ʻImi Pono No Ka ʻĀina Offers Summer Enrichment Program

Applications are now open for the 2019 ʻImi Pono no ka ʻĀina summer enrichment program, open to students in grades 6–12.

The program is geared toward students who want to help our ʻāina and have fun at the same time. Participants travel across Hawaiʻi Island to learn about Hawaiʻi’s unique plants and animals and engage in mālama ʻāina activities such as native forest restoration.

The entire two-week program is free of charge and includes camping trips. Student pick-up is available in Hilo and Kaʻū. Session one runs from June 3 to June 14, 2019, and session two runs from June 24 to July 5.

The program offers students the opportunity to visit unique natural areas across the island, from the uplands of Hakalau Forest, to the dryland forests of North Kona, to the coastline of Kaʻū. Students meet with natural resource managers and research scientists, and the program immerses participants in Hawaiʻi lifeways and cultural practices. Students will leave with a sense of place and responsibility to care for our island home.

For an application and more information, go online. Applications are due March 29, 2019. Students must be completing 6th through 12th grade in 2019 to be eligible. Email imipononokaaina@gmail.com with any questions.

ʻImi Pono no ka ʻĀina is the education and outreach program of the Three Mountain Alliance watershed partnership. ʻImi Pono provides conservation themed programs for students, teachers, and community members to strengthen their environmental and cultural consciousness and to instill a sense of kuleana so that they will become advocates of the land. To learn about all of our programs, go online.