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Kauaʻi CC students cultivate culture through conservation internship
VIDEO NEWS RELEASE
Kauaʻi Community College
Interns get to work with experts on the north shore of Kauaʻi.
Interns get paid to learn how to steward the land in modern day context.
Nā Pua Noʻeau Coordinator Malia Chun helps to facilitate a check in at the start of week three.
Link to video and sound (details below):
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Students cleared stream mouths, repaired fencing damaged by heavy rains, and learned traditional weaving techniques during June and July through the Summer Institute Pāpala Lele Early College Internship, hosted by . The five-week paid program engaged 10 high school and college students in hands-on conservation work, combining field experiences with three college credits while introducing participants to careers in natural resource management, food security and environmental stewardship.
For intern Kyra Tubon, the program provided a vital connection to her culture. She plans to study botany and environmental science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
“On Kauaʻi, it’s really hard to find Native and Indigenous people who know their culture and practice it,” Tubon said. “Having programs where even our keiki can come and learn is amazing because we don’t know what to do or where to go if we don’t have the people who already know it. Hopefully, we can continue to pass that knowledge down.”
Mālama ʻāina
Interns learned directly from community experts representing Kauaʻi CC’s (an enrichment program for Native Hawaiian students) and (a federally funded student support program), (a non-profit that cares for the natural and cultural resources within the ʻԲ State Park) and . Working in ʻԲ, they gained firsthand experience in how community organizations collaborate to mālama ʻāina (care for the land).
Nā Pua Noʻeau Program Coordinator Mālia Chun said the internship showcases the power of collaboration among ʻāina-based organizations working toward a shared vision. The program also helps students connect their passion for the environment with future careers by introducing them to professionals already working in conservation, restoration and resource management.
“This internship provides a foundation, or a kahua, of traditional knowledge and Hawaiian ways of stewardship while also exposing the interns to modern Western tools of conservation,” Chun said. “That combination of knowledge is what will carry us into the future. Our students are learning to build solutions that will benefit this community while addressing the challenges we face today.”
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:00-:44 Interns in ʻԲ
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Mālia Chun, Kauaʻi CC Nā Pua Noʻeau Coordinator (:25)
“While meeting professionals in these specific fields, they’re being exposed to potential job opportunities for them to return home and hopefully assume these positions and earn an actual living wage that can sustain them in coming back home and serving their community.”
Leiʻohu Chun, Summer Institute Pāpala Lele Instructor (:09)
“In a lot of Hawaiian immersion programs, it’s community-based, so a big part of, you know, revitalizing culture is getting our haumana out into the ʻāina.”
Kainoa Walston, Kauaʻi CC student intern (:08)
“I came in kind of unknowing, thinking I knew more than I did, but then this program kind of showed me that thereʻs much more to learn.”
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High school and college students earned college credits and cleared stream mouths, repaired fencing and learned traditional weaving techniques on Kauaʻi this summer.
VO
They were paid interns with the Summer Institute Pāpala Lele Early College Internship, hosted by Kauaʻi Community College.
The five-week, hands-on program introduces careers in natural resource management, food security and environmental stewardship.
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Mālia Chun, Kauaʻi CC Nā Pua Noʻeau Coordinator (:25)
“While meeting professionals in these specific fields, they’re being exposed to potential job opportunities for them to return home and hopefully assume these positions and earn an actual living wage that can sustain them in coming back home and serving their community.”
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Working in ʻԲ, they also gained firsthand experience in how to care for the land.
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