Hakalau

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), a site managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the original location of Teaching ChangeField Courses. Hakalau Forest NWR is one of the few places in the entire state where native forest bird populations are stable or increasing. The long-term conservation and restoration activities there are protecting intact, native habitat and restoring previously degraded habitat for thousands of endangered plants that, in many cases, were limited to a handful of individuals in existence just a few years ago. As a result of the management activities there, Hakalau Forest NWR is a ‘poster-child’ of conservation and restoration success in Hawaiʻi and an ideal site to take students. While the refuge is currently closed to the public because of a fungal pathogen that causes a disease in ʻōhiʻa trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) called Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD). Since 2012, ROD has killed over one million ʻōhiʻa trees on Hawaiʻi Island. We have the privilege of continuing to lead student groups to Hakalau Forest NWR for overnight field courses, and we follow extensive cleaning protocol to prevent the spread of pathogens and pests.