Wai Huihia Kumu Network 

What is the Wai Huihia Kumu Network?  It’s a concept we are putting into practice that provides a space for teachers with varying levels of experience in 'āina-based education to: come together to exchange knowledge, ideas, and resources; learn from each other as well as from other organizations; and build new skills to help them feel more confident and supported to implement 'āina-based education. 

One way we would like to accomplish this is through monthly gatherings after school featuring different schools or sites that implement 'āina-based education. These monthly gatherings will be held every second Tuesday of the month (December 2020-May 2021) from 3:30pm-5:00pm . 
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Wai Huihia can be translated literally to “mixing waters” in the Hawaiian language, with the deeper meaning of mixing/uniting resources to support each other.
Mahalo to Puanani Wilhelm of the Hawaiʻi Department of Education for the kōkua with this special name! 

Upcoming Wai Huihia Events:

Wai Huihia Kumu Network Year 3 Kick-off on Tuesday, October 19, 2021 (via Zoom) from 3:30 PM- 5:00 PM! 
 The theme for this gathering is "Rooted in Place," the hope to inspire all you amazing kumu to stay strong during these challenging times and to look to "place" for inspiration and hope.

At this kick-off, you will be introduced to this network and some of the proposed activities and themes for year 3. Then, we will hear from the legendary, Eric Enos of  Kaʻala Farms (https://kaalafarm.org), as he shares the moʻolelo (story) of Kaʻala; the challenges they've overcome, the place and people they've revitalized, and the educational programs and resources they provide for the community to stay resilient during these hard times.  At the end of the gathering, we will be giving away FREE DOOR PRIZES!!! You don't want to miss it! 

This virtual gathering is FREE to attend. At each of these gatherings, you will be presented with a new tool to integrate ʻāina both inside and outside of the classroom, hear from an all-inspiring teacher and/or community guest speakers, and have the opportunity to network and grow pilina with educators interested in ʻāina-based education. Please come as you can! 

Please join us (virtually) on Tuesday, October 19, 2021, from 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM via Zoom for this kickinʻ Kick-off!
Please register here by October 18, 2020, and we will send you the Zoom link to join.

Wai Huihia monthly meetings are held every second Tuesday of the month from 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM via Zoom.

Other Kumu/Haumana Opportunities 

Receive a FREE gift card for field testingʻ Ewaʻ āina lesson plans!
The ʻEwa ʻĀina Education Initiative (EAEI) Professional Development program is currently recruiting enthusiastic field test teachers to implement the lesson plans created by our Teacher Curriculum Leaders (TCL) in this program. The lessons range in grade levels (K-12), and subject areas all focus on the waiwai (wealth) of the 'Ewa moku (region). Field testing will help our TCLs improve and refine their lessons that will be shared widely with other educators and communities across Hawai'i. About 75 lessons (across 25 curricula) have been created around nine ʻāina sites from the ʻEwa ʻĀina Inventory. Each curriculum is centered around an ʻEwa ʻāina site and should contain at least three lessons (two classroom lessons and one *Field Trip-based lesson). We are currently looking for teachers that would be interested in testing these ʻāina-based lessons. 
Field testers will receive a $50 gift certificate for each lesson (no limit) they field test and provide feedback for. 

For more information and to sign up, please visit the following Google Form. There's a link to all the lessons available in the form's description, and you can also find it here. In the form, please select up to five of your top lesson preferences; lessons available are highlighted in yellow.

Lessons must be field-tested and feedback received by November 30, 2021.

You don't want to miss this opportunity to test FREE lesson plans around ʻāina, don't wait to sign up!
​Aloha Kumu! Here are a few resources to help support your students remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic:   ​
  Repository Resources to Kōkua during COVID-19
Mālama Learning Center's Aloha ʻĀina Packets 
In response to the COVID-19 health crisis and the closure of schools, Mālama Learning Center and our partners sought to provide keiki with fun activities that can connect them to ʻāina from home while “sheltering-in-place.”  We developed a simple Aloha ‘Āina Packet, through which we encourage keiki to go outside and to open their senses to the environment around them in a safe and healthy way. All activities in the packet can be done with the 'ohana! The Aloha ʻĀina Packet is brought to you by the Waiʻanae Wellness and Place-Based Learning Alliance.​
 To download the weekly packets, go to https://www.malamalearningcenter.org/aloha-699256ina-packets.html

