Waikoloa Middle School Earth Day - Classroom Wildfire Lessons

Everyday is Earth Day for HWMO - the work we do everyday has a positive impact on the ʻaina. We had the special privilege on Earth Day (and the day after) to give hour-long lessons to a series of 5 sixth- and seventh-grade classes at Waikoloa Middle School. "Lesson" is a bit of a dry way to put it, however. Pablo Beimler, Education & Outreach Coordinator, started with a presentation with plenty of photos and Kaleo the Pueo pictures to help build an understanding of the wildfire issue in Hawaii. Within each class, we had a few Ocean Warriors students who were experts on the subject already (especially those who put on the Kaleo the Pueo Finds His Voice play at the OW Showcase on April 4th) and could help explain to the other students some of the wildfire impacts and solutions.

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Tom Loomis (left) asks judges to make their final decision.

The second half of each lesson was led by Tom Loomis, our Garden Manager and an incredible teacher. Mr. Loomis first had students (and teachers) rise for "fire stretches", demonstrating how a "ladder fuel" works. Then, he called on volunteers to come join him "on stage" for a Firewise Plant Game Show. For each class, one student was chosen to be the "Vanna White" of the show, carrying around a potted plant to each classmate to let them get a good feel for the plant before deciding whether the plant would go into a Firewise garden. They would then shout out whether they believed the plant was a "happy face," "neutral face," or "sad face." The judges "on stage" would then have to come to a consensus and reveal their answers. If they couldnʻt, it was back to the drawing board for them. 

We showed them a variety of plants including "happy face" plants like ʻaʻaliʻi, koa, and ʻilima oʻahu; "neutral face" plants like dill and ʻawa; and "sad face" plants like eucalyptus, pepper trees, and pili grass.

After an hour lesson, the students became expert Firewise landscapers!

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Hawaii Community College Career & Job Fair 2015

Pablo Beimler showcases Hawaii's new wildfire prevention mascot: Kaleo the Pueo.

This last few days, Hawaii Wildfire has focused its outreach efforts heavily on our youth. We set-up a booth at this year's Hawaii Community College Career & Job Fair on April 6th, captivating a number of college-aged attendees who took interest in all that Hawaii Wildfire does (and the new Kaleo the Pueo stickers we gave out.) We had the pleasure of conducting our outreach next to our partners from the HCC Fire Science Program (http://hawaii.hawaii.edu/firescience/) and Hawaii Fire Department. 

Ocean Warriors Showcase and Kaleo the Pueo Skit

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Kaleo the Pueo (right) finds out about Humuhumunukunukuapuaa's struggles with coral reef pollution due to wildfire runoff.

On April 4th, Hawaii Wildfire linked up with Malama Kai Foundation's Ocean Warriors (http://www.malama-kai.org/ocean-warriors.html) for a unique event at Parker School Theater in Waimea. The Ocean Warriors program, an experiential youth program for local middle school students that engages them in "coastal stewardship and protection," put on a showcase to demonstrate all they had learned about climate change and its causes, impacts, and solutions.

The showcase, with the theme of "It's All Connected; We're All Connected," featured performances by the Waikoloa and Kohala Middle School students. The event began with the dozens of performers getting up on stage and singing a heartfelt song written by Elizabeth Pickett about the Big Island's beautiful landmarks, concluding with the words: "Malama Ka ʻAina I Ke Ka." Students than gave presentations and sang additional songs to paint the picture of the climate change issues we all face as a local and global community. In between these performances, local poets Josh Horan and Pablo Beimler shared their slam poetry about a Poetry Tree and Hokupaʻa, respectively. They handed off the mic to some of the students who performed their own haiku poems that they wrote during a service project day in Oʻahu (with their beautiful artwork featured on the screen behind them.)

During the last part of the showcase, representatives from local community organizations gave background to the audience about their programs and upcoming volunteer opportunities. The organizations that presented were: South Kohala Coastal Partnership, Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative, Mālaʻai Garden, and Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization.

