campuses, but also sends them to conferences. “Travel costs in the Pacific are prohibitive,” he explains. “Students on the mainland can travel to conferences by jumping in a van. But for a student to fly from Palau to attend an international conference on the mainland can cost $3,000.”
Most of the funding at UH Hilo is used to support students in the Keaholoa STEM Program, which is now funded completely through LSAMP.
This year the alliance is strengthening ties between alliance members.
“The call to increase ties within the alliance actually came from the NSF,” says Genz. “In the past they had expressed concerns that each campus was its own entity, and we were just dispersing funds. So we’ve developed explicit strategies to tighten the connections across all 11 campuses. One strategy is to provide research experiences for undergraduates, and this effort is being coordinated by Frank Camacho from the University of Guam. Another idea we’re working on is a transfer program to promote the pipeline into the four-year institutions.”
Integrating traditional knowledge and Western science
One challenge facing the alliance is how to supplement Western STEM training models with Pacific culture-normed understandings of motivation, attainment, and success. Genz notes that Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders descend from cultural heritages that have traditionally pursued indigenous forms of science and technology, including astronomy, agriculture, aquaculture, environmental management, marine science, climatology, biology, and architectural engineering.
Interim Chancellor Sakai says, “We are finding this awakening to the value of indigenous knowledge is almost second nature to our students. They are ready to claim their heritage as scientists, to redefine and expand Western science, to be inclusive of ancient knowledge in their scientific endeavors, to engage in a new and vital way to do science in the 21st century. And it is our alliance—our Islands of Opportunity Alliance—that strengthens our quest, our resolve, to build on this legacy of scientific engagement empowering our students through culturally aware STEM education that honors traditional knowledge systems while also embracing Western scientific ways of knowing.”
The broader vision for the alliance is to build on this legacy of scientific engagement through culturally-resonant STEM education initiatives that integrate traditional knowledge systems while also embracing Western scientific ways of knowing.
“The Keaholoa STEM program at UH Hilo is very grounded in Hawaiian values and there’s a core idea of being place-based and trying to immerse students in Hawaiian ways of learning,” says Genz. “This involves taking students out on excursions, huakaʻi, for experiential learning. That means everybody hopping into the fish pond, cleaning it, testing the salinity of the water, and getting that shared experience.”
Genz also praises UH Hilo’s Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Sciences (PIPES) program for the way it has successfully invoked kuleana, a Hawaiian concept of shared responsibility that inspires students to do work that is meaningful and useful to their communities.
About the author of this story: Leah Sherwood, a graduate student in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program at UH Hilo, is an intern in the Office of the Chancellor specializing in science writing. She received her bachelor of science in biology and bachelor of arts in English from Boise State University.
About the photographer of the conference session: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
The inaugural event was planned by women students in the sciences, and the discussions were led by accomplished women scientists, administrators and staff who know a thing or two about the challenges women face in advancing their STEM careers.
The inaugural Women in STEM Conference was held at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus on Feb. 12. The all-day event brought together women leaders, scientists, students, and members of the campus community to discuss the current state of affairs for women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Topics covered a social history of women in STEM, the importance of mentorship, sexual harassment, mental health, the wage gap, work-family-life balance, retaining women STEM students, and creating a supportive climate for underrepresented minorities in STEM.
The conference was sponsored by the UH Hilo’s Women’s Center, TCBES MATERS Club, and the Office of Equal Opportunity .
The opening talk was given by Marina Karides, chair of the sociology department at UH Hilo. She spoke on the dearth of women faculty in STEM fields, particularly in the UH system, where women make up only 35 percent of STEM faculty. “If about half our population identify as women, then about half should be represented in all sectors of our workforce,” she says. “Instead what we systematically have is an overrepresentation of men in higher paying work and fields and women in lower paying work and fields.”
“We need to let women know they are welcome and strive to reach equity like equal salaries, teaching loads, and support in research.”
—UH Hilo astronomer Marianne Takamiya
Marianne Takamiya, an astronomer at UH Hilo, took part in a panel discussion about factors affecting the retention of women in STEM fields. “We need to hire and retain more role models in STEM, especially those fields that are male-dominated like computer science, math, chemistry, and physics,” she says. “We need to let women know they are welcome and strive to reach equity like equal salaries, teaching loads, and support in research. This is yet another chance for UH Hilo to be on the map, since we are already recognized for our diversity.”
