UH Hilo students to present hula and chant at international conservation event
The students are from the Kūʻula Integrated Science program, where they integrate western and Native Hawaiian scientific knowledge to understand the environment of Hawaiʻi.
Marine science students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo will open the Marine World Heritage Reception to be held Sept. 5 at the International Union of Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress being held in Honolulu Sept. 1-10. The students will present a chant and hula describing human relationships with the ocean and coral reefs.
The four cohorts of students from the UH Hilo Kūʻula Integrated Science class were invited by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Marine Program.
One of the chants the students will perform, Uku ʻĀkoʻakoʻa, was composed specifically for Kūʻula by Taupōuri Tangarō, director of Hawaiian culture and protocols engagement for UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College.
“This is a significant achievement for our students majoring in natural sciences, Hawaiian Studies, and social sciences, who worked together through the Kūʻula class experience,” says Misaki Takabayashi, professor of marine science. “The recognition they are receiving is well deserved.”
Their research has enabled them to establish personal and meaningful connections to the places they study, which have included Midway Atoll and Haʻena, Kauaʻi. Most Kūʻula graduates have gone on to graduate schools or to jobs in natural resource management and education.
