WE'RE GETTING STUDENTS HYPED UP ABOUT REBUILDING THAT RELATION- SHIP TO OUR WATERWAYS, EVEN IF IT STARTS WITH JUST GETTING THEIR FEET WET. CORY YAP :: OUTREACH EDUCATOR
vation.Sincetheprogram’sinception,morethan>130,000 invasive animals — the equivalent of > 2,700 pounds — have been taken out of Mānoa, Pālolo, and Makiki streams. Yap notes that over time, he and Charuk have seen a decline in numbers of smallmouth bass, a predator of native fish that was of particular concern. “These students and these schools are responsible for bringing those numbers to a reasonable level,” says Yap. “It’s wild to think about.”
nelized areas of Pālolo and Makiki Streams — had less ‘o‘opu because the bass were eating them. “What we’re starting to value is that not all barriers to native species presence are just habitat destruction,” says Yap, pointing to visible forces of degradation such as bridge crossings, runoff, deforestation, and erosion. Says Charuk, “We want our students and program partners to have access to this data, so they can start asking more questions. Everybody is responsible for these waters. The way our curriculum is set up, there are data interpretation lessons for the teachers to administer afterwards, so it does provide that rigorous science exposure. But by connecting the science to a real-world situation, students have opportunities to apply the results to make a difference — like, cool, now [go and] use these numbers, go testify on bills for water.” Explained Morgan Tursi, the Grade Level Chair for third grade at Wai‘alae Elementary who brought the Wai‘alae Elementary School third graders to the Feb- ruary Mānoa Stream field trip, “It’s a really valuable hands-on experience for the kids We do a whole wetlands unit and a changemakers unit, and this brings it all together. This is their backyard, and we want them to understand how they can make good choices for their environment and be good stewards.” The impact of the Pa‘ēpa‘ē o Waikolu program is imme- diate and visible. Charuk sees the sense of accomplish- ment in kids who are initially squeamish and eventually
BUILDING A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
“It’s extremely clear in the spaces we work in that there is no value to our streams, and we’re trying to change that. We’re getting students hyped up about rebuilding that relationship to our waterways, even if it starts with just getting someone’s feet wet,” says Yap, who brings stream biodiversity back to the basics for younger kids. “This relationship can start with these animals because they have eyes and they sometimes smile, rather than jumping straight into ‘What is the water quality?’” Charuk mentions a smallmouth bass stomach content analysis performed by ‘Iolani Independent Research student Ann Tokoyoda ’24 confirming that the bass were eating ‘o‘opu and ‘ōpae. Data collected by Pa‘ēpa‘ē o Waikolu participants showed a large incidence of smallmouth bass in Mānoa Stream, while none were found in Pālolo and Makiki Streams. This raised the hypothesis that Mānoa Stream — even with more sections of natural stream habitat than the more chan-
22 I IOLANI.ORG
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator