Youth stewardship program at Hanauma Bay

Hawaii Independent Staff

HAWAII KAI — The UH Sea Grant Hanauma Bay Education Program recently established the E Mālama Hanauma Youth Stewardship Volunteer Program, a program designed to teach the students how to mālama (care for) this unique and precious natural resource, and then provide them with the opportunity to share this information with the nearly one million visitors who come to the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve each year.

Students will first interact directly with the Hanauma Bay Education Program staff who will share their expertise in topics such as Hawaiian fish and invertebrate identification, Hawaiian culture, coastal plant identification, and proper reef etiquette. In return, the students will be asked to commit to one four-hour shift per week for a minimum of two months.

The first training sessions are scheduled for Wednesday mornings in mid-June from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Advance registration is required. For more information or to register, please contact: Gavin Iwai, Hanauma Bay Education Program Stewardship Coordinator, at (808) 397-5840, email: [email protected] or visit www.HanaumaBayEducation.org.

No experience is necessary.

Youth stewardship volunteers must:

• Be at least 16-21 years old
• Have their own transportation to and from Hanauma Bay
• Commit to one four-hour shift per week for a minimum of two months. Shifts run every day from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. (except on Tuesdays when the park is closed for maintenance)