PaCES Symposium 2017

Summer high school student environmental research revealed July 15

Windward Community College
Contact:
Bonnie J Beatson, (808) 235-7374
Marketing Communications Dir, Windward Community College
Dave Krupp, 236-9121
Biological and Marine Sciences Professor, Natural Sciences
Posted: Jul 3, 2017

Students survey the reef in Kaneohe Bay
Students survey the reef in Kaneohe Bay

Winwardward Community College is developing future stewards of the environment through the PaCES (Pacific Center for Environmental Studies) summer environmental science program. In a symposium at Windward Community College on July 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., students will report on their group research projects, ranging from water quality analyses in mountain streams to coral reef assessment. Robert Richmond, PhD, director for Kewalo Marine Laboratory will be the keynote speaker. The public is invited.

PaCES Student Research Project Symposium
Saturday, July 15
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Uala Leaf Café in Hale ‘Ākoakoa at Windward Community College


The PaCES intensive 6-week program provides selected Hawai‘i high school juniors and seniors from 14 of Oahu’s public and private schools with hands-on education and research experiences in environmental science. The students will receive four (4) college credits and a $1,000 scholarship. The goal of the PaCES program is to introduce a new generation to the environmental issues that threaten our fragile ecosystem.

PaCES/HIMB hands-on reef research activities at Coconut Island and beyond
Students use scientific surveying techniques of coral reefs in Kāne‘ohe at the Hawai‛i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) at Moku o Lo‘e, better known as Coconut Island, the University of Hawaii’s world-renowned marine research institute. The pristine area is surrounded by an extensive, shallow coral reef, which makes for an ideal natural laboratory to study the health of Hawaii’s reefs.

PaCES summer program is based on performing active research techniques and community service projects combining the ahupua‘a perspective (ridge-to-reef) and place-based STEM learning. Using concepts of sustainability, Hawaiian cultural and traditional practices within the diversity of locations such as the He‘eia wetlands, Kāne‘ohe fishponds, Kualoa’s intertidal zones and many watersheds and estuaries along the Windward side, students complete the program with greater knowledge of their unique environment. 

The Instructors
PaCES instructors Dave Krupp (Windward CC biological and marine science professor), Rob Hutchinson (Kamehameha Schools science instructor), Manning Taite (Pacific American Foundation Studies, Nalu Studies) and Derek Esibill (Pacific American Foundation, WIRED) have worked together for more than 12 years to create an educated community of young adults. Many graduates of the PaCES program have gone on to college to pursue their goals in areas including the marine sciences, environment, technology, ecology and biology.

PaCES supports Hawai‘i state initiatives “55 by 25,” STEM (Science-Technology-Environment-Math), Hawaii’s 2050 Sustainability Plan and the Hawaiian Culture Initiative.

For more information, visit: https://www.windward.hawaii.edu/paces/Summer.php