He'eia Fishpond

This week, our team is working at the He'eia fishpond on the windward side. It was a nice transition from the mountain work we did at Pahole and Mt. Ka'ala, but it was still hard work nonetheless. On Monday, the team worked together to help restore the walls of the fishpond which were hugely damaged by the super flood that occured in the 1930s (?). We loaded some rocks onto a platform, which was guided across the water by our teammates. Our other teammates on the opposite side of the wall then unloaded the rocks and stacked them to rebuild the wall. It was refreshing to go into the water, but it got pretty strenuous when the water got deeper, the mud/muck under the water (from the mangroves) got thicker, and the tide got higher. Nevertheless, the past two days were pretty nice and sunny, with not too much rain. In any case, the rain was cool and refreshing. I had fun in and out of the water, and listening to the interesting stories the instructors were telling us about the mythical creates that guarded and protected the 600 year old fish pond. It's great that they're trying to rebuild the damaged bond, in order to foster the growth of fish. We also worked atop a pretty steep hill, removing some invasive and native plants in order to prepare the soil for the growth of 'uala (Hawaiian sweet potato). It was some pretty dirty and tiring work, removing the large thickets of weed, and bushy flora. Being covered in dirty, gnats, spiders, roaches, and ants was not exactly the best feeling, but at the end of the day it was pretty rewarding seeing our progress and how much unwanted shrub we were able to uproot and eradicate. SSUPPPPPPAHHH tired already, but looking forward to Mangrove removal tomorrow.

-(Trying) to Git Er Done,
Robert