{"id":220108,"date":"2025-08-12T12:49:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T22:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220108"},"modified":"2025-08-12T12:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T22:56:37","slug":"kauai-cc-internship-inspires-next-generation-of-stewards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/12\/kauai-cc-internship-inspires-next-generation-of-stewards\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaua\u2018i CC<\/abbr> place-based science internship inspires next generation of stewards"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Kauai
Interns learning about which varieties of kalo are most suitable for specific conditions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nine high school and college students spent five weeks exploring natural science, conservation and food security through the N\u0101 Pua Noʻeau<\/span> program (a pre-K–college enrichment program) at Kauaʻi<\/span> Community College. The month-long paid internship combined hands-on community service in H\u0101ʻena<\/span> with academic learning, earning participants three college credits in sustainable science management.<\/p>\n

Four days a week, students worked with experts and cultural practitioners at Limahuli National Tropical Botanical Garden and Hui Makaʻ\u0101inana<\/span> o Makana, learning environmental engineering, policy building, botany and horticulture. One day a week was dedicated to studies at Kauaʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr>. The summer intensive concluded at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Conservation Conference on Oʻahu<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Community-based stewardship<\/h2>\n
\"Kauai
Interns viewing endemic and rare plant vouchers at the Bishop Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Intern Kealaula Perry, a senior at Kamehameha Kap\u0101lama, said the program helped narrow her interest to water and cultural engineering.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s cool to see how they\u2019re revitalizing native plants and reestablishing the cultural practices attached to them,” Perry said. “The funds and the transportation to get there to learn how unique H\u0101ʻena<\/span> is something I\u2019m so grateful for.”<\/p>\n

N\u0101 Pua Noʻeau<\/span> Program Director M\u0101lia Chun said the beautiful thing about working with the H\u0101ʻena<\/span> community is what it symbolizes in community-based stewardship.<\/p>\n

“As someone from Kauaʻi<\/span>, I\u2019ve seen how the burden of tourism has affected the small community and its resources,” Chun said. “This initiative and partnership have really become an example of how community-based stewardship is effective, and is a great model for other small communities in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> who feel overburdened, and these interns get to see and experience this system up close.”<\/p>\n

Non-cookie-cutter solutions<\/h2>\n
\"Kauai
Interns building a rock enclosure to reinforce the \u02bbauwai.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kauaʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr> Sustainable Science Management Instructor Kama Chock said the program\u2019s first week focused on building pilina, or connection, with the land and people.<\/p>\n

“We are able to come up with non-cookie-cutter solutions to environmental problems. This model of college overlap with community work is the future of education in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” Chock said.<\/p>\n

Chun added, “One of the reasons I helped to plan this internship is because I want these students to see themselves as part of a succession plan. There is a way for them to make a living wage at home doing what they love, and we need more Native Hawaiians represented in the natural science and conservation fields.”<\/p>\n

—By Caitlin Fowlkes<\/em><\/p>\n

For more go to Kauaʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Internship blends culture, science and sustainability to protect Kauaʻi\u2019s<\/span> future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":220119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[222,64,73,71],"class_list":["post-220108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-agriculture","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-community-colleges","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