Hui Maka’ainana o Makana

The Pāpala Lele Biocultural Internship will cultivate Native Hawaiian youth, high school youth, and college students as the next generation of environmental stewards through place-based learning across the Hāʻena ahupuaʻa, integrating traditional knowledge with accredited academic pathways.

This project will bolster the youth biocultural internship program with a new curriculum and travel opportunity for twelve interns to connect with other Native Hawaiian-led organizations doing community-led stewardship

This program creates educational initiatives to teach the skills, knowledge, and practices of our kūpuna through interpretation, restoration, care, conservation, and protection of natural and cultural resources in Hāʻena, Kauaʻi. We are actively shaping current and future generations of conservationists, ʻāina stewards, cultural practitioners, and community advocates.