The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and the Keaukaha Community Association hosted the welcome event, He Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina, on August 2, at the university’s Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center (PACRC) in Keaukaha, Hilo Bay.
The event brought together Keaukaha community members and ʻohana, UH Hilo faculty and student researchers, and local organizations to highlight the collaborative work being done at the center’s Coral Nursery.
The nursery has three main facilities: a lab with 21 flow-through tanks, an invertebrate pool, and four horse troughs used to house corals and run projects. UH Hilo students are eligible to volunteer at the nursery during the semester.
“We hope this event strengthens relationships and fosters new collaborations across the community,” said event co-sponsor Steve Doo, a UH Hilo assistant professor of marine science who researches coral and coral reefs.
Ocean stewardship
About 100 visitors from the community — from keiki to mākua (parents) to kūpuna (elders) — enjoyed the information booths, arts and crafts, land-based coral restoration demonstrations, snorkel surveys and coral outplanting in the bay.
Kaʻaka Swain, president of Keaukaha Community Association who also teaches at Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo charter school, said the event welcomed the Keaukaha community into PACRC to experience ongoing marine research through hands-on, culturally grounded activities.
“From limu pressing and lauhala fish weaving to touch tanks, coral reef building, and out-planting coral in Puhi Bay, participants explored the connections between culture and science,” said Swain. “Keiki gained a deeper understanding of marine life and a sense of pride in caring for the ocean.”
For more go to UH Hilo Stories.
—By Susan Enright