Virtual Huakaʻi Videos 

Check out this video for more information about the Wai Huihia Kumu Network:

Highlights from past Wai Huihia Events

Wai Huihia Kumu Kickoff Event
December 10, 2019 
Teachers and community partners interested in ʻĀina and Place Based education were brought together to learn more about what the consortium has to offer and gave everyone an opportunity to network with one another. This event was held at the Nāulu Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu and had over 30 attendees that included both teachers from the Leeward area and community organizations. 
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Wai Huihia January Gathering - featuring Kapolei High School's Hoʻōla Academy 
January 14, 2020 
The first afterschool Wai Huihia gathering featured Kapolei High School’s Natural Resources Program (Hoʻōla Academy) which showcased projects in their school māla and collaboration efforts with community partners. Students from the Hoʻōla Academy showcased their projects to the teachers that attended. Teachers also got to particpate in a maʻo (Hawaiian Cotton) planting activity. 

Wai Huihia ʻĀina Education Resources of ʻEwa Professional Development Workshop 
January 25 & February 8, 2020
On the first day of this workshop, teachers visited Mālama Puʻuloa’s site and learned about the resources that teachers could use to teach about the kai (water) of ʻEwa. Guest speaker Sandy Ward introduced teachers to Mālama Puʻuloa, a site they could potentially take their students to in the future. Another guest speaker Wally Ito, from Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo; taught teachers about the native limu that was once abundant in the ʻEwa moku. Teachers were also introduced to the ʻEwa ʻĀina Inventory and were given limu lessons that they could use in their classroom. On the second day, teachers were introduced to the mauka resources of ʻEwa. Teachers were able to explore the different sites up at Pālehua including Camp Pālehua, the Pā cultural site, and MLC’s Mauka Nursery. Dr. Manulani Meyer from the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu was a guest speaker, showing teachers different teaching methods that allow people to open up to one another.
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Wai Huihia February Gathering - featuring Keoneʻula's Elementary School's Sustainable Living Club 
February 11, 2020 
The second Wai Huihia afterschool gathering took place at Keoneʻula Elementary School in ‘Ewa Beach. Fourth grade students from Keoneʻula’s Sustainable Living Club gave the teachers a tour of their school’s garden, aquaponics, and composting system- the students led the entire tour on their own! At the end of the gathering, guest speaker Summer Maunakea from Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation introduced teachers to a fun plant activity teachers could do with their students and gave teachers an overview of resources they could access to help them implement more ʻāina and place based activities. 
Wai Huihia ʻĀina Education Resources of Waiʻanae Professional Development Workshop 
February 22, 2020 ​
The ʻĀina Education Resources of Waiʻanae PD  featured the educational resources of the Cultural Learning Center at Ka‘ala (Ka‘ala Farms). Teachers that attended this field trip were able to learn and participate in restoration activities in the lo‘i kalo at the Cultural Learning Center at Kaʻala. Teachers also learned about native dryland mesic forest plants in the Ka‘ala Kīpuka. To close out this day, guest Speaker Tammy Jones from PALS/PLACES presented P4C techniques and ways to encourage citizen action/student advocacy through her “Try Think” activity in the hale located on site. 
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Wai Huihia March Gathering - featuring Waipahu High School's Academy of Natural Resources (ANR) 
March 10, 2020
 Students from the ANR gave the teachers at this gathering an overview of some their successful projects such as the fresh produce grown in their school’s grow beds/aquaponics, the fish that is grown and sold from their aquaponics, and the outdoor classroom that they utilize to make hands-on learning easier to implement. At the end of the gathering, administrators from Waipahu High School participated in the discussion on teacher empowerment and how to gain support to do ʻāina and place based education within other schools and communities. 
Wai Huihia April "Virtual" Gathering - featuring Nānakuli High & Intermediate School's ʻAʻaliʻi Program
April 14, 2020
 Although the COVID outbreak has forced us all to stay at home, the Wai Huihia Kumu Network continues to stay positive and support one another during these crazy times. Like the haumana in the NHIS's ʻAʻaliʻi Program, the kumu in this network are resilient! After learning about the wonderful ʻAʻaliʻi Program, kumu shared about their current struggles and shared any resources they found helpful for implementing distanced learning from home. 
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Wai Huihia May "Virtual" Gathering - featuring Kuʻulei Samson from Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha
May 12, 2020
 The Wai Huihia Kumu Network virtually met one last time for the school year. Kuʻulei Samson from Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha talked about engaging ʻohana and community during these changing times. For the second half of the gathering, teachers discussed the challenges they are currently facing and proposed ideas to help grow our network in the future. 
Wai Huihia Kumu Network's Year 2 Launch 
December 8, 2020
 Educators and partners from all over virtually gathered via Zoom to celebrate the launch of Year 2 of the Wai Huihia Kumu Network! At this gathering, the Mālama Learning Center introduced the network to everyone and went over the proposed activities for Year 2 of this program. Everyone was also able to hear from the all-inspiring Aunty Manulani Meyer from the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu as she facilitated a conversation around ʻike makahiki and sharing in excellence together. Although virtual, everyone was still able to participate in a couple interactive activities and got to get to know a little bit about each other. We hope we can continue to help build pilina (relationships) between all of our kumu and partners throughout this next year of the Wai Huihia Kumu Network. 

