I think about how when I was younger, my parents shared stories with me from India and how this made me feel connected to a land I barely knew: the history, the animals, the people. I felt the same way taking field trips to different parks and forests across Kentucky as a kid, hearing stories about the ecology and how people learned about and used the land throughout time. Stories are so powerful, and the parks truly provide such a great way to share stories to pass scientific knowledge. Each park has its history to share – cultural history, ecological history, and so-on. A primary scientific method in many non-Western cultures is storytelling as a way to pass on ecological knowledge and connect people to land. When we weave together scientific knowledge with ecological narratives, we can engage youth with science in beautiful ways.

In Native Hawaiian culture, the sharing of mo’olelo, or legends, and the performance of

hula are story telling devices that teach and preserve cultural understandings of what we gain from nature emotionally, spiritually, and physically. While I was working at the park, my coworker and I shared stories with each other from our cultures. We did this while participating in cultural activities, scientific lessons, or field work. One day, she brought flowers from her grandmother’s house for us to make leis together. While connecting the flowers along the ribbon, she shared the importance and uses of leis in Hawai’ian culture and I noticed many similarities with garland making and uses in India. Through these stories, we not only connected with each other but also shared how our people connected with their local ecologies. During my research and conversations with people, I learned how Native Hawaiian values are connected to sustainable living, caring for and listening to the land, and being stewards of the Earth for future generations – values I align with through my own cultural upbringing.

The addition of cultural understandings of place and ecology is a key component to effective climate education if our goals include enacting change and instilling connection to land. Given the history of the National Park system, particularly the displacement of indigenous communities, we have a responsibility to prioritize and value traditional ecological knowledge, especially given its effectiveness in environmental action. My summer working with NPS taught me that Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and other parks across the country have such a great opportunity to share more than just groundbreaking climate change and other scientific research, but also wisdom and

inspiration and connection to land. We should certainly be using all the tools we have to combat climate change, and this includes sharing narratives of the places our youth are familiar with. The passing of ecological knowledge through storytelling has historically been rejected as a valid form of science by ‘the West’ – but traditional ecological knowledge and the ways it’s shared inspires connection to land and dedication to sustainability and caring for all types of community, including ecological. Storytelling is also an incredibly engaging way to share scientific information to the public, especially when accompanied by active learning in park settings. I saw this as my supervisor and coworker ran education programs – students loved hearing mo’olelo, personal stories, etc. about the park and the island’s ecology. I incorporated storytelling into the curriculum I built, but I plan to continue using storytelling throughout my scientific journey as I complete my PhD and beyond. It is not only a powerful tool of engagement, inquiry, and knowledge sharing, but also a connection to my own heritage, within which storytelling is a key connector of people to land.

I also want to take this opportunity to give a huge shout out and thanks to my amazing supervisor, Jody Anastasio, and my coworker, Kealani Haney, for being so welcoming, helpful, and wonderful during my summer.

Wildfires are thus a huge threat to the park’s management of resources – they threaten native and endemic species, archives, buildings, etc. – and a huge threat to local communities. They destroy huge areas of land that sustain people’s livelihoods and cultures, they destroy homes and sacred spaces, and climate change is making this happen what seems like constantly. So of course, this seemed like a pretty important climate change related impact that needed to be included in the curriculum. A lesson plan around wildfires could cover so much ground: drought, changes in rainfall, invasive species, the importance of vegetation, and so on. I wanted students to do more than learn about why wildfires were happening more frequently, or what consequences this frequency has for the island’s ecology or communities. I also wanted this lesson to help them reconnect with their scientific intuition and establish a more long-term ability to learn from their environments.

The lesson takes students through the Ha‘akulamanu trail and parts of the Crater Rim trail. With the Youth Rangers, we started with a discussion on the wildfires that had been happening on the island most recently and I asked them to identify what they thought were contributing factors to the fires spread and cause. As we walked through the trails, I asked them to observe the vegetation and identify characteristics that they thought might cause wildfires to occur or spread more quickly. They suggested things like a plant’s leaf shape, how easily it moved in the wind, its wetness versus dryness, and a bunch of other characteristics. During the hike, they were touching the vegetation and spending a lot of time seriously observing and considering whether it would survive or spread a wildfire. As we continued through the trail, I would point out various vegetation types and ask whether they’d be good fuel for fire. The Youth Rangers themselves sparked tons of discussion points as we walked and observed including agricultural burning practices and how they’re useful for keeping wildfire incidence down, ways to educate communities about lowering wildfire risk, and the ecological and cultural consequences of wildfires.

