Who didn't get burnt at He'eia?

Oh Boy, were we in for a treat! Paepae o He'eia was quite the catch, literally, we caught handfuls of Samoan crab throughout the week and lemme tell you they were tasty... looking (we never got to eat them, bummer, but I'm sure they were onolicious). We've been working on this hill behind the Paepae garage, and you'd figure after doing a weeks worth of trail maintenance, we'd be pros at this kind of thing...nope! It's Satan's Slope or something. Just looking at it intimidates us. It's not what we do there that's driving us off the hill it's more like all the slashing away at false taro with knats and other flying creatures eating us alive! So gross and itchy. But remember, our team's strong, and we eventually git'er done ;) That hill was a test of patience/ no fussing. Lesson time: So what's the genius behind this great kuapa (wall that makes the pond)? Well this is a 600 year old fishpond after all and we wanna keep it that way. Pretty mush ancient Hawaiians built the wall to section off a perfect pond for their fish (using the intense math and geography of the mountains to map it) with rocks and ko'a (coral). Then they made gaps in between the kuapa called and made makaha (gates). Here's the genius part: With this gate small fish would get attracted to the pond, stay and feast on whatever, and then when they become bambucha, they wont be able to fit through the gate anymore! Akamai, yah? Yessuurryyy, we got to work in the pond! Nice and sedimenty and salty, nah, it's not bad (especially if you think about how much more public beaches have turned into shi-shi water). We'd split into groups hauling rocks/ko'a onto the gator (golf cart truck) then have others haul those boulders onto a pontoon and into the other. Pontoons don't move themselves and we had to get them across the low kuapa (this u-shaped wall made up of log-shaped cement). Amen when we worked in high tide the waves really helped alot during those pivotal points, otherwise it's the perfect all around body muscle workout! Cheehuu! In the end it's all worth it because we are so blessed, no rain (amen), no fatal injuries (only minor--bc we're tough like that), a perfect view of He'eia pond and Kaneohe Bay, and a great staff at Paepae o He'eia that took care of us while we worked side by side with them (and the new intern friends we made too). We'll surely miss all of you guys With all our Aloha, Team Oahu D wants you guys o know we had a blast, swimming in your pond, grind'n with you guys, working with you guys and just your aloha and vast knowledge of the great He'eia fishpond, MAHALO! Love, Robynne G. (igarot) P.S. Being (dark) brown should have its benefits--so why did I get burnt? I'm sore!!!! So junk :P

`Ai Pohaku o He`eia!

Chi pono! Talk about Ma ka HANA ka ike bule! Everyday this past week has been awesome. Yasterday we worked on moving a HUGE mound of ko`a out the fishpond wall and then filling in the low spots of the wall with it. The ko`a we used came from Waimanalo gultch in Nanakuli. It's really white and dence unlike the original finger ko`a that was firest used to build the wall. I over heard the site managers saying that their so fortunate for the hycc team this week cuz if they didn't have us i would take them about 4 months to move that mound of ko`a. It was super hot yesterday so we're lucky to have been able to cool off in the water after. My favorite part of the day was playing SUMO with robert on the shuttle barge while it was getting towed through the fishpond! If it wasn't so shallow i'm sure robert woulda flew me off like nothing! Thanks for being nice rob :). I can't wait for fridays potluck it should be yummy!

Aloha

-Shyla

End of the our work week at He'eia Fishpond

Aloha TEAM D and Visitors to our Site,

TEAM D had an awesome work week! We had the pleasure of working with Pae Pae 'O He'eia at He'eia Fishpond. Site managers, Keli'i, Kinohi, Kaika, and Benji helped us work through the week as well as helped to educate us about the biological and cultural aspects of the pond.

WEDNESDAY, 6/29 TEAM D learned about the invasive mangrove plant that fills the edges of the pond, as well as along the wall of the fishpond. The three main types of mangrove that we removed were the Rhizophoria mangle (Red Mangrove), Conocarpus erectus (Silver Mangrove), and Laguncularia racemosa (White/Oriental Mangrove). The team used laupers and a chain saw to remove the mangrove. Something TEAM D found refreshing, was unlike the strawberry guava trees we cut down last week, once the mangrove is cut, it will die.

THURSDAY, 6/30 TEAM D moved ko'a, or coral to the other end of the pond. We did this to help fill in the lower parts of the pond to prevent flooding. This will allow easier access to the wall for volunteers, workers, and keiki.

TEAM D is excited for our work day tomorrow, but is sad that it is our last day at He'eia Fishpond. We have learned so much, and met so many new people. We are excited for what is in store for our team next week!

