KAUPA (Kalihi Ahupuaʻa Ulu Pono Ahahui) is getting Kalihi, Oʻahu, students out in Kalihi Stream—monitoring water quality, planting native species, and doing overall stream restoration. In partnership with 4th-grade teachers from Kalihi Waena Elementary School, they’ve created a curriculum for students to examine and understand their entire watershed.
The response has been tremendous: One teacher says that by learning what helps and harms our earth, the students are now applying this knowledge to their everyday life. Another teacher applauds the curriculum for featuring hands-on activities, providing for learning styles that differ from the traditional lecture approach. The elementary school principal notes that not only are students learning about native Hawaiian land and stream use, they’re building relationships with each other and applying theory to a real-life setting.
If you want to learn more about the Kalihi Ahupuaʻa curriculum, please contact Dana Guilizia, KAUPA’s Education Coordinator at (808) 489-0884 or gulizia@hawaii.edu.
