Molokai, Big Trees, and Xmas Boat shows

I went from a girl with nothing to do this weekend, to a girl with too much to do! So in a quick decision from my boss, we decided to miss our work holiday party, (which is notoriously awesome!!!) for a day trip over to Molokai. Which meant this island hopper got to check one more island off my list!

We began our day dark and early at 6:21 exactly (my boss and I like to be precise) and I scored major intern points for bringing her a white chocolate peppermint mocha. Then we went to the tiny inter island terminal at HNL, boarded our tiny plane and took of to one island over, Molokai. My first impression; this island is small and flat! Second impression, look at all those gullies, we could totally use CREP to reforest those. What can I say, 2.5 months on the job and I'm fully immersed in my work. The airport at Molokai was no bigger than one of my classrooms in college with a staff of about 7, and thats including the rental car employee! Then we were off on a full day of work!

But not before doing a short stop to see Kalaupapa. Kalaupapa is where the lepers or Hansen's disease people were sent during the late 1800s and early 1900s. These people were arrested and separated from their families and sent to this isolated area with very little medical, housing, and food. There are still a few people left and they have their own rules to protect their privacy and the history. If this interests you, theres a really good book called Molokai you should check out.

 Kalaupapa

We then too a short walk to go see the "phallic rock". We weren't sure if we were seeing a rock that looked phallic or was supposed to grant fertility. It turned out that is just looked like a penis. But I avoided touching it, just in case it did in fact, grant fertility...

Next up, we went to a site visit. Molokai has quite a few issues a conservationist must face. It is dry, windy, and infested with deer. This project wanted to have trees on their property, but to get anything to grow, it needed to be protected from the wind. So first a constructed wind break was made with kukui trees planted behind them. Four of these were made, but 3 years later, only one windbreak had a grove of trees planted behind it. Turns out the deer were sneaking in and either eating the seedlings, or rubbing them to the point where they were knocked over. Then theres the issues of getting irrigation out to the trees and making sure all the piping didn't clog. To say it was a big undertaking would be an understatement. However, it was a good learning experience to see what works and what doesn't, and that Molokai needs more deer hunters.

The kukui trees with one of the windbreaks in the background

We then followed the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS, the same people I interned with for 6 months in college) to a pollinator lecture. It was interesting to learn the different research and techniques are going into bees and other pollinators to help with crops. I also learned that I either was required to learn the life cycle of a bee in elementary school or from Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. I'm thinking it was the latter. Then we quickly took off to go measure some big coconuts. 

So I know I have touched on this before, but I am working on this Big Trees competition run by American Forest. It is to find the biggest tree of various species based on their height, diameter, and crown spread. We have 5 species that we decided to try to go for in Hawaii, because we didn't want to represent invasive or introduced species. One of those is Coconut. Turns out theres a rather large coconut grove planted in Molokai that is really old. We figured we may be able to find a champion tree there, so we searched out the biggest tree we could find and go to work on measuring it. It was really awesome to be learning the technical terms and using the real forester tools. So we used a clinometer to measure the height, then measured the diameter and crown spread using a tape measurer. So far, no one has entered a coconut tree so its looking like we may have a winner. Heres our champion tree!

Then we ended our day with my boss discussing the CREP program. The meeting was at a retreat center and we met in a yurt! It was a gorgeous place!

Then next night I went over to Hawaii Kai to visit my aunt and uncle and there invited guests for the Hawaii Kai boat parade. It was really great because they live right on the water so we had chili and wine while sitting on the couch and watching the decorated boats go by. Some were cute and small, while others were large and extravagant! Here was the biggest one, playing Zumba Around the World the entire time. I guess the husband was a dock builder and the wife was a Zumba instructor so they combined both of their jobs and came out with this!

It definitely helped to get into the Christmas spirit. Its been a bit difficult being away from home for the holidays, plus theres been very little weather change so it doesn't really feel Christmasy. Plus, its my first time since I was 4 that I haven't had a winter break. I'm pretty sure its the only perk of being in school! Until the next time, happy holidays!

