Restoring Ea

About Restoring Ea

Restoring Ea is a place-based middle school science unit designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Nā Hopena A‘o (HĀ) Outcomes. The unit explores management strategies that could be used for the Loko ea fishpond to sustainably feed people and ensure the ecosystem is healthy and pono (balanced). This unit honors and leverages traditional and scientific ways of knowing to create experiences that connect students to ‘āina (land) through investigations of place.

Focused on ecosystems and food sovereignty, your students begin with an exploration of food shortages during emergencies and learn that Hawai’i imports most of its food, including fish. Students wonder how their kūpuna (ancestors) fed themselves prior to importing food. They learn that loko i‘a (fishponds) used to feed many people, and one fishpond, Loko ea, is being restored to improve the ecosystem and feed people. You and your students visit Loko ea to kilo (observe), hear mo‘olelo (stories) about her past and present, and participate in stewardship activities. In the classroom, you will help your students investigate the relationships between the desired fish and other key organisms that live at Loko ea. Students consider the ideal environmental conditions for the desired fish and how changes to the environmental conditions affect Loko ea and her organisms.

This unit leverages the FieldScope platform (https://lokoea.fieldscope.org/) to allow students to investigate environmental data previously collected at Loko ea over time and also to collect additional data themselves. Development of the Restoring Ea unit was generously funded through a NOAA B-WET grant.