Programs and partners that utilize the HETF for engagement opportunities are highlighted here. IPIF/HETF supports partner programs by coordinating, hosting and/or leading field or service learning trips, mentoring students and interns, providing camping supplies, personnel or travel support, and sharing scientific expertise with educators.
A selection of IPIF’s partners and programs are highlighted below:
Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Programs
YCC programs in Hawai‘i are administered by Kupu, a nonprofit community organization. The HETF has supported Kupu YCC summer teams since 2012. Team members (ages 17-20) complete hands-on fieldwork at various worksites during their 7 week program. IPIF also supports individualized 8 week and year round YCC/AmeriCorps programs that work with USFS staff.
Forest TEAM Internship Program
IPIF and the Hawai‘i Community College’s Tropical Forest and Environmental Management Program (Forest TEAM) have worked in partnership since 2000 to provide undergraduates experiences in research and management of natural resources. These internships provide the opportunity for close mentorship by researchers and valuable hands-on, real world experience in research fields. This partnership has increased IPIF’s ability to offer more internships in STEM fields and has resulted in an enriched and diverse USFS workplace. In 2013-2014, IPIF supported 8 Forest TEAM internships.
Manaulu Manowaiopae
The USFS is a partner with Laupāhoehoe Community Public Charter School (LCPCS) and works with the school’s teachers and administration on ways to integrate curriculum with hands on experience both in and out of the classroom. Graduate student James Akau has been working with the LCPCS to increase student exposure to local natural and cultural resources, and teach conservation and restoration through the Manaulu Manowaiopae program.
Na Pua Noeau
The Na Pua Noeau Summer Institute is a 2-week, all expenses paid, summer residential program on various University of Hawai‘i (UH) and college campuses for Native Hawaiian youth, grades 6-12, with theme-based classes led by instructors from multiple disciplines. The program’s aim is to make the university and college campus a familiar place to students and their families so that the transition into higher education is seamless. The USFS partners with Na Pua Noeau at UH Hilo to offer a field-based course that explores the different landscapes of Hawai‘i Island by visiting various wahipana (storied places) including the HETF and connecting with those places to gain a better understanding and appreciation of our relationship to our island’s natural resources. In 2013-2014 the program hosted 22 participants.
The HETF acts in partnership with the following organizations (listed in alphabetical order):
- The Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests (AFTF) – https://akakaforests.org/
- Arizona State University (ASU) – https://www.asu.edu/
- Coral Reef Research Foundation – https://coralreefpalau.org/
- Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) – http://dhhl.hawaii.gov/
- Friends of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge – http://www.friendsofhakalauforest.org/
- Hālau ‘Ōhi‘a – https://www.facebook.com/halauohia/
- Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance (HCA) – https://www.hawaiiconservation.org/
- Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources – http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/
- Hawai‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife – http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/
- Hawaiʻi Environmental Education Alliance (HEEA) – http://heea.org/core/news/list.aspx
- Hawaiʻi National Park Service – https://www.nps.gov/state/hi/index.htm
- Imi Pono No Ka ʻĀina – https://www.facebook.com/imi.pono.no.ka.aina/
- The Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF) – https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/ipif/
- Kohala Center – https://kohalacenter.org/
- Kohala Watershed Partnership (KWP) – https://kohalacenter.org/kwp
- Kupu – https://www.kupuhawaii.org/
- Laupāhoehoe Community Public Charter School (LCPCS) http://www.lcpcs.org/
- Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance (MKWA) – https://maunakeawatershed.org/
- Micronesian Conservation Trust – http://www.ourmicronesia.org/
- Nā Pua Noʻeau – https://www.facebook.com/NPN.NaPuaNoeau
- The National Science Foundation’s National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) – https://www.neonscience.org/
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) – https://www.oha.org/
- Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) – https://www.obfs.org/
- Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) – https://hilo.hawaii.edu/uhintern/
- Department of Land and National Resources (DLNR) – https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/
- State of Hawaiʻi National Area Reserves System (NARS) – https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/nars/
- Three Mountain Alliance (TMA) – https://threemountainalliance.org/
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – https://www.fws.gov/
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Hub – https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/
- United States Geological Survey (USGS) – https://www.usgs.gov/
- University of Hawaiʻi: Hilo & Mānoa Campuses – https://www.hawaii.edu/
- USA National Phenology Network – https://www.usanpn.org/usa-national-phenology-network
- USDA Forest Service – https://www.fs.usda.gov/
Biolcultural Blitz Outreach Videos
Ka ʻĀina Aloha O Nāpuʻupūʻalukinikini
Connecting to Place with the Keakealani ʻOhana
Ka Māulukua ʻŌiwi i ke Kuaola O Hualālai
Learning About Native Species and the Amazing Dryland Forests of Hualālai
I Ka Lōkahi Ko Kākou Ola Ai
Learning About Non-native Species and the Importance of Protecting Native Ecosystems in Hawaiʻi