Aloha,
Kiana (:

Sun kissed at He'eia

This week went by like a breeze. Even though we are all sun kissed by the sun, we still enjoy are days at work. Given the duties of loading, unloading and passing the rocks and coral to each other was tough at some points through out the days but hey we made do and got it done! Donna said something to me today that made me laugh inside, which was "Khaelyn are you okay?" "I was just asking because your face doesn't show it" Haha Donna, Im perfectly fine. I just look that way at times of the day, especially today because I was super hungry. Any way, back to talking about the days work. Today, Benji took me out on the boat to check the crab traps, and what do you know we check every single one and there wasn't even one good size sole' crab! I was kinda bummed out, but it was okay because I got the chance experience the whole thing for me to at least remember. The last time I did that was maybe ten years ago, which makes me 8 at that time. Im gonna just write what ever else is on my mind from today, so bare with me okay guys? My body is super sun kissed (burned) that every time I pass by some one when I got to my grandma's house they touched my back to say hi and give a honi which really hurt! haha. Well, tomorrow we have a a good day planned for us. See you all in the AM!

Jah Blessings!

-Khaelyn

Paepae O' He'eia Fish Pond

Whoaaaaaaaaa, Week 2 Down! This week was a really nice transition from the work we did up in the mountains last week. It was really nice and refreshing being near the water and not having to be constantly soaked by a sudden downpour of rain. This week's work location was at the He'eia Fishpond on the windward side of Oahu. We did various work trying to restore the pond, such as transporting heavy, jagged rocks and coral to the outer walls of the pond. It was pretty tiresome having to haul the pontoon loaded with the heavy rocks and coral, especially because of the mucky sediment and mud at the bottom of the pond (which had fallen from the mountains during heavy rainfall). It was pretty cool learning about the history and cultural significance of the pond, which was surprisingly 600 years old. The pond was created by old Hawaiian chiefs in order to grow fish, which would be difficult to catch during the winter months. The organization's mission is to restore the integrity of the walls of the pond, which were destroyed by the introduced, in order to restore the pond to its former condition so that they can continue to foster the growth of numerous fish such as moi. We learned many different things, such as the 3 different species of mangrove (the button, oriental, and the caribbean mangrove), the mangrove's role in slowing down water that flowed from the mountains, and trapping sediment, and the cultural storied surrounding the pond and nearby mountains. Other work we did included removing tons of wicked underbrush on the property's hill, in order to prime the soil for 'uala. The organization wants to utilize the land in order to grow useful plants and herbs, such as 'uala, the Hawaiian sweet potato. We really did get down and dirty removing the weeds and unwanted shrubs (not to mention the plethora of creepy critters that flew into our ears and noses and crawled onto our backs). Despite the dirty work, this was a really successful and fun week.

Tired and dirty, but still esmiling,
your friendly neighborhood Pilipino,
Robert.

He'eia fishpond.

This week was amazing! We had awesome site managers and a whole lotta fun! It's really great that our team gets to experience different work settings. Just last week we were in the mountains and now we're working by the ocean! I think my favorite thing we did this past week was pulling in crab traps with Aunty Kiana :) We caught two wahine Samoan crabs and they were of pretty decent size! Working in the pond is definitely an experience I'll remember for the rest of my life because not many people get the opportunity we get to do all these amazing things. This summer truly is one I will treasure as long as I live and the summer's only just begun! See you all tomorrow. We're gonna have a great time pot lucking and having fun with the new friends we made at He'eia :)
- Eliseeeeee. (Fa, Mulan) ;)

He‘eia Fishpond (da kine short version)

This week we went to He‘eia fish pond and did a lot of hard work. We did many different jobs such as build the fishpond wall, cut mangrove and even removing weeds from a hill behind the pond. Our team worked hard at all the jobs that we did no matter what the conditions were or how we felt. Even when one person was unable to do a job, we would swap them into another job that they could do and work would continue without a hitch. My favorite job was building the wall. I liked it because it was in the water and cool breeze and i was able to do the work without getting too tired. I also enjoyed figuring out where to place each rock and time seemed to pass really fast while doing this too. The hardest day for me was the second day when we worked on the hill. Working on the hill was very hard and time just didn't go by fast enough. A few of the factors that made it a hard job was the fact that we were working on a very steep incline with little to no footing. The hill was very sunny just like when we were out on the wall, but it lacked the breeze so it was very hot and humid. But in the end we still got the work done and we did a lot of it. Working at the fish pond was a learning experience but it was also fun. A few days we would swim when we were done with work. Work was also fun because our team would always be in a good mood and we would make the work fun and every now and then we would throw in a practical joke or a small game like a race. Another thing that made work enjoyable were the people who work at the fishpond. They always had a smile on there face and they would always keep us happy and work was never boring and never too stressful. But my favorite thing was that you could snack while you work. The snack that I am talking about are the countless oysters that grow along the rocks at the fishpond. Many people would say that it is gross but they are actually very good and taste better than the oysters that you buy in the store. So all in all I really enjoyed this week and hope to return to the fishpond one day. I hope to return as a volunteer or maybe even an intern.