Holidays and Xterra World Championships

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I survived. It was a bit rough there being a big family holiday and not being at home. There are certain things I missed (like that green bean dish I have every holiday) but fortunately I was not without family. I had lunch at a Japanese buffet with my grandma and 2 of her sisters and 2 of my cousins, which is always entertaining. I always feel a bit sorry for the waiters and waitresses as my various relations play tug of war over the bill. I managed to control myself as I walked past the various sushi goodies to hold off for dinner. I had a nice quiet thanksgiving dinner with my family here, complete with my favorite, cranberry sauce from the can.

Works been pretty quiet lately, with the holidays coming up, everyone is trying to not add too much to their plate before taking vacation time. The thing I have noticed from working here is how much into the future I have to think. My calendar has things all the way in March already. I am really excited about a couple of things I am working on though. One is a rule change, which sounds awfully dull to most of you I am sure. But for me it's an opportunity to apply some of my law background and get experience in the procedures required to change statutes. Another is this Big Trees competition run by American Forests. I wrote a press release last month and it received a lot of response. These next few months will require going out to where ever these big trees are that people submitted, measuring them, and then submitting them to these national competition. Hopefully we will have some "big trees" and make the national register. I also will be speaking about how I am applying online mapping to integrate with this competition at a conference in March (which I am really nervous about). I have also made it my goal to start a statewide big tree competition just for Hawaii by the end of my internship.

In non work news, I ran my 2nd trail half marathon on Sunday, and boy, did I pick the right race. It was the Xterra Trail World Championship at Kualoa Ranch which is this absolutely gorgeous location where they filmed LOST, Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, and various other movies. It was a race of about 700 people and we started off on with some nice rolling hills. I moved up passing people on the hills (my specialty) before we headed to a single track that had been cut into the hillside. It was pretty incredible to turn a corner and see sets from movies, especially things LOST related, not to mention the green cliff sides and the beach you could see for most of the race. Then things got difficult. Mile 8-10 was straight up hill which led to all the contestants to resort to walking and few expletives. Once up the giant mountain, we turned a corner and found...MUD! We then had to slip and slide down the mountain holding on to ropes tied to trees for mile 11 and 12, not exactly what you would call a fast course. Once that was out of the way, it was only another mile and a half to the finish (our race turned out to be 13.5 instead of the usual 13.1 half marathon). Once I was less than a mile out, I knew I wanted to kick it into gear and finish hard, which meant I passed 3 people in the last 800 and 3 more in my sprint finish, which felt pretty good. I had forgotten how much fun racing can be, since its been almost a year since my last race. Once the results were posted I had found out I ran 13.5 miles in 2:17:03, was in 239 place out of 687, was the 35th female and had one 2nd in my age bracket (20-24)! I was really excited, especially since it had been such a difficult course and I had only been training for a month and hadn't run a trail since I got here. I got a nice little swag bag, a lei, another medal, and a chance to go on stage and take a picture. It felt pretty damn good! 

So just to end with some Christmas spirit, here's a picture of my cousins dog Chutney :)

A week of Conferences

The title pretty much says it all. I was in my office one day this week, the rest of it was spent at conferences. First up, the KUPU Conference. So in case you aren't aware of how my internship works, heres the low down. So I am technically an Americorp Intern, which is a federal program to send interns to different locations to assist with environmental, health, education, etc issues. Its basically Peace Corp for the US only. How I got this internship is through this group called KUPU that is in charge of us Americorp interns focused strictly in Hawaiian environmental issues. Up first was a meeting with all the KUPU interns in Hawaii. It was really interesting to see the mix of the people; there were a lot more out of state people like me than I originally thought there would be. There were people from 17 up to 34 so the age range was actually quite broad, though it seems most people were around my age, looking for some work experience after college. It was also really interesting to hear all the different things everyone is doing. I think most people were out in the field a lot more than I am, doing things like removing invasive algae from coral reefs by snorkeling all day, or doing natural area reserves systems (NARS) which basically means they are putting fences up, rat traps and more invasive control. There were people from all the islands and with completely different majors as well so it really just varied a lot. This day was spent bonding doing ice breakers and such, and figuring out our menu for our service trips in a few months. I missed out on the awesome Kalapapa trip to Molokai (where the lepers were sent) and am going to a beach house on Oahu's North Shore and helping with seabirds. I guess when you are in Hawaii, you can never really lose :)

