EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

2007

Elementary School Presentation

On June 8, 2007, World Ocean Day, Yin spoke to students and teachers at the Smith College Campus School , June Program (K1). The talk was organized by teachers Mr. Henard and Ms. Del Monte and parent Melissa Koester (mom of Zachary). Twenty 5-7 year olds and 4 adults heard Yin’s talk on whales, dolphins and other marine life, and listened to cetacean vocalizations. The students asked lots of questions and were very eager to share their own experiences about the marine environment.

Japanese Students

HMMC member Chris Gabriele instructs students on the use of a theodolite to track whales and dolphins

Students from the University of Alaska Southeast

Lehua Wong-WIlson lectures on Hawaiian Navigation Methods to students from the University of Alaska Southeast. They are at the Ko'a Heiau Holo Moana, a navigational heiau.

Cornell University Students

March 2007 • Acoustics Course

2006

Students from Cornell University and University of Hawai'i at Hilo

March 2006 • Acoustics Course

Susan Rickards presented a talk about humpback whales and spinner dolphins at the "Tutu and Me" travelling preschool for children aged 0-5 in Waimea.

2005

18 January 2005 • College Presentation

HMMC worked with the non-profit Kohala Center and Brown University to provide Brown University undergraduates involved in a 10-day marine biology program a two-hour presentation on whale and dolphin biology and research methods at their Ke’ei Beach field camp.

25 February 2005 • High School Presentation

Again HMMC worked with the non-profit Kohala Center and Brown University to provide highschool students involved in the Brown Environmental Leadership Lab (BELL) program a three-hour presentation on whale and dolphin biology and research methods at their Ke’ei Beach field camp. Twenty high school students, five of these from Hawai‘i Island, and fifteen students from towns and cities across the rest of the United States were involved. BELL is a unique outdoor learning laboratory the goal of which is to provide students with the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to become effective leaders, build a supportive community, and protect the world around them.

March 2005 • Acoustics Course

Kona Outdoor Circle whale watches 

In January, February and March of 2004 and 2005, HMMC board members represented HMMC as volunteer naturalists aboard benefit public whalewatches for the Kona Outdoor Circle.  Participation was extremely high, with some cruises in 2005 having well over 200 passengers.  We sighted humpback whales, bottlenose dolphins and spinner dolphins from the Captain Bean’s vessel, all while being serenaded by John Kiawe, who provided his customary excellent guitar playing.  We were able to photograph two humpback whale flukes during these trips, which will be incorporated into the SPLASH data that we submit for the North Pacific catalog.

On 6 January 2005, as an active volunteer in the West Hawai‘i chapter of the Hawaiian Islands Stranding Response Group (HISRG), HMMC board member Susan Rickards provided a presentation to train HISRG volunteers on marine mammal species identification.  HISRG is a non-profit organization, led by Bob Braun DVM, Marlee Breese and Paul Nachtigall (an HMMC advisor), that aims to organize and be ready to respond to marine mammal strandings in the Hawaiian Islands.

Public Presentations

HMMC was pleased and honored to present educational ReefTalks, co-sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.  ReefTalks are free public service presentations, held monthly, alternating between the Waimea/Kamuela and Kona areas of the island of Hawai‘i.  For more information, call UH Sea Grant Extension Service at 808-329-2861.

• 20 January 2004, HMMC board member Chris Gabriele (also a wildlife biologist at Glacier Bay National Park), presented a talk entitled: “The Not-So-Silent Underwater World of the Humpback Whale”.  Chris, with 16 years of research and observation experience, discussed her acoustic work and described and played examples of whale and vessel noise.  Kealakehe High School library, Kailua-Kona

• 24 February 2004, HMMC board member Suzanne Yin presented a talk entitled: “What Was Learned during the Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey?”  Yin has wandered the world studying marine mammals and her accumulated knowledge gives her a global perspective. Yin presented findings from the 2002 NOAA marine mammal survey around the Hawaiian island chain. This study documented 24 different species, including two not previously recorded in Hawai‘i.  She also gave an overview of the new international humpback whale study know as "SPLASH”.  Thelma Parker Memorial Library at Waimea School, Kamuela/Waimea

March 2004  • Acoustics Course

In early March, 2004 (story), HMMC board member Adam S. Frankel, Ph.D. (also a Senior Scientist for Marine Acoustics, Inc.) taught part of a three-day mini-course on marine mammal passive acoustics for students involved in the Cornell University Hawai‘i-based Marine Ecosystems Field Course.  Graduate and undergraduate students studied marine mammal field recording and data collection techniques, marine mammal signal processing, localization theory basics, and humpback whale biology.  Students also gained hands-on experience deploying and retrieving sonobuoy recording systems at sites off the coast of the Big Island

19 April - 14 May 2004 College Internship

21 April 2003, 7:00-9:00pm, HMMC board member Susan Rickards gave an invited talk in Hilo, sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, on HMMC research and conservation. The talks was entitled, "Hawai‘i Marine Mammal Consortium Humpback Whale Studies in Kawaihae Bay."  S. Hata Building, Suite 105, Downtown Hilo

1 July 2003, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, HMMC board member Susan Rickards gave a ReefTalk sponsored by University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology entitled: “Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins of Midway Atoll”.  Thelma Parker Memorial Library, Kamuela, Hawai‘i.

ReefTalks are free public service presentations

DESCRIPTION:  Susan discussed findings from her recent work as Principal Field Researcher for the Oceanic Society's investigations of spinner dolphins inhabiting Midway Atoll in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Her research included population biology, behavioral ecology, and social organization of spinner dolphins in the region. Ms. Rickards shared some of her unique observations, what is being learned from this study, and collaborations with other researchers.

In February and March of 2003 and 2004, high school students from the West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy (WHEA) charter school participated in HMMC’s shore-based research of marine mammals from the “Old Ruins” site on the Kohala Coast.  They were given an overview of the research goals and methodology and then taught to assist in the collection of scan data.  WHEA is a project-based learning laboratory for 7th - 12th grade students. It is the first Public Charter High School in Hawai‘i.  WHEA students participate in scientific research and commercial operations.  Rather than attending classes, students receive credit for all of their core courses by managing and staffing a wide variety of projects. They collaboratively team with peers, staff, University of Hawai‘i faculty and students, mentors, community members, and employers. WHEA helps students learn how to learn, and learn how to collaborate, skills that prepare students for their future.

Public Presentations

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the Hawai'i Marine Mammal Consortium provided a series of free public lectures in 2001.

• 13 February, 2001, 7:00 pm, HMMC board member Chris Gabriele (also a wildlife biologist at Glacier Bay National Park) presented a talk entitled: “Humpback Whale Behavior in Alaska and Hawai'i:  Similarities and Differences.”.  Kealakehe High School – library, Kailua-Kona

• 27 February 2001, 7:00 pm, HMMC board member Susan Rickards presented a talk entitled: “Spinner Dolphins of Midway Atoll.” Kealakehe High School – library, Kailua-Kona

• 6 March 2001, 7:00 pm, HMMC board member Adam Frankel, Ph.D. presented a talk entitled, "What We Can Learn From Humpback Whale Sounds." Kealakehe High School – library, Kailua-Kona