Coastal restoration and water quality monitoring at Kalaeloa

On the second day of the session, we traveled to Kalaeloa, which is very close to Kapolei High School. There, we met with Lorena Wada (Aunty Tap) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  She is a wildlife biologist who does a lot of different type of work to save rare and endangered species.

This area is a wildlife refuge and from first glance, is not much to look at, but upon closer inspection, you can see why this is a special area. Once covered with tall, invasive trees, this area now is being restored with native Hawaiian coastal plants. And the anchialine ponds are now visible, which gives us a glimpse into the mysterious world underground.

We took water samples from the brackish water ponds. Here's Austin of Kapolei High using a long pole with a dish on it to collect water. That's innovation!

We looked at different tests such as pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, and turbidity. The water quality appeared to be pretty good.

We also got to see the plentiful 'opae 'ula (red shrimp) that live in the anchialine ponds. They are unique to Hawai`i!

The environment at Kalaeloa is windy, sunny, and salty. We learned how the native plants adapt to that kind of environment by growing low to the ground and having silvery hairs to reflect the sunlight.

Rusty, also of Kapolei High, is showing us the hinahinakukahakai, a favored plant for lei making.

Isaiah, a STEP intern with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, helped us learn about fossilized bones of flightless birds that once lived in this area a long time ago. It was an "Indiana Jones" moment!

Mahalo to Aunty Tap and team for teaching us about marine-related jobs on land with the U.S. Fish and Wilidlife Service!