We ended the lesson with a wildfire game developed by the University of Colorado – Boulder and NOAA. They were asked to allocate community resources in response to a spreading wildfire. As we played, we discussed what resources were most beneficial (or not) and they pointed out the importance of having a strong community focused on helping each other, rather than benefiting the self. During the game, they were constantly deploying community volunteers and figuring out ways their personal skills and interests would benefit the community given a wildfire scenario. Getting the chance to conduct this lesson helped me remember how willing our youth are to work together to enact necessary change. It also helped me remember how strong our scientific intuition can be when students are outside of their classrooms and able to actually observe and analyze the environment. Tapping into this intuition through inquiry-based, student-centered lessons helps students better understand how to recognize the impacts of climate change that are all around them. It was also just so much fun to have these important conversations and listen to the Youth Rangers’ ideas about how we can best solve them through community-focused initiatives. I’m looking forward to hearing from my park supervisor and colleagues about how the other lesson plans from the curriculum go once they’re implemented!

According to Hawaiian mo’olelo (legend and history), the birds got their color from the kupua (supernatural entity) Maui. The ancient Hawaiians were always appreciative of the birds of Hawai’i – their songs could be heard across the skies and the graceful movements of their wings caused the trees to follow suit. Though the Hawaiians knew the birds were around, they were invisible – and only Maui could see them. When another kupua came to visit Maui, he called upon the birds to fly and sing, eventually letting the other kupua and the people see their beauty. It is even said that the birds were painted by Maui himself!

The feathers of the birds have thus been used in Hawaiian traditions to create leis and adorn cloaks and helmets for nobility. Certain honeycreepers, such as the ‘apapane, serve as kinolau, or physical embodiments and representations of ancient Hawaiian deities. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are tied strongly with native Hawaiian culture as birds of great significance, a testament to their natural significance as endemic birds that serve important ecological roles across the islands. From pollination to seed dispersal to other-species management through predator-prey relationships, the Hawaiian honeycreepers are essential to local ecologies.

Unfortunately, they are also extremely susceptible to the impacts of human activities. Invasive species from and habitat destruction by European and American colonization have drastically reduced honeycreeper populations (and resulted in many species’ extinctions). The honeycreepers are also experiencing the effects of climate change in various ways. As temperatures rise, mosquitos that serve as vectors of avian malaria are able to populate higher elevations where honeycreepers reside, leading to even more reduced populations of these beautiful birds. With climate change (and other human activities), the Hawaiian islands and people risk losing a part of their history and their ecology. The preservation of both, neither above the other, is vital.

This summer, I’m working at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to build a high school climate science curriculum that helps students better understand how climate change not only impacts the environment, but also culture. The goal of the Park is to preserve the island’s natural and cultural resources through various methods, one of which is educating and inspiring youth. That’s where I come in, with my awesome coworkers! I am super grateful to help remind students that their ecologies have a rich natural and cultural history that they are deeply connected to. As part of the curriculum, I’m planning lessons that show how intertwined these histories are and helping students brainstorm how we can mix approaches to combat climate change. I get to do hikes around the park and plan lessons based on them – my two favorite activities combined!

I just finished a honeycreepers lesson for students. Walking through Kīpuka Pua’ulu, a short hike at the Park nicknamed ‘bird park’, students get the opportunity to hear and see honeycreepers high in the trees (thanks, Maui!) as they learn about their importance and the threats they experience. They’ll also learn that these threats impact not only the birds or the ecology, but also the native Hawaiian people and the continuation of their stories. The team I work with at the Park hopes this curriculum will inspire high school students to fight to preserve the land and the people of Hawai’i from destructive human activities.

As my summer progresses, I’ll update more on the lessons I’m building and the things I’m learning along the way! Stay tuned for more

Special thanks to Kealani Haney for her immense knowledge and her willingness to share it.