Fourth graders work together to hoist an outrigger canoe. Another group is learning how to steer a sailing canoe. They’re also learning how to tie boating knots for the first time.
One student yelled, “I got it!” as he successfully tied a square knot in front of his instructor and classmates.
The kids are participating in a week-long initiative called Hoʻākea Honolulu at Mauliola. It’s the first year the event is held on Sand Island, where the students are engaging with about a dozen canoes across Hawaiʻi.
The program started about four years ago with 600 students participating in the event on Oʻahu’s Windward side.
The program has grown, with this year’s Hoʻākea event attracting more than 1,000 fourth graders and teachers from public schools in the Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area on Oʻahu.
Mieko Māhealani Treaster, program coordinator of the nonprofit Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy, said it’s beautiful to see communities come to connect with the waʻa.
“It’s really strengthened our bonds across all islands,” Treaster said. “Our young crew members are really getting to spend a lot of time with each other. For me, it is a really good prospect for perpetuating all this knowledge into the future.”
The event, which began Dec. 2, is organized by stations where instructors will teach students about the various aspects of wayfinding and ocean conservation. Each group of students spent up to 25 minutes per station.
The fourth graders participated in activities such as dockside canoe tours, waʻa-related cultural and STEM activities, Bishop Museum traveling planetarium, canoe foods demonstrations, knot-tying and ropework, star compass and navigation lessons, and learning games.
Students even stepped foot on most of the canoes, including Kānehūnāmoku, which Treaster said was her first teacher.
“For me to be a witness and be a part of the experience of helping to transform other people's lives has just been really life-changing,” she said.
The state Department of Education has been sponsoring the event, funding up to $300,000. The cost covered transportation of waʻa and students, security, tents, and community day activities.
The mission is to teach students waʻa and ʻāina-based education so they can bring that knowledge back to their classrooms.
DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi says Hoʻākea can help students build a sense of identity when spending time with the canoes.
“That experience builds character in individuals, builds confidence, expands on an individual's ability to reflect on their actions and what they do. When we think about what your purpose is, how you give back, that thinking then goes back to, how do I give back in my classroom?”
The initiative hopes to inspire a new generation of students.
The event was a partnership between the DOE, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Mauliola Keʻehi, Kōkua Kalihi Valley (KKV), Education Incubator, and Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy.
Students were participating in the event through Saturday, Dec. 6.
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