​Wai Huihia Kumu Network January 2021 Gathering
January 12, 2021
The Wai Huihia kumu discussed how educators can integrate ʻĀina-Based Education in a virtual setting and beyond. One of our beloved kumu; Jeremy Soriano from Kapolei High School, was able to share how he is able to utilize online platforms and virtual huakaʻi to provide students with a deeper understanding of place. He is able to partner with real scientists in the community and have his students collaborate with one another so they are still able to run real experiments even during COVID! He also helps his students design their own experiments and will run the experiment for them so they can still collect data. Such an inspiring kumu Jeremy Soriano, mahalo nui for sharing with all of us! 

Wai Huihia Kumu Network February 2021 Gathering
February 9, 2021
February's gathering featured Shannon Bucasas from Waiʻanae High School. Shannon says, “The community is the heart of the school”, as she shared how she is able to collaborate with community partners to enhance student learning. Shannon highlighted the importance of building relationships with community organizations and shared some helpful tips on how to plan huaka’i for your students.  We had some great discussions and most of all, we were all reminded of the numerous community organizations that are out there to support our kumu and our keiki.
Wai Huihia Kumu Network March 2021 Gathering
March 9, 2021
The March gathering featured two guest speakers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a.k.a. NOAA! Leon Geschwind; the Education and Outreach Specialist for the NOAA Inouye Regional Center, shared some of the resources and programs that NOAA has available for educators in Hawaii. Leon shared about resources such as the "Science on a Sphere" data app, webinars, virtual tours, and student opportunities such as Science Fair and internship experiences. 
Wai Huihia Kumu Network April 2021 Gathering
April 13, 2021
April's gathering featured two of our Year 1 kumu; Samoana McAngus from Keoneʻule Elementary and Kevin Sledge from Waipahu High School. At this gathering, Samoana shared some of the ways she is able to teach and engage her fourth grade students in ʻāina, by using Google Earth and having her students create virtual huakaʻi (field trips). Kevin was able to share some of his experiences teaching ʻāina on the other end of the spectrum, with High School students in his Natural Resources and Spanish classes! Kevin and a few of his colleagues from Waipahu High School shared how their Natural Resource Academy has shifted their way of teaching during the pandemic and are still able to embed huakaʻi protocols (such as Oli) into their curriculum. Kevin finished by sharing how he creatively incorporates ʻāina into his Spanish Lessons, creating practical lessons where students can learn another language but through the Hawaiian perspective
Wai Huihia Kumu Network May 2021 Gathering
May 11, 2021
The final Wai Huihia Year 2 gathering was held in May 2021 and featured a Haumāna Panel, designed to share how ʻĀina-Based education has impacted their learning and perspective on our ʻāina. The Haumāna Panel consisted of four students who have participated in multiple Mālama Learning Center programs over the years present as a panel. Through haumāna voices teachers were able to witness the ʻāina transformations and better understand how they can provide for a passionate and impactful way of learning.

Mahalo to our supporters!

**Initial partners of the Wai Huihia Kumu Network include the Hawaiʻi Department of Education (Mālama Honua Fund and Nānākuli-Waiʻanae Complex), INPEACE, Kamehameha Schools Waiʻanae Coast and ʻEwa regions, Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation, MA’O Organic Farms, Mālama Learning Center, Mālama Puʻuloa, Mālama Loko Ea, Cultural Learning Center at Kaʻala, NOAA BWET Hawaiʻi program, Pacific American Foundation, PALS & PLACES, Ulu Aʻe Learning Center, and the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu and Mānoa campuses. More partners are welcome to join!

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