On a hot, breezy Saturday morning in May, fifth-graders from Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo charter school gathered at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo's Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center in Keaukaha to plant coral that will help restore Puhi Bay—and in doing so, prove that the smallest efforts can grow into something transformative. The event, called He Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina, takes its name from a Hawaiian proverb meaning "a coral reef grows into an island," a fitting metaphor for a community project that began small and has now become a model for what happens when schools, scientists, and local communities align around a shared purpose.
The second annual He Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina was born from a partnership between UH Hilo Assistant Professor of Marine Science Steve Doo and Kaʻaka Swain, teacher at Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo and president of the Keaukaha Community Association. Over the past year, Swain's 5th-grade students learned coral reef ecology, water quality monitoring, and marine biology alongside university students in Doo's Coral Nursery lab. They collected coral fragments that had broken off naturally throughout the semester, nursed them back to health, and prepared themselves for the culminating moment: returning those corals to the reef where they originated.
What makes He Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina distinctive is its insistence on centering young people in the work. "Students are the heart and soul of this event," Doo said. "They're the center of everything. It's a celebration for them." The keiki didn't simply observe marine science from a distance; they became active stewards of their local ecosystem, monitoring salinity and temperature, understanding the biology that sustained the bay their community depended on, and contributing measurable restoration work that will continue developing long after they leave Swain's classroom.
The day was layered with cultural significance and community wisdom. It opened with oli—traditional Hawaiian chants—performed by members of Doo's lab and explained by UH Hilo alum Kumu Roxy Stewart. The oli offered thanks to Kanaloa, the Hawaiian god of the ocean, and told the story of reef-building from the smallest coral polyp. A moʻolelo walk led by Keaukaha local Halena Kapuni-Reynolds traced the shoreline with place-based education, uncovering the meanings embedded in the name Keaukaha itself and inviting families to share their own stories of the area's history and significance.
The event drew broad community participation. Educational booths sponsored by federal and state organizations—including the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary, Hui Hoʻoleimaluō (dedicated to restoring traditional fishponds), the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Center, and UH Hilo's own Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science—offered outreach and hands-on learning. It reflected what Swain and Doo had hoped to achieve: highlighting student work while deepening community connection to the aquaculture center and its mission.
What distinguishes this project is that the coral outplanted on May 9 represents genuine environmental recovery, not symbolic gesture. The fragments the keiki helped nurture will take root and grow, creating habitat for fish and other marine life while strengthening the reef's resilience. Many of the UH Hilo lab members who taught the curriculum are themselves alumni of Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo, making the project a closed loop of learning and service. As Swain observed, the partnership creates "a way to showcase both the learning that took place throughout the year and the partnership that developed between the keiki and the aquaculture center." In Keaukaha, a small effort has indeed begun to grow into something larger.