Hawaii Preparatory Academy Hosts First Annual Student Congress on Sustainability

Eighty high school students and teachers from around the Big Island gathered at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy June 8-11, 2008 for the first annual Student Congress on Sustainability. The free, three-day event was hosted by HPA.

"It was awesome!" said Micah Ramos, an incoming sophomore at Kea‘au High School. "It was a good way to start off the summer, I can tell you that."

Many echoed Ramos' sentiments after participating in hands-on workshops highlighting a wide range of sustainable and environmental issues, listening to guest speakers, taking a field trip to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority, dining exclusively on Big Island products, exchanging ideas, and, of course, making new friends.

"What I liked best about the Congress is that it actually looked at the practicalities, not just the pie in the sky ideas that you typically get at sustainability conferences," said Kevin Hopkins, parent of a delegate from St. Joseph High School who also teaches aquaculture and fisheries at University of Hawai‘i-Hilo. "I'm hoping the students actually start trying to do things towards sustainability and because of the wide range of what they talked about on practicality, I think they might be able to be more successful than a lot of other programs that come in way too idealistic. I think these kids have a better idea of what's going to be possible and what's not."

Students and teachers heard about the possibilities from guest speakers Dr. Ku Kahakalau, president of Kanu o ka ‘Āina Learning 'Ohana, who said, "Hawaiian culture was always sustainable. Things that our ancient ancestors did are the things we need to do today."

Other speakers included KTA Executive Vice-President of Perishable Operations, Derek Kurisu, who shared his perspective about the importance of turning waste into value. KTA's Mountain Apple Brand's Pava juice is a shining example of this philosophy and students had a chance to sample the 100 percent "local" product.

Alan Nakagawa, science education specialist with the Department of Education and a trained climate-change speaker, who was certified by The Climate Project, presented a talk based on Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

David Tarnas, a planner, teacher, consultant, and former Hawai‘i legislator, spoke to the group about "What's Your Kuleana?"

"We're actually all a part of the solution-and the problem," Tarnas told the group. "Each of you has talents that can make a huge difference in sustainability." Tarnas emphasized the power consumers have to drive innovation in more sustainable products, for example hybrid vehicles.

"Think about what you buy and make that decision for yourself. Don't let someone else-advertisers-make that decision for you."

Attendees also had an opportunity to share ideas and information with students from the International School of Hamburg, Germany and Highland Tech of Anchorage, Alaska through live videoconferences. There was a collective gasp in the room when the Hawai‘i group learned that gas costs $12 per gallon in Germany-and it's been a way of life for years there. Roxy Kohler, a teacher at Highland Tech told the group her monthly electric bill for a 1,500 square-foot condominium in Juneau was $1,000.

"Alaska has a lot of the same issues as Hawai‘i because we're so remote," said Kohler. The Hawai‘i, Germany, and Alaska students agreed to participate in a friendly competition to save energy and also agreed to work to increase awareness of climate change and its implications.

Student networking was a huge part of the Congress, and delegates enjoyed exchanging ideas and spending time with their peers. Many attendees were inspired to share what they learned with their schools.

"The people from our school talked about starting our own Go Green Club, like HPA has," said David Chang, an incoming junior at Kealakehe High School. "We also want to start our own living machine to purify water and reuse."

"One of the highlights for me was watching our students interact with new people," said Nyla Tahara-Day, student activities coordinator at Kea‘au High School, who brought 13 student delegates to the Congress, the event's largest contingent. "By the end of the Congress, they were old buddies, hanging on to each other, playing cards, laughing; they're having fun and they're building relationships. That's one of the key things for me."

Tahara-Day plans to get more ideas for her student delegates. "I'm hoping to shape my leaders in this direction, as far as doing something, or being more aware and helping our community be more aware of what we need," she said. "The bottom line is, we need to do something about our lifestyle."

Dr. Bill Wiecking, HPA Upper School science teacher and assistant chairman of the event, described what's next.

"What we did this time was get the seeds together in the soil," he said. "In the next year, we'll see how those plants grow and how they interact with each other. The other thing I'm hoping is that we can expand beyond the Big Island to the entire state of Hawai‘i, then nationally, and internationally. I think the perspective we'll be able to provide in a year or two will really be groundbreaking.

"With our specific situation here, on an island that's not very populated, we can make a difference-and we should make a difference-because our energy expenditures are at the highest level. We're at the leading edge of what the rest of the United States will have to go through. We're really the canary in the coal mine."

"One of our objectives is to facilitate student networking and sustainability awareness," said Karen Yamasato, event chair. "So much of what we do with other schools is competitive, such as sports or academic competitions. The Congress is not about competition; it is about building relationships and working together to solve a common problem. It is easier to enact change when you have a network of support."

For more information, contact Yamasato at kyamasato@hpa.edu.