UCSD GELS Hawai'i 2017

Discussion and analysis of the day's activities Kayla has a moment to herself to reflect and enjoy the beautiful setting Getting ready for our day of data collection Students doing fish counts under the supervision of Jason, Cheyenne and Susan Sharing and learning about how special this place is Setting a transect line Quadrants and transects in the tidal pools with Monika "Mahalo bear" comes along for the day-keeping watch over the group!

Day 6: Maddie Wallace Today was a good day at the UCSD GELS Hawai'i program. After breakfast in the HPA dining hall, we returned to the house and worked on our research group projects. Each of the four groups had a different topic to discuss. My group was assigned “The Anthropogenic Impact on Coral Reefs” and we presented how humans impact coral reefs and the ecosystem surrounding them. After finishing our poster we headed for Hāpuna beach, a beautiful white sand beach, with light blue-green water surrounding it. My favorite activity of the day was going to the beach. My best friend from Los Angeles happened to be vacationing a short walk away from Hapuna beach, and so I got to see him. This was probably the highlight of the day for me because I rarely see him because he lives six hours away. He has helped me through some of my hardest times and is one of the people I trust most in my life. Being able to see him and have fun with him at a gorgeous beach reminded me...

Day 7:  Kristina Dvorak             All of a sudden, I was jolted across my seat and in that moment I realized that minivans are definitely not meant to go off-roading. The road from highway 19 to Kiholo Bay was a treacherous one and it marked only the beginning of today’s adventure. We parked on the side of the dirt path and continued our day with observations of our environment, testing the salinity of the water, and transporting rocks that will soon be used to complete the wall around the fish ponds. The most memorable part of the day for me was when we went swimming with the honu (green sea turtle) in the fishponds. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to swim this closely to turtles in the wild. I put my snorkeling goggles on and walked into the water. I was shocked how cold it was, but then I remembered freshwater is colder than salt water, therefore the fishponds are colder than the ocean, being fed water...

Resting turtle just waking up (photo by Javier) Becca gives direction as students prepare to move rocks The line up!  Passing rocks makes the job fun and fast!  Javier is using a refractometer to measure the salinity of the ponds Turtles coming in to rest with the tide (photo by Susan) One after another they enter their safe haven. We counted over 30 in all the ponds. Photo by Susan The tranquility of Kiholo Bay (Photo by Susan) The group returns from their hike ready to work  Students hike to the fresh water entrance into the pond Fish pond at Kiholo Bay

Filling "dipples" and planting seeds Last night together in the HPA house Thurston Lava Tube at VNP Chain of Craters Road VNP On top of the world- actually on top of a volcano! Hapuna Beach fun Taking a break on the caldera hike at VNP Kaumana Cave Overlook of Kilauea caldera from Volcano House  A great day at Volcano National Park with Judy Weitz Add caption

Amaury hiking the caldera at VNP   Chloe  testing the waters for oyster diving  Courtney (with a Chloe photo bomb) with our Pele offering Emma separating plankton samples Janel is checking out a volcanic spear Javier and Emma love being scientists Kayla showing off her scientific lab gear Kristina and Courtney making tea leaf leis Maddie looking at plankton samples Maverick watching as Javier uses a refractometer  Maverick- first recipient of our daily "Mahalo Bear" for his welcoming and friendly attitude on the first day  Noe leads the group down to the Kaumana caves Noe received the Mahalo Bear on the first day for his willingness to make new friends. Tigist loving the Hawaiian life at Kiholo Bay Veda filling "dipples" for planting Koa seeds Thanks to the UHH crew who guided us throughout the week: Erika Perry, Cheyenne Perry, Scott, Derek, Maddie, Hoku, Monika, Kia and...