Open discussion about challenges faced by women in STEM
“This conference was entirely driven by students and staff—they had curiosity and ran with it to develop something larger and comprehensive,” says Rebecca Ostertag, professor of biology and chair of the TCBES program. “I’m impressed by how broadly they thought about the topics and backgrounds of the guest speakers and panelists, and how passionate and driven they were to share stories and knowledge with the entire campus community.”
“Know your worth, the value of the position, and the company culture. Understand how to negotiate and do it.”
—Director of UH Hilo Office of Equal Opportunity Jennifer Stotter
Cruz, who is a researcher in the UH Hilo Bioaccoustics Lab working with biologist Pat Hart, explained that the genesis of the STEM conference really started with her questioning faculty and graduate students about how they balanced their personal and professional lives, especially scientists such as biologists or astronomers who often spend large amounts of time away from home in remote locations doing field work.
Cruz initially envisioned a smaller event.
“At first I was picturing a small round-table discussion, but when I brought the idea up to Rebecca Ostertag, she suggested having a full-day event, and maybe collaborating with the Gender and Women’s Studies program,” says Cruz. “I brought up this larger idea to Ashley Pugh and the TCBES Mater’s Club, and was connected with Megan Hillery and Destiny Rodriguez from the UH Hilo Women’s Center, who both immediately began supporting us in our endeavor.”
Cruz also connected with Buddhini Samarasinghe, a molecular biologist who recently completed postdoctoral research at UH Hilo’s Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy and who founded the website STEM Women. Samarasinghe provided Cruz with ideas for conference topics, emphasizing issues not usually discussed openly with young women interested in a career in science.
“It’s important to have this conference because the topics covered are not often openly discussed, and a lot of people are either unaware of these issues, or misinformed,” says Cruz. “It’s important to start having these discussions more openly, learn from one another, and form a supportive community so women can continue making strides in all STEM fields. Too often, women compete against each other instead of lifting each other. I hope this conference encourages us all to lift each other so we can collectively succeed.”
During her remarks at the conference, Jennifer Stotter, director of the UH Hilo Office of Equal Opportunity and coordinator of Title IX compliance, laid out some strategies for negotiating fair wages for women in STEM. “Know your worth, the value of the position, and the company culture. Understand how to negotiate and do it.”
More photos of conference, click to enlarge:
About the author of this story: Leah Sherwood, a graduate student in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program at UH Hilo, is an intern in the Office of the Chancellor. She received her bachelor of science in biology and bachelor of arts in English from Boise State University.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
The festival featured lanterns, handicrafts, zodiac sign bookmarks, paper crafts giveaways (cute pigs in celebration of the Year of the Pig!), calligraphy demonstrations, posters, lion head, martial arts performance, taiji boxing, folk dance and more for the university community to enjoy.
The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo celebrated Chinese New Year with a Chinese Spring Festival and Lantern Festival on Feb. 11. The festival featured lanterns, handicrafts, zodiac sign bookmarks, paper crafts giveaways (cute pigs in celebration of the Year of the Pig), calligraphy demonstrations, posters, lion head, martial arts performance, taiji boxing, folk dance and more for the university community to enjoy.
The Chinese New Year event was hosted by the Chinese studies certificate program, for which Associate Professor Jiren Feng serves as the program coordinator, in association with Elementary Chinese I (CHNS 101) and Chinese Festivals and Food Culture (CHNS 320) classes he is teaching this semester. The CHNS course discusses traditional Chinese festivals and food as important aspects of Chinese culture. It also investigates the most important festivals and related customs, what food people cook and eat during the festivals, and why. In addition, the course explores popular styles of cooking in different areas and how they have shaped the diversity of Chinese people. Students interact with local Chinese restaurants or families for the cultural tradition of Chinese cuisine.
The event was also hosted by the Chinese Cultural Club for which Feng serves as the faculty advisor.
Read about Associate Professor Feng’s bio and research.
Photos by Raitea Arcuri, click to enlarge:
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
Each year the International Student Association at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo produces shows that feature performances from the many different cultures and countries represented at the university. International Nights is a long-standing tradition at UH Hilo that spans over four decades, and is a favorite event on campus among students, the community, and visitors. Performers volunteer their time and do not get paid for their time and effort in preparing for and executing their performances—a testament to the willingness of UH Hilo’s international students to share their cultures with others.
This year’s International Nights were held on Feb. 22 & 23.
Photos by Bob Douglas, click to enlarge.
