MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii -- High school students from various Oahu schools participated in the fifth Ecology Camp held aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, March 27-30.
Approximately 50 students and 19 chaperones from the Sierra Club High School Hikers Program went on multiple tours and pulled weeds on base during their visit.
After arriving March 27, students from Leilehua, Farrington, Campbell, Moanalua and Roosevelt High Schools received a warm welcome from the MCB Hawaii Base Environmental office. They set up tents on the Hale Koa Beach campgrounds and had dinner at the Anderson Hall Dining Facility.
Later that evening, students listened to multiple presentations with topics ranging from the wildlife and plants found on base, to restorative projects previously conducted on base.
Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter showed students the downfalls to "short-term thinking" and the importance of having environmentalists in society.
Harris demonstrated his point with photographs of houses and trees mistakenly built or planted in less than ideal locations and consequently destroyed by nature. Harris said environmentalists are needed to put on activities such as Ecology Camps to encourage planning for the environment’s future.
Diane Drigot, Ph.D., senior natural resources management specialist, Base Environmental, talked to the students about tree and weed removal, and other major landscaping projects conducted on base to help the environment.
Using a slide presentation, she showed the students "before" and "after" photographs of each landscape project, highlighting the changes.
"I really like what they changed," said Farrington High School senior Kurth Munar. "They made a lot more [areas] greener."
The students then settled down with a campfire and snacks for the night.
On Saturday morning, the students became official "weed warriors," pulling weeds in the various wetlands on base.
They were taught to look for two of the most persistent, invasive weeds found in MCB Hawaii wetlands, California grass and mangrove. These two weeds, according to Drigot, are not native to the area and are harmful to the native plants and animals trying to subsist in the wetlands.
In the afternoon, students were divided into four different groups, each receiving a unique tour of the base. Some groups were able to see the base's famous flocks of red-footed booby birds, while others were given a lesson on archeology or geology.
A fourth group toured Mokapu Watershed with several knowledgeable guides, observing living features of the watershed, including native Hawaiian plants like Akulikuli and non-native plants such as pickleweed, both of which are edible. Students were given the opportunity to try a piece of each.
Robert Keane, co-chair, Ecology Camp 2009, said people should experience nature firsthand in order to learn about it. In that sense, they can walk away with a new respect for the environment.
“I think you tend to treasure the things you have a little more when you come back from a wilderness experience like [Ecology Camp],” Keane said.
For several of the students, this was their first Ecology Camp. Campbell High School junior Chanelle Bulseco, a resident of Ewa Beach, said what surprised her the most was the degree of harm non-native plants could bring to native plants and animals. She said the best part about Ecology Camp was being able to meet students from other schools.
Campbell High School senior Charlene Balboa and Roosevelt sophomore Jarvis Ishigami said they both enjoyed the weed service project.
Drigot has been an active force of the Ecology Camps on MCB Hawaii, since she started the first one in 1983.
Throughout the weekend, Drigot accompanied the students to several sites on the base, introducing them to multiple plants.
“Hosting this camp not only helps the students become responsible stewards of the environment, but also allows the base to nourish our relationship with the community and build on our mutual environmental interests,” Drigot said. “It helps us all sustain our resources when we work together.”
The feeling is mutual with Keane, who was also in favor of MCB Hawaii's teamwork with the HSHP.
“Partnerships like this provide an opportunity for the military to work with civilian environmental groups in restoring [the] habitat in this very significant cultural area," Keane said. “High School Hikers welcomes the opportunity to join with the Marines in this effort.”
The Sierra Club was founded in California by naturalist John Muir in 1892. The Sierra Club HSHP was established in 1971 as a means to allow students to participate in hikes while learning how to protect and maintain the environment.
The HSHP is supported by the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter and teaches high school students about the environment, hiking, camping and community service projects.
Each year, HSHP participates in an Ecology Camp excursion to various Oahu locations and sometimes, neighboring islands. The program chooses either an ocean or mountain location, and switches the following year.
For more information, visit http://www.highschoolhikers.org.