The next day was a meeting with all the Americorp people in Hawaii. This meant there were people from Legal Aid, Teach for America, Affordable Homeless and Housing Alliance, and us KUPU kids. There was an uplifting speech from the Mayor on the Big Island reminding us that we are doing something incredible for doing community service. I had forgotten that is what I was actually doing. Mostly I was focusing on the fact that I was bettering my career through more experience and networking, but I am supplying services for much cheaper than my education and experience deserves. And I seem to forget sometimes that there are people out there who don't think environmental issues should be something we give money to. Basically it was nice to be reminded of the role we are playing as Americorp interns and our duty

The next day was one of the most boring days ever. We were getting certified by Red Cross in shelter training so that in case of emergencies that required shelters we would be able to voluteer and help. The first hour wasn't too bad because it was good things to know in case we get called to come help out. Then we were working in groups to do scenarios and thats when the stupid questions began. I don't know if people don't have common sense or thought they were being funny, but honestly I don't think we need to know exactly what to do if Genghis Khan shows up to our shelter. I think the adrenaline will kick in and you will know what to do if the time comes and if you use common sense its not difficult to know what to do. Fortunately, the benefit is that I am not certified to assist in case of emergencies. I also got CPR and first aid certified last week so now I can help in all different types of emergencies!

I was also irritated at the training because I knew I had to go to work after to pack up and prepare to leave for the Big Island for a conference the next day and thought my time would be better used doing that then listening to silly questions. I left the next day at 5am (which meant I was up at 3:30 to be at the airport at 4) which is never how I want to start my day. Getting up before the sun, let alone starting work before the sun, should just be a sin in my universe. I think I had about 7 cups of coffee before noon and the conference went till 5. It was a cattlemens ranchers conference, probably the only place in the world where you see men with hatboxes (for their cowboy hats) and their cowboy boots clip clop louder than any woman's heels. It was an interesting experience, there were mostly vendors selling cattle vaccines, calfcandy?, and other weird cattle things that I had absolutely no idea about. Then there was us (DOFAW and USDA) and NRCS; the state and federal agencies. We were ignored a bit more than the others despite our many swag items. I had been so nervous about memorizing what I needed to know and it turned out to be a bit unnessary since no one really asked me any questions.

My booth

The hotel the conference took place, not too shabby

Overall it was a lot of fun to get to travel for work and nice to take some responsibility. It really meant a lot that my bosses trusted me after only a month to travel for work by myself and represent our office. I also got to meet up with a friend of mine living in Hilo for dinner at the Kona Brewing Co (a must when you're in Kona right?) which was really great. Now its back to the office for this week, though Thanksgiving is on Thursday so I will have a nice day off to make up for working on Saturday. I have plans to go with my Grandma's side of the family to Thanksgiving lunch BUFFET and then Thanksgiving dinner with my family I am living with. I am going to be so stuffed. We will see how two meals will go...I think my Friday will have to include a long run.

PIC and Hamakua Marsh

This week was absolutely crazy. The Pacific Island Committee Conference was finally here, after a month of planning. This was a conference with all US Pacific Islands, including Guam, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, and the Marshall Islands. I had an epiphany a few days before the conference that I would be doing registration, which involved me having to hear peoples names, and mark them off on whether they paid or not. And I struggle with accents. This was going to be interesting. Fortunately once registration got into full swing, I was left doing parking validation and receipts, which suited me just fine. We were working most of the morning and therefore wasn't really able to listen to the lectures till the afternoon. The afternoon lectures were about the effects of climate change on Pacific Islands, something I am extremely interested in. I even got to see a couple of people I had met at the Hawaiian Conservation Conference I had gone to over the summer.