HWMO's Pablo Beimler helped write and direct a skit for the Ocean Warriors students that they performed to round out the showcase. The skit featured Kaleo the Pueo and his friends as a way to release Kaleo to the public in a creative fashion. The kids dressed up in great costumes and did an amazing job performing "Kaleo the Pueo Finds His Voice." 

We had such an amazing time rehearsing with the students and teaching them about wildfire impacts and solutions this past year. In the end, the students were the ones who taught their parents and communities about the lessons they had learned. We take comfort in knowing these students will be leading the charge in the very near future!

Ocean Warriors Kohala - Fire Lesson at the Firewise Garden

On January 24th, we partnered once again with the Ocean Warriors after-school program, part of the Malama Kai Foundation, to further familiarize students with wildfire issues in Hawaii and what the community can do about them. The Ocean Warriors program is an experiential youth program for local middle school students that engages them in "coastal stewardship and protection." Saturday's group of students, who traveled from North Kohala, joined us at the Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park for a morning of fun and learning. We introduced the students, who we had already taught about wildfire issues in Hawaii, to the concepts of creating defensible space and hardening the home by walking them through the Ready, Set, Go! Action Guides we helped developed for Hawaii. However, leafing through a booklet was only a small portion of the learning experience. We wanted to fully ingrain the students in the concepts of Ready, Set, Go!, so we took the students on a scavenger hunt of the native plant garden. The students had to interview native plants, check out the demo home structure to learn how to fire-proof a home, and find a strange coconut hanging on one of the non-native pepper trees. Following the scavenger hunt, we engaged the students in some community action by taking them to the highest risk area of Waikoloa Village and handing out flyers to the residents about the upcoming CWPP community meeting in Waikoloa and the Wildfire Preparedness Team meeting on February 4th at 6 P.M. at the Waikoloa Community Room. The students had a blast running door-to-door - we hit about 100+ houses in an hour! We were so lucky to be working with such outstanding young citizens.

In April, we will be collaborating with the program for their end-of-the-year showcase where the students will present, in a creative fashion, what they have learned this year (including about wildfire) to the community. Stay tuned for information on the exact date and time of the event!

Banner photo: Ocean Warriors students in the forefront read about how to fire-proof a home while students in the back read about native plants.

Ocean Warriors Waikoloa Group A - Fire Lesson and Flyering

Our flurry of Ocean Warriors meet-ups and volunteer efforts continued on Saturday, January 17th with a group of students who we hadn't met, yet, and were new to the wildfire world. The Ocean Warriors after-school program, part of the Malama Kai Foundation, is an experiential youth program for local middle school students that engages them in "coastal stewardship and protection." The Saturday event began with a wildfire lesson through a storyboard presentation at the Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park. Once the students got a sense of the wildfire issues in Hawaii, we led the students through a scavenger hunt to familiarize the students with the Firewise demonstration garden. Students quickly grasped the basic concepts of the Ready, Set, Go! program and how they could help the community become more aware of the wildfire situation and what homeowners could do about it. To take that to the next level, the HWMO team took the students to the highest risk area of Waikoloa Village and handed out flyers to the residents about the upcoming CWPP community meeting on January 28th at 6 P.M. at the Waikoloa Community Room and the Wildfire Preparedness Team meeting on February 4th at 6 P.M. also at the Waikoloa Community Room. We had a blast with the students, who are becoming outstanding, knowledgeable citizens. 

In April, we will be collaborating with the program for their end-of-the-year showcase where the students will present, in a creative fashion, what they have learned this year (including about wildfire) to the community. Stay tuned for information on the exact date and time of the event! 

Banner photo: Scavenger hunt keeps students engaged in the garden.

