University of Hawaii Honolulu Community College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Ka Māla o Niuhelewai: This is a dryland taro farm located in the historical Niuhelewai area which is the present-day Honolulu Community College campus. Started and planted in 2011, 20 varieties of Kalo are being cultivated, and numerous activity days for participants from the campus and the community take place frequently within the māla. All plants are labeled which includes multiple Native Hawaiian plants. The meteorological processes of the māla are tracked by a meteorological station installed and run by Professor John Delay who utilizes that station to teach students to compute various meteorological processes and water balance. This space won the 2012 Scenic Hawaii Betty Crocker Landscape Award by Xeriscape. In 2013-14 Professor Alapaki Luke who runs the māla also received the Honolulu CC Chancellor's sustainability award for the building and planting of this garden. The garden itself is maintained on Hā ( garden work days) Fridays from 9 am - 10:30 am. Participation is limited to 25 with covid. Sign-ups are with Mahi La Pierre lapierre@hawaiil.edu or Mark Alapaki Luke marklike@hawaii.edu
waiver release/sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvI6nhnsa3i_hAXCp1BOLdHuxP19EeNhJTFo7Zrg8bHQDYGA/viewform

The māla is also used as a site for cultural-based place-based learning within an active
Federal US Department of Education Title III grant, Aha Kalāualani: Kūkalahale Professional Development Opportunity. This grant has been running from (2015-2021). The purpose is to progress all areas of education by creating programs and sharing resources in ways that clearly maximize the benefits to Native Hawaiians
https://ohana.kapiolani.hawaii.edu/title-iii/This grant (phase 1: $7,882,423 over Phase II for $3, 894 for a total of 7,886,317)  is also used in the annual Ho'olaule'a celebration. This campus-wide event occurs within the māla. In preparation for the event, an imu (underground oven where smoked meats are prepared) is dug, and an earth day campus cleanup is held. During Ho'olaule'a, Native Hawaiian food, dance, and music are shared.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1KbDGwHQ3ZduXOFI8bswiqJQv7_PkEppAContact Information: Kūlana Hawaiʻi Division Chair: Mark Alapaki Luke, 844-2372, markluke@hawaii.edu, hulilik@hawaii.edu

Mālama ʻĀina Days (part of the Ho'ala Hou Program grant) began in 2006 as part of the Native Hawaiian Career Technical Education Program. The Mālama ʻĀina Days have since become a campus-wide activity coordinated in partnership by TRIO-SSS, Hulili Ke Kukui Hawaiian Center, Poʻi Nā Nalu Native Hawaiian Career & Technical Education Program and Nā Papa Hawaiʻi. There are 5 events per semester throughout the island and at a variety of community partner sites, from loʻi kalo (wetland taro patches), to māla ʻai (community gardens), and loko iʻa (fishponds). Most events are to help local community organizations tied to the practice of aloha aina and which can contribute to student learning through service. The space is open to all students and faculty and provides hands-on opportunities to learn more about Hawaiian culture and traditional sustainability practices such as: cultivating and harvesting taro, and water management. The event starts at 7:45 am and ends by 3:00 pm. This is a chance to learn about "aloha 'āina" giving back/respecting the land we live off of. Many of the Hawaiian Studies program

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRqulDZmqnyJLVVxaWzvAkz8HdzZU8tEV3uhgPMPrJhyKT0g/viewform

Contact person : Paul Kalani Kaawa Flores Jr pflores@hawaii.edu

In 2018 an award:( Hahai no ka Ua Ululau'au ) Rain always follows the forest was presented to Kalani( Ho'ala hou program coordinator) along with Alapaki luke (Hawaiian studies) and Isaiah Smith (Botany) for increasing the propagation of Mea Kanu (a native plant) through hands-on workshops and service learning opportunities to create a living resource for the entire campus and community.

John Delay is the HCC Co-PI on the Halau Ola Honua NSF PAGE grant, a federal multi-campus grant including Honolulu Community college, Windward Community college, Kauai Community college, and the University of Hawai'i, Manoa. The focus is on increasing native Hawaiian enrollment in SOEST( School of Ocean sciences) and NREM( Natural Resource Management). Students, receive a $3000 stipend and hands-on experience and can use this opportunity to fulfill the capstone requirement for the Sustainability Academic subject certification.