The next day was going to be an even longer one. Not only did we have a day at the Conference, but also an evening event we were hosting for the visiting islanders. I had been working with Kokua Kalihi Valley as our location to attempt to get some donations for the dinner. This had resulted in me making Craigslist ads for coconuts and writing interdepartment memos asking for coconuts, firewood, and ulu (breadfruit). The people at KKV had planned to do an imu (cooking in the ground) complete with salmon, kalua, venison, and some veggies. I spent the afternoon driving everyone around to get enough vehicles to drive 40 people into Kalihi Valley, and then we ended up having far too many cars. Once we arrived, we could see two tents with twinkling lights and appetizers of smoked salmon, venison, fruit, and ava. Dinner had fruit salad, hau soup, taro bread, poi, chicken, kalua, and many other delicious things! It was really great to have a traditional Hawaiian dinner with good company.

The Spread

Day 3 I helped set up for the Society of American Foresters Conference, which involved putting out displays of boxes from each of the states. Around the world, countries were partaking in this project to have a box show the best things about forests from their home to celebrate the International Year of the Forests. The other benefit was that other groups that had been setting up had left out all their give away items and while I wasnt going to the conference (far too expensive) I did get a lot of cool swag. Add in the cool stuff from the Forest Service for helping at the PIC and I have tons of cool US Forest items.

My swag!

Since everyone was at the SAF conference, I went to fill my time doing some field work at Hamakua marsh. We had been told we were going to be pulling pickleweed to help make it a better environment for the wetland birds. While previously I had been not looking forward to this, it ended up being tons of fun. I don't know why I have yet to learn that with the right crew of people and a nice steady pace, field work is actually really fun. I had been promised use of atvs, but instead got to learn how to use chainsaws. I have this tendency to agree to do things without thinking and this was definitely one of those times. I agreed to be the first one to try it without remembering how dangerous I am near deadly items. I believe my clumsiness plays a large role in my decision making, and it apparently wasn't remembered till the blade was going. Fortunately, I did not drop any branches on myself, fall on the blade, cut anyone else, and actually gained some confidence in doing some really awesome things like face cuts! No, not cutting someones face, but the legit way of cutting trees where you cut a wedge on one side and tap it on the other so you can manipulate its fall. It was really awesome. I also got to see some cool birds: stilts, coots, and moorhens.

The Marsh

Our fun crew, Katie, Arthur, and James

And to cap off my week, how about some GIS. GIS stands for Geospatial Information Systems and involved combining maps with data. The cool thing I was going to learn about, was how we could include the web in all this. ESRI, the group that releases all the main GIS programs was putting on a seminar on how to outreach your maps to the public using the internet. A few weeks before I had gone to a seminar where they discussed how to do this, and now I was going to a workshop to put it all into action. It was really fun and surprisingly easy (which is truly shocking for GIS, the last project I did took me 5 hours just to get it right), and I have already begun thinking about how we could use it in a couple of our projects! So heres a quick map I made in 5 minutes at the seminar showing a couple of locations of my favorite places.

View Larger Map

Off Road Adventure

So there hasn't been much change from last week, except for a lot more work! Last week I was the new, naive intern, and now I am carrying my weight and then some in our office. As with most state offices, we have far too much to do and not enough staff to do it. I have things that are starting to be time pressing and the procrastinator in me is rejecting the concept of deadlines. I am trying to learn which things should be priority and which ones can be on the back burner for a bit. With this upcoming PIC conference, my main focus has been preparing for not only the conference but the dinner event we are putting on as well. But on the other hand there are a few more things that have to get done right after that event is over and I have to make sure they aren't forgotten in the hustle planning stuff for PIC. But enough about the boring parts of work...

This weekend was awesome, want to know why? Cuz the New Zealand All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup, on home turf, after 24 years of being the best in the world and just not winning the World Cup. It was so awesome to go hang out with my Aunt and Uncle who were just as big All Blacks fans as I am. I was so proud of them! They really did something amazing, they held off France (barely) 8-7 and the festivities since have shown just how much their country loves them. And it has made me miss NZ soooo much, especially seeing everyone celebrating in giant groups and watching the celebration parades. I know a couple of them are taking a vacation in the US, wonder if they are going to stop off in Hawaii :) I wish!

