Wildlands Studies: Hawaii - Marine Management

Join us on one of the planet’s most remote archipelagos: the Hawaiian Islands. This island chain is among the most geologically active and ecologically fascinating island systems, with a rich history of traditional management and knowledge systems. This unique opportunity allows students to conduct scientific investigations of Hawai’i’s ecosystems, visit and learn about unique sites, and learn from local people deep in the heart of the islands, off the ‘beaten path’ that most tourists take. 

The program will take place on the Big Island of Hawaii and examine “mai ka ʻāina a ke kai”, Hawaiian for “from the land to the sea”. Hawaiian peoples, and many Pacific Island peoples, recognize the critical link between land and sea, and the importance of managing them together with linked knowledge systems.  

Our program titled “Marine Management” emphasizes marine conservation, focusing on the Kona coast of Hawaii. In this unique program, our team will examine the differences and intersections between indigenous marine management and western marine management. We will concentrate on specific coral reef field surveys and research methods, collecting and analyzing data from protected and unprotected coastal areas. Students on this marine conservation program will earn 5-quarter credits of ESCI 437B: Environmental Field Survey credits, through demonstrated knowledge and success in the use of research techniques and methods for surveying reefs (on snorkel), collection data on ecologically important fish and corals inside and outside protected areas, and a gained understanding about traditional and contemporary management. Our team will also explore the coastal and forest environments to broaden our perspective on the connectivity of these iconic ecosystems.

Bursting with diversity and boundless opportunities for field studies, students who join us will depart the Big Island with a deep understanding of marine environments, oceanographic processes, geological activity that has formed and shaped the Hawaiian Islands, and a deeper understanding of the traditional management systems that have stewarded these islands for millennia.