students are diving into marine science, by helping count and study 80 endangered green sea turtles along Â鶹´«Ã½ Island¡¯s coastlines in the first year of the college¡¯s nascent (MOP).
“I took a zoology class at Â鶹´«Ã½ CC and in my lab portion we got to go to Punaluʻu. We did turtle tagging, which was very inspiring to me because since I was a child I¡¯ve wanted to do marine science,¡± said Â鶹´«Ã½ CC graduate Eliea Mitchell-Butler. “And to be able to do it and get involved with the local community was very touching because [the 40-year data set at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach] is the largest and longest-going database worldwide on green sea turtles.¡±
Students worked hands-on in the Hilo Sea Turtle Health and Population Assessment Program through a special research permit with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Under faculty supervision, they hand-captured turtles, assessed their health, measured and weighed them, and applied tags for tracking. Research was conducted at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach and Haʻena Beach on Â鶹´«Ã½ Island.
“Even though we¡¯re the youngest program in the entire system, Â鶹´«Ã½ CC¡¯s Marine Option Program is one of the most unique in that we offer research in sea turtles,¡± said MOP program coordinator Jen Sims.
Recent Â鶹´«Ã½ CC graduate Christian Reynolds said, “I never thought I would be part of real conservation science this soon in my undergraduate education. I joined MOP at Â鶹´«Ã½ Community College because it offered me the same opportunities that I would have otherwise had at a four-year university but at a much lower price.¡±
MOP also offers internships, research projects and cultural fieldwork open to all majors.
For more information about the Marine Option Program at Â鶹´«Ã½ CC, email Sims at jlsims@hawaii.edu or visit the .