Doing our Haka pose, though nearly not as scary as 15 large rugby guys doing it!

 Unfortunately my very awesome weekend was tainted by illness on Monday morning. I felt bad missing a day from work so early on, but it was just not possible for me to leave my bed. The good thing was that it only lasted a day which meant I was free to go on a field trip today! We went to Waikele valley today to look at a giant property. The owner wanted us to take a look so that they could enter a Safe Harbor agreement. This sets a baseline for any endangered species on the property and allows for you to improve the habitat and possibly "take" (kill) an endangered species as long as you dont go below your baseline. It protects people from getting in trouble with the endangered species act. I also think he just wanted to show us what his plans were. He was really cool, worked as a geologist but also has a passion for restoration. He taught us various native plants and kept us going at a very quick pace as we went up from the valley onto the ridgeline. Our trails were ones created for a tunnel system to move water 70 years ago, but then there were also some extremely dangerous trails that he had created himself. I just kept hoping that I would channel some grace and NOT fall off a cliff face and die. The road getting up there was insane as well. Our car was bouncing for an hour like we were on Indiana Jones at Disneyland. At one point we got out of the car to put sticks and vegetation on the mud because the car was not moving! It was definitely an adventure and incredible seven hours in the field. Heres some pics!

First Field Trip!

So I have now completed only 3 days at my new job and I already feel at home. My bosses are great and have so much knowledge to share! My first day was filled with lots and lots of reading. I am working for the forestry department, but mostly focused in land assistance programs, so similar work to what I did for my senior internship at the NRCS. The projects I am focusing on have been the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and Forest Stewardship Program. Haven't heard of them? Well that makes two of us. So my first day was spent reading about these various programs and becoming educated on them. I also got introduced to a couple more projects that I am still waiting to learn more about.

While the first day was a bit of a bore (reading dense material on the computer for 9 hours) the second day was much better. I was going on my first field trip! So I am assisting with a Pacific Islands Conference at the end of this month and we were hoping one of the FSP projects could host a dinner for all the islands. These islands include American Samoa, Palau, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia, and a few more, to come to Hawaii to discuss forestry issues specific to Pacific Islands. I am so excited to get to help out with this conference and meet all these incredible people especially since I have such a focus in the Pacific Islands. Anyway, back to the field trip, we went to this beautiful agroforestry farm in Kalihi called Ho`oulu `Aina where they are working to grow medicinal plants and all native Hawaiian plants. We discussed menu ideas for this dinner and they described things I haven't even heard of so I am super excited to be involved and learn new things. It was also great getting to go outside and experience a new ecosystem. It is amazing how much I learned going on field visits with the NRCS, without even realizing it. I learned what plants are invasive and native to California, but none of that applies here. Its a totally different forest and I have a lot to learn. So far we have gone over Albizia which is all over Manoa and Hawaii and invasive to Hawaii and Kukui, the state tree, which is also invasive. I also got to see what Koa looks like when its not the kitchen table I am eating off of! I am so excited to become familiar with a more Polynesian ecosystem.

Another project I am working on has been changing the rules in their statutes, which means I am putting all those law classes to work. It is a bit weird how much I enjoy reading statutes and knowing why particular language is used over another. I am excited to get going on this so that hopefully by the time my internship is coming to a close, I can say I helped change a statute! I am also working on the Big Tree project to help get Native Hawaiian trees on a national register and just got an email from someone doing the same thing but for New Zealand! So I hope to either get a few of our trees on the national list and a couple more on the Pacific Islands list in New Zealand.

So enough about work. Many of you ask how I am doing and what I am up to. To be honest, I've only had one weekend so far and it was spent unpacking my giant suitcases and becoming settled in my new life. Most of the time my days include work, going for a run, dinner, then relaxing before retiring quite early (as many of you know I am a bit of a night owl so this has probably been the hardest part). Running has been so enjoyable here, and I am not sure if its because the humidity makes it easier to breathe, the downhill at the beginning of my run, or the slight mist that is always hanging around Manoa in the evening. I just feel happy while running, which hasn't been the case since I took 3 months off after spraining my ankle. It has been a highlight of my day and I am hoping possibly a key to making new friends since I plan on joining a running club soon. This weekend I look forward to meeting up with some family returning from the World Cup in New Zealand (I am soooo jealous) and watching the All Blacks take on Australia. Hope to check in soon!

