{"id":237046,"date":"2026-07-06T13:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=237046"},"modified":"2026-07-06T13:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:35:15","slug":"fulbright-ernest-bethe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/07\/06\/fulbright-ernest-bethe\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Mānoa grad student earns Fulbright to study urban resilience in Galápagos"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Ernest Bethe IV<\/abbr><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> graduate candidate Ernest Bethe IV<\/abbr> has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship for the 2026–27 academic year. After completing his master of urban and regional planning<\/a> degree from the College of Social Sciences<\/a> this August, Bethe will embark on a 10-month research initiative in Ecuador. Based in Puerto Ayora—the fastest-growing town in the Galápagos Islands—he will investigate how overlooked urban spaces can be leveraged for ecological resilience (ability of ecosystems to adapt to environmental change).<\/p>\n

Rethinking ‘informal’ green spaces<\/h2>\n

As tourism and development exert heavy pressure on the limited land resources of island ecosystems, Bethe\u2019s research will look at cost-effective frameworks for sustainable growth. His project will focus on “informal green spaces”—such as vacant lots, roadside vegetation and unmanaged patches of land—and will examine their potential to:<\/p>\n