Aloha,

Cupcake :)

Jah He'eia Fish Pond Mon!

YOO, well this was a super fast hard working task for the giiiter dones of Oahu D! well im very proud of the team for working hard everyday this week in the fish pond because i know it was super hot and the water in the pond is not da best to step in but proud of you guys! I learned a lot about the pond and the history of what the rock wall represents such as seperating the good fish from the predators. I think transporting rocks for the wall was pretty beast, we probably get the record time for most rocks and Ko'a traveled across in the pond.. haha nah nah it was a honor to give back to the Kupunas and repairing what they built for us and whats left of ancient Hawaii and also removing mangrove, dang that thing grows everywhere but glad we got rid of some cause its very invasive. Best memory of this week was today bombing of the fish pond wall with everybody and busting out da austin original nut crackah bomb, auuurighhht haha. This has been a really fun week working in the water the whole time and hope next week can be fun like this too! k shooooties, AUSTIN

fish pond

dannnng, this week went by fast, to building rock walls, cutting mangrove, catching samoan crabs. this whole week was awesome, i just want to thank the staff of Paepae o he'eia, like kealii, piilani, mahealani, kaika and benji them. it was a good oppertunity to give back to the community by fixing the fish pond, and trying to get it to be a sustainable food source. i learned so much about fish ponds this week and big mahalos to my team for working hard.

cookamongacrackkillas and the fish pond

today was pretty nuts cuz, we started to work on the hill, by cutting weeds. also i took a rock to my shin and a rock to my head, and robin kept on throwing austins water jug at me for no reason. lol. nah, but any whos i had good fun working on the fish pond, and i got to swim a little bit, it was refreshing from working in the hot sun all day. it makes me feel good when i can give back to my communtiy by restoring one of hawaiis fish ponds. i learned some pretty cool stuff today from my site managers. i learned that ancient hawaiians built there walls by lining them up with the significant landmarks, like Mt. Konahuanui and keaalohi point. i thought it was pretty cool because they were way ahead of their time. thats all folks...giter done

Boulders in Bulks (Day 1--Monday)

Week 3 and we're just poundin 'um!

Another great day, no rain, no fuss, and no Guava! But little do I know, we'll be working with guava's apprentice--Mangrove! It's all g though, team D'll git'er done :)

Keep it up group, it's looking like an exciting week for us. And don't forget to come with new stretching techniques for our aching muscles. ;]P

Love,

Robynne G.

Da Fish Pond

By far, the fish pond at he'eia is great to work at. Besides my encounters with the gecko or lizard, I really am enjoying the limited time we have there. I love hearing all the stories our site managers have told us. The whole time they were telling the stories, I would zone out and picture the description they give us. Which by the time I came to reality, it felt like I took a trip back into time when things were all beautiful and natural. It gives you the thought, that everything little thing does have a reason behind it. I entirely enjoyed the time we move the pohaku from one end of the pond to the next on a barge. Even though everyone liked the walk in the water, I personally enjoyed strengthening the wall. Because in so many few days, months or years I can look back in time and tell whoeverI may be talking to at the time that I helped build up that part of the wall. It means a lot to me, I mean just to have the opportunity to work on that KAPU area is more than enough for me. Since being at the fish pond, it brings us all "closer together" which is sucah a good thing. Today we had a big load of pohaku and all of us formed a line to make the carrying a bit easier. Looking at all of us in my mind felt really good. For that second the thought popped in my head, it felt like we were really one big strong team. Well, as you all know Robert and I took that large pohaku and some how some way it slipped right on to my left foot, and down I went on that pointed coral. I just thought I put it up here, honestly npt trying to be mean towards Robert but just a cool remembrance. By the way Robert, my foot is perfectly fine, it just happened by reason. Im going to have to cut it right here because my eyes are starting to close while my fingers are still typing! haha.

*blessings

Khaelyn

He'eia fish Pond so far!

So working in the fish pond was pretty fun yesterday! Its a very good expeirence and privilege to be able to go in the pond and work in there. Im so proud of my team, OAHU D!! cheee heee!! Building back up the wall was not a very easy job and this involved a lot of team work, and this couldnt be done with just one person. Its actually fun transporting the rocks across the pond to build the wall, cause it feels like you one native Hawaiian!! One true Kanaka!! haha but you also get a work out too cause little bit heavy the rocks but its a good expeirence and our team is hard working and we are the no fuss crew!! auuuuright. The myths too are also pretty nuts at the pond!! I learned so much and learned more about Hawaiian history or culture so its been a good and pretty fun time so far, cant wait till the next days! well lets giiiter done crew! Keeping working hard!

