Kaena Point (Pearl City HS)

This was our third year in a row we helped DLNR with the Kaena Point outplanting. Ed usually writes a grant, the purpose of the grant is to teach young kids about the land. It seems basic in thought, but the complexity of the nature system in the Hawaiian Islands is difficult to understand especially for our youth. With everything so easy to come by, kids nowadays don't appreciate how fragile our environment is here in Hawaii. They probably think it will repair itself overnight because everything else in their life can be fixed so easily, just press a button, right? That is not the case. Any native flora and fauna can be targeted for extinction, once destroyed, it can never come back. The hard part is taking care of our island which for some native flora and fauna can take decades to nurture so it can thrive again. 

Ed couldn't find a bus during the week day because of the new DOE contract with the bus company. Buses are scarce to come by. Ed decided to have the field trip on the weekend, which in hindsight was a good thing. The kids would have to give up their weekend to volunteer at Kaena Point. 

We had 5 chaperones for the trip ~ Ed, Anthony, Nelson, Damien, & I. I was sweeper. I always take my sweeping responsibilities seriously. But a hike like Kaena is not so bad because the trail is obvious. The bus picked us up at Pearl City High School at 8am, headed towards Mokuleia and the Kaena trailhead. The start time was 9am. 

Bad weather was predicted for today. However, the weather held up well and it actually got hotter the longer we hiked. What cracks me up is the students not liking the mud. I think the past 3 years doing this trip has opened my eyes to newbie hikers. Anytime I take a newbie on a hike, I always ask the question, "are you okay with getting your shoes muddy". When they reply, "how muddy?", I say, "fully covered in mud". That usually turns them off. The students struggled somewhat with the mud and it became a spectacle. 

About 3/4 to the point we met DLNR. I still can't remember the guy's name, he has been our liaison every year we’ve been doing this service project. Our first objective was to plant about 50 baby Oha'i trees, just like the past years. The DLNR guy did a good demo and we split up into three groups. My group had all boys, Nelson told me that some of these boys were in his Agriculture class. They actually took their job seriously. I have never seen boys treat plants so delicate and with such good care. I tried to document the pictures better this year. 

After the planting, we headed towards the point. It was already past 11am when we hit the gate. The group was mesmerized by the albatross flying overhead. Near the point still on the Mokuleia side, we were to eradicate some Australian Salt Bush and Koa Haole. We only did for a little while, but had to bail and eat lunch.

Lunch was short lived as time was of the essence. Ed blazed it back on the Waianae side leading a blistering pace. It only took us an hour to get back. Before exiting, me and some of the boys saw a humpback whale breaching. I was like, "holy shit, did you see that?". As we exited the trail, we saw Chuck finishing barbecuing hot dogs and hamburgers at the Yokohama parking lot. I must have been hungry as I ate both in under 2 minutes. 

This was another successful year. The kids are good (Ed always does a good job of screening them). We also had an excellent group of chaperones. Hopefully will continue on going. I know Ed does all of the leg work and we appreciate his efforts.