I’ll be the student's guide for learning about climate change in a way that’s interactive, easy to follow, and enjoyable. My job is to allow them to express their ideas and not hold them back. I want the kids to know that their solutions are valuable no matter how old they are. At the end of the school year, all I can hope is that they’re walking away with more knowledge regarding climate change and the confidence + drive to know that they can make a difference. 

This project focuses on food waste that comes from fruits that are not in “sellable” condition due to over ripeness, blemishes, or overproduction. Sadly, these fruits are still edible and are frequently wasted due to the lack of 'attractiveness' or possibility to be sold. Lauren and I will repurpose these overripened fruits into breads, jams and jellies. Profits will be given back to the farm and donated to hungry families in need. 

For my project I will be doing a continuation of my legacy project called "Ho'oulu" that my sister Hi'ilani and I created. The purpose of my project is to grow and propagate endangered Native Hawaiian plant species, then take them out to conservation sites all around the 'Ewa Moku. Now I'm expanding my project to the community by teaching students how restoration and conservation can relate back to self-sustainability. We already have a date for Feb. 12 at Waiau Elem., and possibly at honouliuli and Kapolei Middle school. (Teachers have gotten in contact with my advisor and CTL teacher.) 

My project has three major components: a podcast, a website, and a speaker panel. For the podcast, I intend to interview experts in various fields who each have unique approaches to solving the climate crisis. Afterwards, I will edit and publish the interviews as a series of monthly 30 minute podcast episodes starting in January 2024. To reach a larger audience and promote community engagement, I would create and maintain a website where listeners could preview upcoming interviews and submit questions. Lastly, for the speaker panel that would take place at my school on April 27, 2023, I would seek out and invite a diverse group of speakers, each representing one “discipline” or subject matter with a connection to climate change, then moderate a live discussion in front of an audience. 

I'd like to explore the adaptations in the flora of our community sustained to resist wildfires. Ideally, I'd like to use PCR to amplify DNA of the Hawaiian Bentgrass (Agrostis sandwicensis) and compare it with DNA of Colonial Bentgrass and Creeping Bentgrass. This is because the Colonial and Creeping bentgrasses exhibit "fire resistance" genes, and I'd like to compare their DNA sequences from a past study to the lesser-analyzed Hawaiian Bentgrass. If DNA sequences match at the loci for "fire resistance" gene this would help us conclude if we should promote the growth of Hawaiian Bentgrass (has gene), or if we should monitor the areas it grows more carefully for fires (no gene). Hopefully, we can look for this gene in even more local grasses, as grasses typically share a lot of DNA in common with other species of grasses. 

Kalohine Poi Co. involves taking care of the Kalo grown here at Castle High School and producing from it indigenous food for our community. We will use Kalo from our student-run mala to produce Kalo products (focusing on poi and pa'i 'ai) and make them available to our community at affordable prices. In doing so, we invite our kaiaulu to learn about the cultural practice that cultivating Kalo, processing, producing, and milling/ku'i it is. In the long run, we work strengthen the bond within our school, 'ohana, community, and each other. 

For my project, we will create a safe and calming environment for students to study, socialize, and hopefully improve their mental health. With the help of my teacher, we will clean the area that we will use for our garden and plant flowers along with other plants. If time permits, we will hopefully open the garden during the second semester. 

I will devise a layout for a controlled irrigation system, measuring out the area of the native planting site. I will then purchase the needed materials to create a fully automated dripline irrigation system. I will then test its use on certain plant species, recording data on how they react to the changed watering system. 

Continuing the Soap Bars from Food Waste project from last year, we are extending our project to recycling post consumer food waste from school cafeterias instead of just milk. This year we are trying to reclaim food waste by setting up a composting system in our school. Our hope is to get our school FDA approved so that our school can serve the food grown from the compost in the cafeteria. Additionally, we are also collaborating with outside organizations and professors on reclaiming the food into chicken feed to put the nutrients to better use. 

For our project we will create various types of vertical gardens utilizing hydroponic/aquaponic systems. These gardens will be cared for by both students and kupuna working as mentors to students. As the crops grow they will be sold back to the school community contributing healthy and organic food sources for students, staff and parents. 

We plan to raise awareness of sustainable ways to recycle food waste by using bokashi, coco coir, LOMI earth, and vermicomposting to create an attractive product sampler. We will continue to create a four-piece set of reusable plastic tube vials (40 mg) filled with each of the products mentioned above. We will also include an informational card with a QR code for people to learn more about using these products.