{"id":119885,"date":"2020-06-02T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T01:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=119885"},"modified":"2020-08-07T12:07:16","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T22:07:16","slug":"mauiakama-virtual-field-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/06\/02\/mauiakama-virtual-field-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Field trip turns virtual experience for \u02bb\u014dlelo Hawai\u02bbi class"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Mauiakama students during a virtual field trip to Molokaʻi<\/span> where they learned about preserving limu ʻeleʻele.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the core of an ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language) class at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a>. Kumu (teachers) scrambled to figure out how to get students who enrolled in an off-island summer course, off-island without leaving Oʻahu<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Twenty-two haumāna (students) registered for courses offered under the Mauiakama program<\/a>, a collaboration between UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language Professor Kapā Oliveira<\/strong>, Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> School of Hawaiian Knowledge and UH<\/abbr> Maui College<\/a> Hawaiian Studies Professors Kaleikoa Kaʻeo<\/span><\/strong> and Kahele Dukelow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Koʻieʻie<\/span> Fishpond is in need of continuous maintenance and repairs. (Photo credit: ʻAoʻao<\/span> O Na Loko Iʻa<\/span> O Maui)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mauiakama is a two-week Hawaiian immersion course that consists of haumāna from both campuses camping on Maui with cultural practitioners who manage wahi pana or historical sites. The goal is to help practitioners maintain sites. Prior to the pandemic, students would help to rebuild traditional fishponds, restore loʻi<\/span> (taro patches) and maintain ancient irrigation ditches. This year, these classes were offered online and taught by Kawaihuelani instructor<\/a> Ali Rozet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“He ʻoiaʻiʻo<\/span> nō ko mākou kānalua i ka noho kaʻawale<\/span> ʻana<\/span> ma muli o ka hoʻomalu<\/span> maʻi<\/span>. Ua ʻaelike<\/span> pū nā haumāna, ʻo<\/span> ko mākou makemake ʻo<\/span> ia ke kipa maoli ʻana<\/span> i ia ʻāina<\/span> no laila, e makana ʻia<\/span> he mau mea waiwai i kēlā me kēia kaiāulu i hoʻokipa<\/span> mai iā mākou i loko naʻe<\/span> o ka hiki ʻole<\/span> ke hele kino i laila. (We had real doubts about how we would be able to truly be of service despite the quarantine. We all agreed that our preference would be to be there in person but that due to the quarantine, we would do our best to make their time worthwhile by putting together a body of research that was substantial),” Kumu Rozet said.<\/p>\n

Rozet\u2019s husband, Niegel, works for a grassroots-network of mālama ʻāina<\/span> based stewards Kuaʻāina<\/span> Ulu ʻAuamo<\/span><\/a>. The couple conjured up the idea of taking haumāna on virtual field trips through video conferencing application, Zoom. Students traveled to wahi pana on four islands which included; ancient Hawaiian fishpond Koʻieʻie<\/span> in Kīhei, Maui; loʻi<\/span> cultivation site Kaʻala<\/span> Farms in Waiʻanae;<\/span> ʻopelu<\/span> fishing community in Hoʻokena,<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and Kamiloloa, Molokaʻi,<\/span> to learn about limu restoration. Caretakers at each spot shared information about the area\u2019s history and strategies they incorporate into their work.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> Mānoa junior Mau Samuseva<\/strong> said although he would have preferred actually visiting these wahi pana, he left the program inspired. “Ua hoihoi nō ʻo<\/span> Mauiakama no ka mea, ua ʻike<\/span> i ke kākoʻo<\/span> o nā poʻe<\/span> o ka pae ʻāina<\/span> e noʻonoʻo<\/span> pū ana me ka manaʻo<\/span> hoʻokahi<\/span> e hoʻōla<\/span> hou ʻia<\/span> ai ka ʻike<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> a me ka waiwai o ka mālama ʻana<\/span> i ka ʻāina.<\/span> Nui koʻu<\/span> mahalo i ka hoʻomau<\/span> ʻana<\/span> o Mauiakama i kēia wā ʻē.<\/span> Nui nā mea i aʻo<\/span> ʻia.<\/span> Ua loli koʻu<\/span> ʻano,<\/span> ua naʻauao<\/span> maila, ua kāʻeo<\/span> ka ʻumeke<\/span>. (This experience was stimulating because I was able to see the similarities that each island had when it came to the common goal of trying to revive the culture and educate people about the importance of caring for our ʻāina.<\/span> I’m grateful that this program continued and I gained an immense amount of knowledge regardless. I can proudly say that I will walk away from Mauiakama changed.),” Samuseva explained.<\/p>\n

Because Samuseva and his classmates could not physically help the caretakers they contributed in other ways. Some students created websites and device-friendly applications about the various wahi pana. Others composed mele (songs) and also provided extensive research about the site and the people who work there<\/a>.<\/p>\n

—By Moanikeʻala<\/span> Nabarro<\/em><\/p>\n