He Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina

Along the Keaukaha coastline at Puhi Bay, students from Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo are doing what most adults never get to: growing native coral in a nursery and planting it back into the reef their families have known for generations. He Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina — a year-long collaboration between Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo and UH Hilo's Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center (PACRC) — is where scientific restoration meets traditional ʻike, and where keiki learn that the health of the coral is inseparable from the health of the ʻāina.

PACRC is the UH Hilo research and community-engagement facility behind the nursery, where Marine Science faculty lead programs that connect directly with our broader Hawaiʻi Island community.