Students Ryan Stone and Sabrina Erwin and Nature Conservacy Program Manager Manuel Mejia, participate in program to collect invasive seaweed species.The community of East Oahu is blessed with Maunalua Bay, a place which is often thought of as purely recreational; a place only for boating, fishing, paddling, diving, surfing, paddle-boarding, kayaking and swimming. What many don’t realize is that the health of the Bay has been in decline due to rapid development. This February 1, the Bay proved a perfect place for an environmental education of marine science. Three outstanding organizations were brought together for this worthy endeavor to educate Hawaii’s youth and preserve the health of our Bay: Holy Trinity School, The Nature Conservancy and Malama Maunalua.

Seventy students from Holy Trinity, supported by The Nature Conservancy and Malama Maunalua, spent the morning walking in the shallow, large reef flats collecting invasive species in what was literally their backyard, Maunalua Bay. The “Invasive Alien Algae Huki (pull)” project is an inspiring effort that combines healing the Bay and educating our youth. Taking the classroom outdoors proved a complete success, and what better beneficiary of their efforts that the magnificent Maunalua Bay?

Elizabeth Macintosh, of the Ocean and Marine Science Enrichment Education program at Trinity School is coordinating the education side of the project. The students are getting hands-on experience for what they would normally read about in books or watch in a video. “Cleaning up the invasive seaweed community is the perfect activity for our students in our own backyard,” said Macintosh. “As you can see, the kids are so psyched. It is important to invest in your kid’s future and the kids are investing their time to give back to the future.”

During the process, students, parents, teachers and volunteers removed three “invasive” algae commonly known as Gorilla Ogo, Leather mud weed and prickly seaweed, which are endangering the survival of the native seaweed “lima” (algae). According to Malama Maunalua, these invasive species are devastating the abundance of marine life formally found in Maunalua Bay. Removing the alien algae will help ensure the beauty and survival Maunalua Bay and Hawaii’s reefs and their inhabitants like mature fish, lobster, honu (green sea turtles), and Hawaiian monk seals.

Many of the students were noticeably jubilant. Wearing reef shoes, they waded through the water, sinking into the muck, pulling out the different invasive species and finding many hidden surprises along the way. While pulling out the invasive algae, some students were excited to find clams, crabs, slugs and oysters. Lola, a 7th grade student, summarized her experience by saying, “I learned a lot, found a lot in the ocean and had a lot of fun looking at all the creatures and different seaweed.” Kainoa, an 8th grader, shared his thoughts on the experience by saying, “This is just a little bit, but we can do a lot more. If you help with this, so many fish can come back and live here.” It was evident that the kids understood the importance of their efforts.

Andrew Laurence, with the Nature Conservancy, participated in the project. He was thrilled to be involved in an activity that benefited students and the Bay at the same time, emphasizing the win-win aspect of the situation. Laurence went further to say, “Anyone can read from a book, but hands-on experience is irreplaceable.”

As the students walked out of the ocean up to the beach, many of them wet and covered in mud and sand, Carol Wilcox a volunteer with the Malama Maunalua pointed out, “It was exciting today! The kids were interested in what they were going to find. Their curiosity is so evident and so cool. They were also thrilled to be dirty, something a lot of kids these days don’t have the opportunity for very often.” She also mentioned that one of the parents who helped spent time in the bay fishing and walked these waters often, yet he had never noticed the seaweed. Everyone involved learned a lot, making the first day a success. This project will continue throughout the semester.

As the kids were getting everything organized to head back to the classroom, Manuel Mejia, a project manager at the Nature Conservancy, excitedly motioned to the ocean. “Look kids, do you see that bird in the water? That is a blue heron fishing, he went to the spot you worked so hard to clean up.” It was a powerful and wonderful message to take home. As Wilcox put it, “From an education point of view, the day could not have been better.”

And the news gets even better. Mejia explained that Congress recently passed an act called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that funded the Nature Conservancy in partnership with Malama Maunalua through by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a large-scale restoration project in Maunalua Bay. This project has created 50 new “green” jobs at Pono Pacific, a company that specializes in ecosystem restoration services (www.ponopacific.com), through the clearing of 22 acres of the invasive seaweed species. One of the valuable lessons the students took home with them was that every helping hand brings us one step closer to ensuring the survival and beauty of our Bay. Through their involvement, they can make a difference today and for future generations.