ReCreATES Visions Learning Campus—Converging generational, place-based wisdom, and modern research
Learning from past practices of convergence science, our community partners address a list of shared goals by converging generational, place-based wisdom, and modern research to establish Recreating Climate Resilience Adaptation: Traditional Ecological Stewardship (ReCreATES) Visions Learning Campus (RVLC).
Terrestrial & Agriculture Research & Learning Campus, Hamakua
Our Learning Campus is situated along the Hamakua Coast of Big Island and is focused on terrestrial and agricultural research and education. Led by Olohana’s executive director, Sarah Purgus as Terrestrial Environmental Director with Alex Meffert as Operations Director, this Learning Campus incorporates scientific analyses with traditional agroforestry and silvopasture techniques to support optimum soil health and nutrient dense crops. Visitors to the Learning Campus include students who get hands-on experience in the field via a curriculum that guides students through the contemporary and traditional practices employed. In production is “Farmily,” a series of videos that tell the story of the Learning Campus’s terrestrial stewardship efforts.
The Learning Campus partners with Hui Aloha Kiholo, a like-minded organization working towards the restoration of the coastline at Kiholo Bay on the Big Island. Hui Aloha Kiholo, as well as Leah Lamb, Olohana’s Marine Environmental Coordinator, and Tim Schneider, Atmospheric Environmental Coordinator (NCAR), contribute expertise towards achieving RVLC goals.
At our Learning Campus, we model a wisdom and data-informed approach for:
- strengthening community adaptation,
- supporting traditional lifeways,
- and creating capacity to sustain the growth of convergence science.
RVLC Shared Goals Supporting Convergence Science
- Strengthen participation and support leadership of students and researchers through RVCC student and other youth-focused programs;
- Facilitate the development of a microclimate monitoring network on the Big Island of Hawaii and an instrumental comparison of high grade v. low grade monitoring instruments.
- Collaborate with Hui Aloha Kiholo and NSF NCAR in the implementation of terrestrial strategies to enhance natural resources and strengthen community climate adaptation and resilience.
- Support the design and development of a “protocols in research” learning campus at Kiholo;
- Identify climate adaptation and research strategies to improve collaborations between institutions and communities;
- Expand on the Intergenerational Transfer of Knowledge (ITK) and its role in Convergence Science.