One example student project is the Research of temperature and humidity profiles and fog on Mt. Kaala, which has resulted in SACNAS and AGU presentations.

Mealworm and Styrofoam Recycling project (Part of the Page Project Grant) researched how CO2 produced from mealworms eating styrofoam plastic can be used to recycle styrofoam and augment plant growth. This is a class project for Science 295V with Professor Michelle Nathan. The CO2 being released from the worms was used to augment both mint and ficus plants. The mealworms were able to recycle the styrofoam with little to no remnants making the waste compostable and safe to use in gardens.
Faculty Advisor: Michelle Nathan mhw@hawaii.edu

The Hale hālāwai (meeting house) is a traditionally constructed Native Hawaiian gathering space/thatched roof structure located on the Honolulu Community College Campus near the Hawaiian Center. Multiple Hawaiian cultural practitioners ensured Native Hawaiian building protocol was maintained while building the Hale. The Hale was completed over a total of two years as a community effort. The materials were sourced from repurposed waste. The wood: invasive mangroves, Kīawe (mesquite), and Inkberry wood were used. The removal of these wood materials is beneficial to the environment since it allows native plants that are better fit for the Hawaiian environment to thrive. This is especially true for the Mangrove wood that was removed from the He'eia fishpond ( https://paepaeoheeia.org/ ) since the mangrove wood is detrimental to the fishpond walls. Surrounding the Hale Native flora was planted and a Native Hawaiian-inspired mural symbolizing unity was done as a community effort. The Hale is used as a meeting house to greet visitors and host events for the Hawaiian center. The Hale is situated in Native Hawaiian custom in alignment with the coordinates so that it fits into the environment. The Hawaiian Studies classes are also conducted

link to video about Hale hālāwai: https://www.honolulu.hawaii.edu/services/hawaiian-center/

See the Energy section for the second building

The Solar Panel Structure which is located near the māla ( dry taro patch and community garden) on campus. This is the first of many solar panel projects on campus. This project was completed at the end of 2014 by Johnson Control which holds the contract for the University of Hawaii’s energy efficiency projects. The structure provides 1-2% annually of the power for the school. The Structure is used as a gathering and study space on campus; the structure features outlets and WiFi. The Solar Panel Structure also represents the same sustainability and community engagement themes as the māla which is why it was decided to be built alongside the māla.

The māla (more information under campus engagement) provides Native Hawaiian crops to be prepared as food for campus events.

The HonCC Greenhouse is run by Botany, Hawaiian Studies, and Agriculture professor Isaiah Smith. Under his guidance, students cultivate Native Hawaiian food crops and medicinal plants to distribute to students for different events including the annual Ho'olaule'a event ( see campus engagement ). Students taking AG 100 ( Intro to Agricultural Sciences) and HWST 105 ( Hawaiian Plants & Their Uses ) also utilize this space to cultivate plants learning to grow plants both from seed and propagation, which students take home as well.

see māla under public engagement. At the māla, the caretakers plant native varieties of many different plants to use as a

Zero Waste Audit was performed in 2018 by students to better understand the types of waste produced on campus. This effort was led by the Student Sustainability Club. The waste audit collected data and evaluated the amount of waste produced at Honolulu Community College. Waste was collected, then sorted into categories, and the weight and volume were recorded. Results showed a greater amount of recyclable materials thrown away on campus than previously predicted. The results are used to inform campus policy and justify zero-waste investments. Students also prepared a poster to present at the Undergraduate Research Symposium for their class projects in Zoology 200 Marine Biology lab. This is an ongoing project as the Student Sustainability Club is currently working to put on another Zero Waste Audit in Spring 2023 where the results from the first audit will be compared.

Michelle Nathan, Oceanography Professor and co-pi for the Halau Ola Honua NSF PAGE grant is working with students to create baseline water chemistry measurements for the pond located at Loi Kalo Park in Kalihi. The students also deposited approximately 80 Genki balls into the pond in hopes of restoring water quality. The students worked to characterize the temperature, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, sediment depth, and microbial concentrations in three different sections of the pond. This is an ongoing project for Oceanography 201 with Professor Michelle Nathan.

