{"id":146172,"date":"2021-08-10T11:45:41","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T21:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=146172"},"modified":"2021-08-12T10:13:09","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T20:13:09","slug":"outdoor-botany-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/08\/10\/outdoor-botany-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, the ultimate outdoor botany classroom during a summer of COVID<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"students<\/p>\n

A University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a> botany course provided an opportunity for face-to-face learning outdoors during the COVID-19<\/abbr> pandemic, offering a welcomed relief in an otherwise virtual summer of study, by utilizing the Mānoa campus, a designated arboretum, as the classroom.<\/p>\n

The experiential Botany 160 course equipped students to recognize on sight, and identify by common and botanical names approximately 100 plants on the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa campus. At the conclusion, students highlighted plants describing their origin, status in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, diagnostic characteristics, and cultural and economic uses.<\/p>\n

In attendance with UH<\/abbr> Mānoa student Nataley Nakata<\/strong> were Riley Regan and Kamaile Marcus, high school students from UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Outreach College<\/a>\u2019s regularly offered Summer Scholar<\/a> program.<\/p>\n

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\"students<\/div>\n

“I was intrigued by how numerous the uses of the plants around campus and the Lyon Arboretum<\/a> were, and still are; I also realized the gravity of how important species preservation is in regards to the remaining endemic plants here on Oʻahu<\/span> and throughout the neighbor islands,” said Nakata, a UH<\/abbr> Mānoa senior. “I would definitely recommend this course to a friend for the experience of walking around and getting to know the different areas and plants on the UH<\/abbr> campus.”<\/p>\n

“Having studied about Native Hawaiian plants in scouting, I thought it would be fun to learn more about plants during the summer at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa,” said Regan, a junior at ʻIolani<\/span> School. “Our instructor was great and very knowledgeable. The excursion to Lyon Arboretum was a real highlight of my summer. I was amazed at how many plants that I learned about over such a short time period!”<\/p>\n

100-level courses offer exposure<\/h2>\n

This, and other 100-level courses, serve as an introduction to a wide variety of study areas. By the end of the botany course, students acquired adequate information to view their neighborhoods differently, bringing the background of greenery into focus.<\/p>\n

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Nōweo Kai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The value, for me, is introducing plants to people and people to plants in a way that, hopefully, is meaningful to each individual so that each person begins to see themselves as a part of a larger system of ecological connections and understands the impact plants have in our livelihood,” Nōweo Kai<\/strong>, instructor for the botany course, a graduate of UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Department of Botany<\/a>, and curator for the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa campus arboretum.<\/p>\n

Kai\u2019s responsibilities include managing records and inventory (i.e. genealogy and whereabouts) for the more than 6,000 plants throughout the 320 acre UH<\/abbr> Mānoa campus.<\/p>\n

“I am privileged to work closely with the landscaping department, faculty and staff, and the broader community members to interpret the campus plants’ rich history and diversity,” Kai added.<\/p>\n

This course is an example of UH<\/abbr> Mānoa\u2019s goal of Enhancing Student Success<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>) and Building a Sustainable and Resilient Campus Environment: Within the Global Sustainability and Climate Resilience Movement<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), two of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), updated in December 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students were equipped to recognize on sight, and identify by common and botanical names approximately 100 plants on the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[368,192,1480,1466,1314,49,73,9],"class_list":["post-146172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-botany","tag-lyon-arboretum","tag-manoa-academic-innovation-engaged-learning","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-outreach-college","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t