Malamalama Waldorf School’s seventh- and eighth-grade students recently took part in a two-day trip to Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge.
Malamalama Waldorf School’s seventh- and eighth-grade students recently took part in a two-day trip to Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge.
The trip was part of the Teaching Change program led by Scott Laursen of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The conservation education curriculum uses Hakalau NWR as an outdoor classroom. Students learn concepts and methods of environmental science; climate change; phenology; conservation and restoration on the island of Hawaii.
Day 1 consisted of a service-learning project where students removed invasive Banana Poka from the native forest.
Day 2 included a guided bird walk led by Pat Hart of the University of Hawaii at Hilo and a visit to the U.S. Geological Survey bird-banding station where Dr. Eben Paxton (USGS) and crew shared with students about mosquito-borne bird diseases such as avian malaria and avian pox, both significant threats to Hawaii’s native forest birds.
Students observed some of Hawaii’s most rare and endangered birds.
When asked about her experience at Hakalau NWR, student Zoey Block said, “Removing the banana poka was cool because I was helping the forest and all the threatened and endangered species that depend on it. Also, getting to see the native birds up close was exciting.”
School Director Kelley Lacks, who accompanied the students, had this to add, “To see the students engaged in learning about native species and working directly with them, it was obvious there will be long-term effects … they are the future scientists and caretakers of our land.”
“Malamalama Waldorf School strives to provide experiential learning experiences for its students by utilizing community specialists in their field.”