Coastal Classroom Konawaena middle schoolers learn science in the field

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February 18, 2011 Konawaena Middle School eighth-graders got a small taste of field work this week while spending time at Kahaluu Beach testing scientific theories. From determining the effects of nitrates and nitrites upon sea urchin diversity to discovering how sewage impacts marine life, students used an assortment of tests on collected water samples to see if their hypotheses proved true.
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Used with permission from West Hawaii Today

Pelekane watershed restoration project to finish on time, on budget

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February 14, 2011 by Carolyn Lucas Environmental benefits is the focus of the $2.9 million Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project, but Melora Purell also shed light on economic factors Sunday during the Kawaihae Local Resource Council’s monthly meeting. About 92 percent of this federal money was spent locally. It went toward purchasing soil, nursery and building supplies from Big Island businesses, as well as buying used four-wheel drive vehicles and generating business for mechanics who repaired those vehicles.
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Used with permission from West Hawaii Today

In R.I. and Hawaii, institute trains leaders By Caroline Flanagan

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February 14, 2011 From Rhode Island to Hawaii, high school students are learning environmental leadership through programs offered by the Brown Leadership Institute, a pre-college program that teaches high school students interested in global issues to take action in their own communities. In 2004, the Leadership Institute formed the Brown Environmental Leadership Lab, and has since partnered with a Hawaiian educational center, branching into the Pacific. Students enrolled in the Brown Environmental Leadership Laboratory program in Rhode Island spend two weeks living at the Haffenreffer Estate in Bristol, on the shores of the Narragansett Bay.
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Used with permission from the Brown Daily Herald

Laulima Center offers assistance for cooperatives

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February 8, 2011 Groups across the state that would like to form a cooperative but need some assistance getting organized, writing a business plan, or becoming legally incorporated have a new resource—the Laulima Center. Established by The Kohala Center and funded by a USDA-Rural Cooperative Development grant and the Ulupono Initiative, the Laulima Center will serve all sectors of the rural economy by providing organizational support to cooperative ventures statewide.
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Used with permission from Hawaii 247

Bees Rock! at Malaai School Garden

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January 28, 2011 Waimea families and friends are invited to Malaai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29 as Jenny Bach shares her knowledge about the amazing wonders of bees and bee guardianship. Jenny is a seasoned bee keeper and has a deep understanding of the important work honey bees perform in sustaining agricultural health and also how we can best use and support them. It’s free — bring friends and family. This is one of a series of workshops planned in coming months to encourage home food gardens. 
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Used with permission from Hawaii 247

Kauanoe Kamana The school principal champions Hawaiian immersion education

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January 28, 2011 Punana Leo means “nest of voices,” and at its start, the infants-to-preschool education program conducted all in Hawaiian was seen as that kind of a haven — a place where tots immerse themselves in the language at the feet of their elders. But baby birds do fly eventually. Kauanoe Kamana, 59, one of the two first scholars to earn a doctorate specifically in revitalization of indigenous languages, hopes to see the fruits of Hawaiian immersion education over more than three decades.
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Used with permission from the Star Advertiser

Organizations needed for Conserve Fundraise Learn program

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January 19, 2011 There is still time for organizations to participate in the Conserve Fundraise Learn (C.F.L) Program. The Kohala Center, Blue Planet Foundation, and Hawaii Energy are seeking eight additional community organizations or school groups to help exchange incandescent light bulbs for energy-saving compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs. Twelve groups are already participating in the exchange.
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Used with permission from Hawaii 247

Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project: 16 months later

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January 19, 2011 by Barrie Moss, Outreach Coordinator We are now 16 months into our 18 month timeline. Not too much can be seen from the roads that skirt the perimeter of our site. All that might catch your eye as you drive by at 45 mph are small sections of new fenceline, a couple of water tanks, and some strange looking horizontal lines in the distance that are rows of sediment stop fabric. But if you had the opportunity to walk the 6,000 acres inside the fence, all the hard work of our 13 member crew and numerous interns would be fully evident.
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Used with permission from Hawaii 247

Kaiser Permanente to “Walk the Walk” with Hawaii island school garden network Community to come together on Martin Luther King, Jr. “day of service” to promote healthy living.

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January 12, 2011  Kaiser Permanente Hawaii physicians and clinic staff will set aside their sterile medical garb, equipment and working environment and, instead, get down and dirty working in the dirt – volunteering in Hawaii Island school gardens to celebrate the 25th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. “Day of Service” on Monday, Jan. 17. In doing so, they hope to practice what they preach daily to patients via their “HEAL” prescription for “Healthy Eating, Active Living.”
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Used with permission from the Big Island Weekly

Scholarship offered for national environmental leadership lab April 15-22

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January 11, 2011 High school leaders from across country to attend isle event Island high school students are invited to join teens from across the country for a week-long outdoor adventure and an outstanding environmental leadership program — the Brown Environmental Leadership Lab (BELL) on Hawaii Island in April. The Kohala Center and Brown University are offering a full scholarship for one student to attend BELL Hawai’i from April 15-22. This select national leadership program integrates the development of leadership skills with outstanding opportunities for high school students to study the biology, ecology, and cultural traditions of Hawai’i Island.

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Used with permission from the Hawaii Tribune-Herald