HPA Hosts Third Annual Student Congress on Sustainability
High school students and teachers from the Big Island, Maui, Oahu, and Colorado gathered at Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) from June 1-4 for the Third Annual Student Congress on Sustainability 2010. About 80 students participated in the free, four-day event hosted by HPA and The Kohala Center.
The mission of the Student Congress on Sustainability is to celebrate, inform, and cultivate student-driven environmental initiatives addressing local, national, and global issues. By marshalling the enthusiasm, talent, and resourcefulness of young men and women, the Congress is one means of facilitating widespread education and collaboration among high school students, serving to cultivate and shape habits of mind that will translate sustainable ideology into practice.
This year’s Congress featured speakers Darren Kimura, chairman of the board of directors at Sopogy, Inc., Energy Industries Corporation, Energy Holdings, and Keahole Solar Power; Chris Bland, general legal counsel for Transfield; Dr. Lisa Pickell, research scientist at Cellana LLC; and Daniel Miller, who produced and filmed “Seeds of Hope.”
Students attended four workshops about a variety of sustainability topics ranging from hydrogen power, careers in sustainability, and natural farming with indigenous microorganisms, to vermicomposting, sustainable agriculture in Hawaii, compostable and biodegradeable products, water, and waste. Students also were introduced to the Footprint Futures curriculum and worked on energy audits and a project focused on reusing waste. Delegates visited one of the following on their excursion—ReefTeach at Kahalu’u Beach, Natural Energy Laboratories of Hawaii Authority Gateway, Keahole Solar Power, Cellana LLC, Friendly Aquaponics Farm, or Kawamata Farms—and participated in a service project that included beach and ocean clean up, assisted at the Ka’upulehu Dryland Forest, weeded at the Ka’upulehu Interpretive Center, and planted trees to offset their carbon footprint.