Ocean Warriors (Group B) Waikoloa Garden Cleanup Afternoon

In an ongoing effort to teach middle school students the importance of being prepared far in advance of wildfire season, we took the first of three groups of Ocean Warriors students to the Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park for a garden cleanup afternoon. The Ocean Warriors after-school program, part of the Malama Kai Foundation, is an experiential youth program for local middle school students that engages them in "coastal stewardship and protection." We consider the students "stewards of the garden" - the afternoon event was these students' first volunteer action at the garden.

Last month, we introduced the students to the wildfire issue in Hawaii and about the Ready, Set, Go! Program that touts creating defensible space as one of many important ways to be prepared for a wildfire. The students put the core concept into action by helping tend to the demo garden that has taken off with the recent rain events. A great number of the plants that have "taken off" are native, drought-tolerant plants that can help protect one's home from wildfire. A number of non-native weeds such as the never-dying bougainvillea did grow, as well. Students grabbed gloves and hand trowels and set out to take these pesky weeds out of the garden. In addition, they also collected leaves blown-over from a neighboring non-native invasive tree and placed them in trash bags.

Our garden manager, Tom Loomis also chipped in by sawing off the lower branches of the pepper trees on the property to 10 feet off the ground in accordance to Firewise principles. In just a couple of hours, the students managed to beautify the garden while also protecting it from the threat of wildfire. We hope their actions will inspire you to take action on your own home. Find out more of what you can do here: http://hawaiiwildfire.org/ready-set-go2.html.

In April, we will be collaborating with the program for their end-of-the-year showcase where the students will present, in a creative fashion, what they have learned this year (including about wildfire) to the community. Stay tuned for information on the exact date and time of the event!

Banner photo: Ocean Warrior students dig deep for weeds at the Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park.

Ocean Warriors Waikoloa (Group B) Fire Lesson at Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park

Hawaii Wildfire hosted the Ocean Warriors after-school program, part of the Malama Kai Foundation, at the Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park, as part of a series of fire lessons with the youth program for local middle school students. A group of seven students listened to and watched intently a "storyboard" lesson about Hawaii's wildfire issues taught by HWMO's Pablo Beimler and Elizabeth Pickett. Once the students gained a solid understanding of the impacts wildfires have on our natural resources and communities, Tom Loomis led the students through a scavenger hunt to learn the ins and outs of the Firewise demo garden. Students "interviewed" a variety of native plants and read about how to create defensible space and a hardened home using our Harden Your Home diorama. We had a great time with the students who were equally excited to spend time in the garden that they will become "stewards" of this coming year.

In April, we will be collaborating with the program for their end-of-the-year showcase where the students will present, in a creative fashion, what they'd learned this year (including about wildfire) to the community. Stay tuned for information on the exact date and time of the event! 

Banner photo: Ocean Warrior students crowd around native plants to learn more about them.

Ocean Warriors Kohala - Fire Lesson

The future of change-making efforts lies in our youth - a statement we live by as Hawaii Wildfire. On December 17th, we met with Ocean Warriors students from North Kohala at LST Landing in Kawaihae to teach them about the wildfire issue in Hawaii.  The Ocean Warriors after-school program, part of the Malama Kai Foundation, is an experiential youth program for local middle school students that engages them in "coastal stewardship and protection." When we met with them at Kawaihae, they were finishing up a lesson on climate change and the impacts it's having on the islands. One of those impacts is an increase in the frequency and severity of wildfires in Hawaii. Wildfires have their own set of impacts on the land, water, and people of Hawaii, which we presented to the Ocean Warriors students using a "storyboard" lesson (using a collection of photos to present the story of wildfire in Hawaii). The students were especially interested in how wildfires affected coastal resources (i.e. post-fire erosion and runoff that pollutes coral reefs), including the Kawaihae Harbor. This place-based learning experience hammered home the message to the students that whatever happens mauka will come down makai. 

We will be holding wildfire lessons with each group of students (Kohala and two Waikoloa groups) in addition to garden volunteer days at the Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park. In April, we will be collaborating with the program for their end-of-the-year showcase where the students will present, in a creative fashion, what they'd learned this year (including about wildfire) to the community. Stay tuned for information on the exact date and time of the event!

