UH System News Image of the Week: UH Hilo ʻāina-based internship program’s first huakaʻi of summer
“Our first huakaʻi of the summer was to Kealakekua and Kaʻawaloa. It was a magical day. We look forward to growing our pilina with this community and wahi pana.”
This week’s UH News Image of the Week is from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES). The mission of PIPES is “Growing the next generation of aloha ʻāina leaders in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific through transformative place-based internships, mentorship, innovative programming, and strategic partnerships.”
About the photos from @pipesintern Instagram stories:
Our first huakaʻi of the summer was to Kealakekua and Kaʻawaloa, hosted by @hoalakealakekuanui and our very own PIPES alum Kainalu Keliʻikuli-Grace. It was a magical day spent in restoration, reconnection, and remembering, through aloha ʻāina. We look forward to growing our pilina with this community and wahi pana. Please follow our friends to stay in touch with their awesome work!
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Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science
PIPES summer program offers four transformative Pathway Programs to provide opportunities for interns, mentors, and community members to focus on best practices toward healthy and abundant ecosystems, ethical research, cultural sensitivity, reciprocity and responsibility in aloha ʻāina (caring for the land). Student internships include hands-on work experience (40 hours/week), one-on-one mentorship, mentor and intern development workshops, cohort learning spaces, and networking opportunities.
PIPES’ four Pathway Programs as described on their website:
- Naʻau, the connection to oneself, is located at the small intestines of the body, which Hawaiians believe to be the seat of thought, intellect, feeling, and affections; in essence the connection to oneʻs self and life experiences. This is where we believe transformation begins.
- ʻĀina, the connection to place and space, encompasses land, waters, stars, rains and other elemental sources, and also refers to time, space, and tangible/intangible environments.
- Kaiāulu, the connection to community, references the village and represents the reciprocity between an individual and the communities they serve and are a contributing member of.
- Kaʻao, the connection to data articulation, are essentially the tales, stories, and legends, representing thousands of years of data held in kilo (observation) by Hawaiian people in Hawaiʻi.
