Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 12, 1 December 2012 — UH MENTORS FOCUS ON MARINE DEBRIS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

UH MENTORS FOCUS ON MARINE DEBRIS

With the backdrop ot debris trom the Japan tsunami starting to wash up on HawāHshores, University of Hawai'i mentor Noe Duffy-Spikes teaches a group of Nā Pua No'eau students about the problem of marine debris. Nine months of lessons as part of the Mālama 'Āina Marine Debris Research Project will culminate in December, as students release and track wooden floaters into the oeean from Windward and Leeward O'ahu shorelines. Students will compare the results with their earlier predictions that were based on what they learned about oeean currents, traditional Hawaiian wayfinding and the principles of hydrology, such as density, whieh plays a major role in marine-debris dispersion. The curriculum was designed and taught by Native Hawaiian undergraduate and graduate students in the sciences as part of a pilot project between UH-Mānoa's Kua'ana Native Hawaiian Student Development Services and Nā Pua No'eau Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children. - Courtesy: UH-Mānoa