Banner photo: Ocean Warriors hold up fire triangle puzzle as an introduction into how we look at the wildfire issue.

Waimea Middle School IKAIR Day - Wildfire Lesson

Waimea Middle School students traveled by the busloads to a variety of different service sites for this year's IKAIR Day. Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization played host to 15 students and their teacher and TA for a morning at the Waikoloa Dryland Wildfire Safety Park. HWMO's Tom Loomis led the students through a series of fun activities with the help of Education and Outreach Coordinator Pablo Beimler and GIS Specialist Orlando Smith. The day started with a special chant by the students followed by a quick introduction to what HWMO had in store for the group. To kick things off, students were each handed a puzzle piece with either a "heat", "oxygen", or "fuel" label on it and were told to match up with their matching pieces. Within a few minutes, everyone was part of a Fire Triangle - the basis for understanding how fires start and act. Students were then led up to the neighboring parking lot for a game of fire tag. Through the exciting game, students gained an understanding for how wildfires can dramatically change Hawaii's ecosystems: from native dryland forests to fire-prone grasslands. 

Mr. Loomis continued the morning with a discussion on the difference between urban firefighters and wildland firefighters. Of course, rather than lecturing about it, we played a card sorting game to show that wildland firefighters were unique in that they had to carry out all of their equipment to wildfires. On that note, students got up and dressed up as wildland firefighters with equipment generously donated by National Park Service and Division of Forestry and Wildlife. To show just how difficult being a wildland firefighter was, a few students put on heavy packs and ran around the garden - we were stoked to see so many pack test finishers! Running around with a pack was certainly part of wildland firefighting, but we were missing the key ingredient - putting out the fire. Students took part in a thrilling Bucket Brigade team building exercise. Two teams duked it out to fill up a water bucket, the catch being the designated firefighter had to toss water from one bucket to another to fill it up. On top of that, the rest of the team had to carry a bucket of water suspended on a large handkerchief that they had to hold and steadily carry over to the firefighter. It was a tight finish, but the winning team made a big splash!

As noon edged nearer, Mr. Loomis taught students the basic principles of Firewise landscaping and Hardening the Home. What it came down to was good housekeeping. To demonstrate, students helped pick up debris blown over by a neighboring non-native tree. Within minutes, the native garden was looking spick and span thanks to their help. As a closing activity, we set up a watershed diorama to replicate post-fire erosion and its negative impacts on coral reefs. 

We had an amazing time with the students who most importantly had fun and learned a lot. Before the day begun, most students labeled themselves as 1s and 2s on a scale of 1 through 10 (10 being "I know everything about wildfire"). At the end of the day, most labeled themselves as 6s and 7s, which made us extremely happy to see! 

Big mahalo to the students who came out and to Ms. Shafer and Ms. Diana and to Waimea Middle School for helping make this special day possible.

Banner photo: Waimea Middle School students huddle around to get a better look at Hawaii's wildfire history.

Ocean Warriors Fire Lesson - 2013

HWMO collaborated with the Ocean Warriors program for a Fire Day in Waikoloa. Elizabeth Pickett and Pablo Beimler met with Tom Loomis and Maja Sommerfeld from Ocean Warriors to give a lesson on fire ecology and issues relevant to the Waikoloa region. Wildfire issues in Waikoloa are some of the most rampant on the island and are tied into ocean issues due to post-fire erosion and runoff events. 

The middle school students also enjoyed an informative guest lecture by Jen Lawson of one of HWMO's many local partner organizations: Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative. Jen touched on the importance of restoring native dryland forest vegetation to help combat the vicious fire cycle that has severely reduced the populations and chances for the repopulation of native dryland species.

As part of the concluding events to help the students visualize the fire cycle, we put on a game of "fire tag" which the energized kids thoroughly enjoyed.

Banner photo: Tom Loomis (right) prepares students for a game of fire tag.