FRIDAY, FEB. 22, 2019
Taishoji Taiko (Japan)
“Akatsuki”
Native American
“Hoop Dance”
Korea Treasure (Korea)
“Korea Traditional Dance & K-Pop”
Bayanihan Club (Phillipines)
“Tinikling”
Performing Arts Club (USA)
“For the Love of Musicals”
Fije Meke Group (Fiji)
“Mekw Vakaviti (Fijian Dance)”
Marshallese Iakwe Club (Marshall Islands)
“Biit Dance”
About the photographer:Bob Douglas is a local artist, photographer, and sometimes part-time student who volunteers his photography skills to the Office of the Chancellor and UH Hilo Stories.
The Hinamatsuri program was organized by the UH Hilo Japanese Student Association and the Japanese Studies Program with advisor Masafumi Honda, associate professor and coordinator of Japanese studies.
This year, Girl‘s Day at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo was celebrated on the evening of March 1 rather than the traditional third day of the third month. The program was organized by the Japanese Student Association and the Japanese Studies Program with advisor Masafumi Honda, associate professor and coordinator of Japanese studies.
A pamphlet at the event explained that Girl’s Day or Hinamatsuri is the festival which was traditionally known as the Peach Festival (Momo no Sekku), as peach trees typically began to flower around March 3. The original festival was mentioned in the Tale of Genji, written in the beginning of the 11th Century. The festival was to protect people from evil. Everyone made their own paper doll and floated it down as stream hoping evil fortune would float away with the doll.
1st performance: Taiko Performance by Taishoji Taiko
2nd performance: Koto Performance by The So-shin Kai Koto Club
3rd performance: Piano Ghibli Song Medley by Natsuko Uchida (Pianist)
4th performance: Okinawan Dance by The Hilo Okinawan Cultural Club
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
A Pop Up for Hunger Tasting Event featured the new Teapresso Bar concession, where the campus community learned more about UH Hilo’s Pop Up for Hunger program and the upcoming HALE PA’I ‘AI food pantry program to combat food insecurities at UH Hilo.
There’s a new beverage concession on the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo campus. Interim Chancellor Marcia Sakai and Interim Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs Kalei Rapoza hosted a Pop Up for Hunger Tasting Event on March 13 featuring the new Teapresso Bar concession, where the campus community learned more about UH Hilo’s Pop Up for Hunger program and the upcoming HALE PA’I ‘AI food pantry program to combat food insecurities at UH Hilo.
Beginning Wednesday, March 27, the campus community can get their boba tea or organic lemonade fix at the new Teapresso Bar pop up beverage concession located at the Library Lanai. The concession will be open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Teapresso Bar’s rotating beverage menu includes Teapresso’s Signature Milk Tea, Honeydew Milk Tea, Taro Milk Tea, Tropic Osmanthus, Fruity Lychee, Rose Green Tea, Strawberry Lilikoi Lemonade, Blue Hawaiian Lemonade, and Maunakea Sunset Lemonade. Add-ons include large boba, lychee jelly or strawberry bursting boba.
Pop Up for Hunger
Teapresso Bar is the first beverage concession participating in UH Hilo’s “Pop Up for Hunger” program to support HALE PA‘I ‘AI, UH Hilo’s new food pantry program. The HALE PA‘I ‘AI soft opening is planned for mid-April 2019 through the end of the semester. Administrative Affairs will operate and manage the food pantry program to serve and support any UH Hilo student without reliable access to food. The process to receive HALE PA‘I ‘AI services is simple, and the program is set up to protect the anonymity of students with food insecurities. Any UH Hilo student in need with a valid student ID is welcome to participate in this program.
The Pop Up for Hunger concept was one of many food pantry support programs developed by UH Hilo senior Jordan Kamimura as part of a fall 2018 College of Business and Economics internship class (BUS 400). Andrey Simonov, assistant professor of accounting, oversees the course.
Kamimura’s internship project with Administrative Affairs included developing creative revenue generating programs and food supply sources to fund and sustain a food pantry program at UH Hilo to address student food insecurities. UH Hilo’s Food Service Enterprise was the primary resource and inspiration for many of the food pantry programs Kamimura researched and developed under this internship course. The internship project objective was to develop various revenue streams and food sources to sustain a food pantry program at UH Hilo without having to totally rely on food donations.
The food pantry’s name, “HALE PA’I ‘AI” eloquently describes UH Hilo’s mission to provide “a place to receive an offering of food.” Although HALE PA’I ‘AI is not intended to supply all the food a student needs for the week, it will provide supplemental food for any UH Hilo student in need of this type of support. Additional information will be provided prior to the soft opening in April.
