Kupu

Team Leader

May - August 2023 • Honolulu, HI

What I liked

Kupu was an extraordinary journey that opened my eyes to conservation. It was a profound experience that transcended the boundaries of ordinary travel, allowing me to forge an unbreakable connection with the land and the amazing people of Hawaii.

What I wish was different

nothing it was an amazing experience.

Advice

Travel as extensively as you can to embrace new experiences and forge meaningful connections with people from diverse backgrounds. It's through these journeys that you'll discover the true essence of life and enrich your own story.

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Team Member

May - July 2021 • Honolulu, HI

What I liked

I liked everything! I liked how each team was able to build connections with the locations that we volunteered at and I liked how we were able to learn more about the ʻāina and the Hawaiian culture.

What I wish was different

I wish that situations regarding incidents that occur within teams are dealt with better. I wish the program could last longer where more places could be visited.

Advice

A piece of advice is to go for opportunities like this rather than spending your summer lounging at home. You won't regret the experience!

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Field Crew

October 2017 - August 2018 • Kailua, HI

What I liked

The multiculultural and biocultural approach to conservation by incorporating both western and Hawaiian perspectives, knowledge, and teaching in the every day protocols within different working environments with a variety of groups, spanning all ages and reaching multiple generations.

What I wish was different

Advice

Working in conservation to preserve a Native ecosystem requires not only the scientific knowledge, but a cultural understanding and connection to the landscape and environment you are in as well as a consciousness regarding the social environment intermixed in the job and location. You cannot simply be a smart scientist. You have to be able to connect emotionally and spiritually to a space (non-denominationally) and to the other hands involved in nurturing and tilling its soils. Without these other components work is simply work and the love and passion - which drives an otherwise very difficult and depressing line of work forward - will eventually dwindle and die out.

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