Mahalo'z

-AUSTIN

Fishpond (Monday)

Today we went to he‘eia fish pond and it was a lot of fun. we started the day with some stretches and an oli. we then broke up into groups and went out to do our work. the first group loaded rocks onto the gator (its basically a golf cart on steroids and it has a flat bed that has a hydraulic ram to dump out its cargo) and the gator drove out to the end of the fish pond wall. then gator would dump out all the rocks and the second group would load them on a small boat. a third group would push the boat to the section of the wall that was being built. the third and fourth groups would then work together to unload the boat. finally the fourth group would arrange the rocks and build the wall. i worked as the second, third and fourth groups because the people in those groups would rotate so that we wouldn't get tired out. my favorite job was building the wall because i like to build things and i also like to be in the water. so for me this job was a lot of fun and i took a lot of joy in doing it.

- Noah

Ms. Sprained Leg Khaelyn being transported by the Oahu Team D Emergency Rescue Ambulance. Injured but still smiling.

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

Title :)

Wow, today was pretty tiring! I actually was right about to crash before I remembered I had to do this! xP So pretty much, me, Chase, Shyla, Khaelyn, Austin, Pono, Noah, and Robert jumped into the fishpond to transport huge, heavy dusty rocks back and forth between the loading zone and where they were patching up a spot in the wall. It was pretty intense! The sun was hot and the current was strong but the water felt really nice... even though you couldn't see your feet ;p But we were rewarded afterward by getting to jump off the rock wall into the second makaha (? I don't quite remember what they were called). Anyway, it was a nice and refreshing change to go from Mauka to Makai and I'm glad we get to experience all of it! So let's get ready to buck down this week and work our butts off because tugging that little boat thing through the pond was definitely a leg work out! I wanna see Robynne, Kiana, and Donna getting wet and dirty like the rest of us did by the end of this week! Haha! Alright, good night. And Mahalo for being such a great team guys. Love you :)

-Eliseeeee

WE DON'T HAVE A WEEK 3 FOR PAE PAE O HE'EIA?

Hey Team D!

Do we have a tab for "Week 3 Pae Pae 'O He'eia"? If we do, I couldn't find it. Someone let me know!

MONDAY, 6/27 we had an exciting day at He'eia fish pond. Team D had the privilege of working with Keali'i and Kinohi our site managers, learning more about the 'aina and Hawaiian culture. We also had the privilege of working with the interns at He'eia fish pond as well! The team split into two. Half of the team separated rocks into three piles; cap (I called it pancake), fillers, and face. All of them have Hawaiian names, but I am not sure what they are, perhaps Robynne knows the names. I think one of them is hakahaka? The rocks were then loaded into the back of the "industrial" golf cart. The golf cart then drove the rocks to the middle of the rock wall to be used for maintenance and repair. Team D, got down and dirty (both "D" words again) with the water at everyone's chest, and even neck for our shorter team members. After lunch, when the tide was too high to finish repairing the wall, team members were given a tour of the rock wall, where we learned about native species that surrounded the wall, its history, and culture. For instance, did you know the reason we are repairing the wall is because a huge flood in 1965 destroyed more than 200 ft. of the wall? A lot of the wall has been repaired, but it still is not completely fixed. Fixing the wall helps to keep native species in the pond, and non-native species out such as the hammerhead shark that Keali'i told us roamed the pond 6 months ago. Can you believe it? Unfortunately permits and approval by the state is hindering our team's ability to completely restore the wall. JUNK ): However, TEAM D will persevere throughout the week doing all that we can to help this native Hawaiian fish pond. Tomorrow we plan to remove the weeds along the wall, and make room for the 'uala, or Hawaiian sweet potato and do some mangrove removal as well. Can't wait for the rest of the week! TEAM D is truly making a difference with their hard work and persistence!

Kiana (:

Pahole

Camping this week at peacock flats was amazing. We worked our butts off seriously, i loss 2 inches off my waist :) I feel so blessed to have the oppertunity to work on Mt. Ka`ala, and Pahole gultch, because not many people get to go there and the views were absolutly breath taking. I never hated strawberry guava so much in my life! I stained all three of my cargo pants with the red herbascide! But finding the hidden sandalwood tree in the middle of all that guava made it all worth it! The campsite was awesome...it had a toilet and a hot shower although nobody used it! The meals ranged from Hibachi chicken curry to Spam burritos and s`mores around a camp fire. I love how our group gets along so well and we all work together to get the job done no matter what it may be. Overall i had a great time! Thank you my team leaders and site managers for making it happen!

Aloha,

Shyla Pakele

The "D"azzling Oʻahu Team "D"