This story is adapted from an email sent from the UH Hilo Food Service Enterprise to the UH Hilo community. UH Hilo Stories will have more in-depth stories about Teaspresso and the HALE PA’I ‘AI program, coming soon, watch this space.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
The Tea Ceremony or Chado was hosted by a class studying East Asian history, culture, and civilization including East Asian Zen Buddhism and the development of tea culture and tea ceremony.
Members of Shoro-an, the Hilo Tea House at Lili‘uokalani Gardens, performed a traditional Tea Ceremony or Chado at the University of Hawaii at Hilo on March 8.
The ceremony was hosted by an introductory class to Japanese and Chinese studies (LANG 200). Yoshiko Fukushima, professor of performance studies and languages, is the instructor of the course. The class is studying East Asian history, culture, and civilization including East Asian Zen Buddhism and the development of tea culture and tea ceremony.
Machiko Kuki, Association Chair, acting as guest for demonstration
Clara Koga, Sensei, acting as guest for demonstration
Philippe Nault, Vice Association Chair, speaker for demonstration
Amy Nishiura, Student and Association Treasurer, acting as assistant for demonstration
Misaki Sato, Student, Otemae (tea server) for demonstration
Tomoko Skinner, Student, acting as assistant for demonstration
The Urasenke Tankokai Hilo Association was organized in 1971 in Hilo. Teachings and practices are done at the Tea Ceremony House named “Shoro-an” (Pine Ocean House), which is located on Banyan Drive, on the grounds of the Lili‘uokalani Gardens at Hilo Bay.
According to a Hilo Tea House pamphlet, Chado is the Japanese “Way of Tea.” It is a “ritual that features preparing a bowl of tea and serving it to a guest. Served with a respectful heart and received with gratitude, a bowl of tea satisfies both physical and spiritual thirst.”
Photos by Raiatea Arcuri, click to enlarge:
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
A delegation from UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College visited The Evergreen State College in Washington state to talk about modeling an indigenous arts program after Evergreen’s Indigenous Arts Campus and Native Programs curriculum.
“The proposed program will pilot a focus on indigenous arts in anticipation that it will grow into a two-year community college program with pathways to a four-year degree,” says Gail Makuakāne-Lundin, director of the UH System Office of Hawai‘i Papa O Ke Ao and interim executive assistant to the UH Hilo chancellor.
“The University of Hawai’i welcomes ways to study indigenous cultures as contributors to society instead of simple observations of their art,” she says.
Taupōuri Tangarō, professor of Hawai’i Life Styles at Hawai‘i CC says, “We’re here at Evergreen on a mission. Evergreen has always inspired us and we’re here to celebrate this inspiration as we prepare to deliver our Hawaiian indigenous arts program for the advancement of indigenous well-being.”
“We’re honored to host our relatives from Hawai‘i Island,” says Tina Kuckkahn-Miller, Evergreen’s vice president of indigenous arts and education. “We consider them a sister institute and want to build upon a relationship that’s been growing for decades among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest and South Pacific.”
Hawai‘i CC will host a 2019 indigenous arts summer symposium as the first step in gauging community interest and support in the proposed program.
-Adapted from Evergreen release. Photos and captions for this post provided by the delegation.
Over 1,000 school children attended the Earth Day Fair at UH Hilo to learn from 40 organizations from around the state who set up interactive displays and booths across campus, plus a variety of workshops and speakers.
The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College held their joint annual Earth Day Fair and related Conservation Career Day today at the UH Hilo campus. The dual event is for members of the UH campus communities and several registered local grade schools. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the UH Hilo-Hawai‘i CC Earth Day Fair.
There were over 40 organizations from around the state that set up interactive displays and booths across campus.
There also were a variety of workshops and speakers, including:
Keynote speaker Manulani Meyer, Konohiki for Kūlana o Kapolei (A Hawaiian Place of Learning at University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu).
Sandalwood Reforestation Presentations with Mark Hanson.
Well over 1,000 local schoolchildren took part in various workshops and environmental learning activities around campus.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce UH Hilo to the next generation of students,” says Ryan Perroy, geography professor and co-chair of the fair’s organizing committee.
The many sponsors included Kamehameha Schools, the UH Hilo Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Sciences (PIPES), and hundreds of volunteers, many of them students and faculty from UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).
The students spoke with scientists, conservationists, and representatives from local environmental organizations at dozens of booths lining UH Hilo’s Campus Center Plaza and Library Lanai.