Lo'i Kalo Park Community Service: This community service opportunity is run by Robert Silva (Professor in the Automotive Technology program). Community service programs include land restoration, Kalo ( taro), watercress harvesting, and Kapa (bark used to make cloth). Robert also teaches cultural practices, Hawaiian 'Aina practices, and food production to participants. He invites HonCC community individuals, student clubs, and other groups to come help. The workdays occur every Saturday. The first Saturday of each month is the biggest work day of the month. Open to all: students, and corporate groups wanting to do community service. Some groups that have participated in the past are the epilepsy foundation, construction agencies, 808 cleanups, and individuals. This is done in collaboration with the Genki ball water restoration project.

Robert Silva also received a Certificate from the Council of the City and County of Honolulu honoring his stewardship of Lo'i Kalo Mini Park in February of 2023.

Ola Niuhelewai Federal Title III grant “Improving native Hawaiian success through well-being” ( https://1drv.ms/w/s!Ar_IeY5mxRxMhAGav4mLGTRx1sGN). 10/1/2020 - 9/30/2025. Ola Niuhelewai is partnering with Hoʻoulu ʻĀina( Kokua Kalihi Valley) which serves as a site for mālama ʻāina service learning activities as well as mentorship in traditional resource management practices and well-being/health practices. This grant connects cultural practitioners to help teach students about "what it is to be Hawaiian" and how to succeed. Colonization, loss of cultural identity, and displacement are among the social determinants that have negatively impacted Native Hawaiians’ health and well-being. As a result, Native Hawaiians made up 39% of the incarcerated population in 2009 (OHA, 2010) and 42.3% of the population admitted for substance abuse treatment in 2017 (OHA, 2018). In addition, 42.7% of the Native Hawaiian population was categorized as obese in 2017 (OHA, 2019, Obesity Indicators). A leading social determinant that influences Native Hawaiian health and well-being is educational attainment. The relationship between receiving post-secondary education and training and improving mauli ola (well-being) is reciprocal—healthy students demonstrate higher retention and graduation rates and students who receive a certificate and/or degree have increased opportunities to obtain high-skill, high-wage employment which positively impacts health and well-being. To this end, this project proposes activities that will raise the satisfactory academic progress, retention, and graduation of Native Hawaiian students at HonCC by increasing health literacy through a culturally relevant curriculum focused on the roles of aina (land) and ola pono (personal health and wellness) in mauli ola (well-being).
HCC has taken on initiatives to help our students identify their home and make that important connection to place and their cultural identity.

Hon CC Points of Contact
Susan Nishida (PI),
Faith Kahale Saito (Co-PI/Project Manager), fsaito@hawaii.edu,
Kaleialoha Lum-Ho (Co-PI/Project Manager) Coordinator, Hulili Ke Kukui Hawaiian Center lumho@hawaii.edu, Phone: (808) 845-9176
http://www.honolulu.hawaii.edu/hawaiian

From 2017 to 2021, Hulili Ke Kukui coordinated a program known as “Kūkalaʻula.” The Kūkalaʻula STEM Pathways Program was part of “Building Occupations and ʻOhana through STEM Training (BOOST)”, a consortium grant sponsored by ALU LIKE, Inc. and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Indian and Native American Employment Training Program. The program implemented culturally appropriate, place-based strategies to inspire the next cohort of Native Hawaiian STEM majors and natural resource managers.

The goals of this program were to:

1) Increase recruitment, retention, and performance for Native Hawaiian students pursuing STEM fields at Honolulu Community College.
2) Build connections between STEM and culture by creating a foundation through education and hands-on experiences.
3) Foster a sense of identity by engaging the students in Native Hawaiian community issues and the individuals/organizations that are positively contributing to these efforts.
4) Expose our students to as many Native Hawaiian college graduates that have succeeded in attaining a college degree, as to provide a practical understanding of how the graduates are utilizing thier degrees in the community.
5) Establish mentoring relationships with Native Hawaiian professionals that will positively contribute to the student’s college career.

As a result of their participation, students gained:
• A deeper understanding of the concepts of kuleana, aloha ʻāina, and ʻike pono
• An understanding of the importance of place
• An understanding of traditional natural resource management practices
• An understanding of the connections between STEM and culture
• Exposure to career opportunities in STEM and natural resource management
• Mentorship from Native Hawaiian natural resource practitioners
• A network of peers to support their educational journey
• Academic and career advising
• Training in cultural protocols

In the four-year grant period, a total of 93 students participated in service-learning and natural resource management training.