Heres a couple of pics from the field visit!

New Resident of the Great State of Hawaii

So I am not completely sold on wanting to do a blog for my time in Hawaii since I am just going to be living here and its not like im a tourist, considering how many times I've been to Hawaii. But I am thinking that it would be a good way to reflect and to share hopefully what will become really cool things related to my new job.

So in case you are unaware of what the heck I am doing in Hawaii, im going to fill you in. After graduating from UCSC with a degree in Environmental Studies, I went out into the real world in search of a job. I applied mostly to federal jobs because I had experience working with the NRCS already. I also knew that I wanted to work in Hawaii at some point. I decided to go the Hawaii Conservation Conference in the beginning of August in the hope that I could network and maybe get hired. I learned a lot and met tons of great people, but wasn't offered any jobs. What I did learn was that there was a group called KUPU that placed people in environmental positions in Hawaii using Americorp funding. They had year internships with a living stipend and an educational award at the end. After inquiring about my chances to actually get picked, I was pretty sure I had found my next employment.

So I was interviewed by a couple of groups that were interested after looking at my resume and application. It was all phone interviews mostly asking what experience I had, what I was most interested in, and what my responsibilities would be if I worked at their office. Both of my interviews were with the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources: Div. of Forestry and Wildlife but were different focuses in that department. I quickly heard back from the Forestry section and agreed to be their intern for the year!

I have been lucky enough to have experience with traveling and moving somewhere new, whether it was moving to Santa Cruz for college or studying abroad in New Zealand. I kinda thought that this would feel the same way. However, as I was on the way to the airport, I realized that this was probably the last time I would call LA home. There is no return home ticket waiting to bring me back to all the friends and family in California this time. It was a bit of reality check since I had made this big decision on a whim. Add in a bit of stress about having two very large suitcases (at the maximum weight and still short of belongings) and two bags pushing the boundaries on the term "carry on" and I had a bit of a freak out.
Once I got to my gate, I heard they were offering a $400 flight voucher, $30 food vouchers, a hotel room for the night, and 1st class tomorrow if you gave up your seat and I instantly agreed. Then I had a voucher to come home at some point AND got to fly 1st class. So I got a shuttle to the hotel, and Heather D. joined me at the hotel for some dessert, compliments of Delta. The next day I flew in style, drinking mimosas, coffee, tea, eating an egg omelet and chips, and pretty much over indulged in a way that only a coach flyer would.

Yesterday was my first day and I went and picked up my car which we had shipped out so I wouldn't die riding a moped (thanks mom) and then ran some errands. Mostly it was me attempting to put off unpacking, which I successfully did (still incomplete). I am staying with family in Manoa which is pretty close to work, which is in downtown Honolulu. I went to check out my work today to pick up paperwork and to get a feel for the office (aka figure out work appropriate clothing). Turned out they were doing a meeting going over their various projects in the office. I got a general overview of what my responsibilities were and even ended up with my name on projects despite not officially starting work until Monday. The most exciting thing was learning that there would be a lot of new things to learn. I will get a lot of opportunities to build on skills I already have (private land conservation projects, GIS) but I also get to learn new ones like spatial analysis, compliance, lobbying for legislation, all things I am eager to do. Best part, there will be island hopping in my future! DOFAW (Dept. of Forestry and Wildlife) has a couple of easements on various islands and each year they have to do monitoring of the property and I get to go along! Theres at least one on the big island and one on Molokai that I get to go see. I also have a field trip planned to do some invasive control at a marsh on the winward side so hopefully I will have some fun pictures for you all soon.

Well I guess I should probably get back to unpacking, still have a whole bag and a half to deal with :)