This blog post might have been delayed but itʻs definitely never to late to reflect and share! This summer I (Hiʻilei Casco) interned through the Kamehameha Schools Kapili ʻOihana Internship Program with the Nature Conservancy Maui. As a field technician, I spent most of my days on the slopes of Haleakalā in Waikamoi Preserve conducting fence checks, leading hikes, exercising our hunting dogs, and removing invasive species. As a student in the environmental field, it was critical that I engaged in field experience in order to 1) boost my resume but more importantly, 2) feel what hands-on conservation work is really like.
Although I can go on endlessly about the synergistic team I worked with, the relationships I developed with the ʻāina, and the importance of field work to the larger mission of conservation, I will not. There are simply not enough words to express and encompass my experiences and what theyʻve meant to me.
I am so grateful to Kamehameha Schools for supporting me as alumni, and also to TNC Maui for hosting me with the utmost aloha. Here is a visual representation of parts of my journey this summer:
Although I can go on endlessly about the synergistic team I worked with, the relationships I developed with the ʻāina, and the importance of field work to the larger mission of conservation, I will not. There are simply not enough words to express and encompass my experiences and what theyʻve meant to me.
I am so grateful to Kamehameha Schools for supporting me as alumni, and also to TNC Maui for hosting me with the utmost aloha. Here is a visual representation of parts of my journey this summer: