{"id":181523,"date":"2023-08-08T17:56:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T03:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=181523"},"modified":"2023-08-08T17:56:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T03:56:45","slug":"uh-hilo-maunakea-summer-interns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/08\/uh-hilo-maunakea-summer-interns\/","title":{"rendered":"Maunakea intern embraces values, restores native habitat"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Justin Yeh and Elai Porter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For 10 weeks this summer, undergraduates at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> participated in a slew of hands-on, place-based mentorships through the campus\u2019 Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science<\/a> (PIPES<\/abbr>). UH<\/abbr> Hilo incoming junior Elai Porter\u2019s internship took him more than 13,000 feet above sea level to Maunakea to work at the Center for Maunakea Stewardship<\/a> (CMS<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

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Porter in the field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Porter assisted CMS<\/abbr> with natural resource initiatives focused on alien invertebrate early detection and wēkiu bug monitoring. Both are part of critical surveys CMS<\/abbr> land stewards conduct on Maunakea each year.<\/p>\n

“Participation in restoration initiatives like wēkiu bug monitoring fosters a sense of connection to not only the ʻāina<\/span> (land) here but the ʻāina<\/span> from my own homeland back in Pohnpei and Samoa,” said Porter. “In a broader sense, it allows people to contribute to the preservation of ecosystems, the protection of endangered species, and the overall health of the environment.”<\/p>\n

Wēkiu bugs are endemic to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the rare insect\u2019s nysius wekiuicola species can only be found on puʻu<\/span> (cinder cones) on the summit of Maunakea. Every year, CMS<\/abbr> places a variety of traps at more than 100 sites on the mauna to assess native species population levels and detect possible threats.<\/p>\n