The event was attended by more than 1,500 school children from all over the island of Hawai‘i. The students enjoyed educational videos, informational exhibits and science demonstrations, expert guest speakers, a food sustainability panel, environmental science skill-building workshops, dance troupes, hula, storytellers, face-painting, campus garden tours, an environmental career fair, and unmanned aerial vehicle flight simulators, as well as free plants, fruits, and other giveaways.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce UH Hilo to the next generation of students,” says Ryan Perroy, geography professor and co-chair of the fair’s organizing committee. “It’s really important for the university to engage with the community and this is one of the bigger events that we have.”
The students spoke with scientists, conservationists, and representatives from local environmental organizations at dozens of booths lining UH Hilo’s Campus Center Plaza and Library Lanai. Members from local chapters of national nonprofit organizations such as Surfrider and Sierra Club as well as local organizations such as Big Island Invasive Species Committee were on hand to talk with students and answer questions.
Beyond the tables at the library lanai and plaza, there were hands-on workshops and presentations scattered across campus. These were on topics such as Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death, Hawksbill turtle recovery programs, and ‘Imi Pono no ka ‘Āina. UH Hilo students in Michelle Shuey‘s environmental science class also developed and ran different environmental games for hundreds of keiki to run around and interact with different environmental issues like pollution.
“Our ‘aina loves us, and when something loves you, you love it back. Nourish your ‘aina, the ‘aina has never not loved us. We have to wake up.” — Manu Meyer
The event kicked off with a traditional kīpaepae opening ceremony. Keynote speaker Manulani Meyer then delighted the audience by whipping out her harmonica and playing a couple of minutes of bluesy licks before speaking. Meyer is the konohiki (facilitator) for Kūlana o Kapolei (A Hawaiian Place of Learning) at UH West O‘ahu.
Meyer urged the audience to hug each other (“like you mean it!”) before addressing the central theme of her talk, which was aloha ‘āina (“love of the land”). Speaking to the K-12 students lining the bleachers of the gym at UH HIlo, she urged them to care of the land. “Even small acts, such as picking up litter we may see on the street, are a gesture of love to Earth,” says Meyer. “Our ‘aina loves us, and when something loves you, you love it back. Nourish your ‘aina, the ‘aina has never not loved us. We have to wake up.”
Perroy feels that the Earth Day Fair’s message has never been more important. “The whole message of aloha ‘aina and ‘aina aloha resonates very strongly with both the campus community and the young students and teachers we bring,” says Perroy. “In general, we are doing a terrible job of taking care of our planet and the more we can have events like this, to not just to celebrate the Earth but to actually get people to do something differently than what they are currently doing, the better off we will all be.”
7th annual Conservation Career Day
This year’s Earth Day Fair was held in parallel with the 7th annual Conservation Career Day, an event that draws local scientists and agencies in the field of natural resource management who seek to inspire local students to become environmental stewards and to pursue careers in natural resource management. This career day event is designed to provide information to middle and high school students, with a specific focus on local employment opportunities.
“Sharing our Mana‘o” was the theme of the career panel discussion, which featured young professionals in environmental fields representing different organizations on the island of Hawai‘i. Two of the five panelists, David Benetiz, an ecologist at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and Kamala Anthony, a conservationist who specializes in Hawaiian fishponds, were graduates of the tropical conservation biology and environmental science master’s program at UH Hilo.
Anthony spoke of how she and her friends established an organization known as Hui Hoʻoleimaluō, which focuses on the restoration and maintenance of the Honokea loko (fishpond) at Waiuli through education outreach, community advocacy, and place-based management. “We need to make sure we are caring for the resources we have in Hawai‘i, and putting in the attention to care for these things,” says Anthony. Referring to Hawai‘i’s unique ecosystems, Anthony says that better management protocols need to be implemented in order to mitigate problems such as Rapid ‘Ohi’a Death that threaten Hawai‘i’s natural resources.
Sponsors
The Earth Day Fair and Conservation Career Day were sponsored by Kamehameha Schools, the UH Hilo Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Sciences, and hundreds of volunteers, many of them students and faculty from UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College.
About the author of this story: Leah Sherwood is a graduate student in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program at UH Hilo. She received her bachelor of science in biology and bachelor of arts in English from Boise State University.
About the photographer: Raiatea Arcuri is a professional photographer majoring in business at UH Hilo. He was awarded USA Young Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 (read his blog post about the winning photograph).