Huliau Leadership Council
The Huliau Leadership Council is open to students in grades 9-12 from all Maui County schools who have an interest in environmental leadership. Members meet twice a month to plan service projects and other environmental leadership projects.About our 2024-2025 School Year Program
Our 2024-2025 leadership will meet twice a month from September until May (14 total meetings), plus four additional service days on weekends throughout the year. These may include projects such as beach cleanups, tree plantings, and farm or loʻi workdays. The program will start with an overnight huakaʻi to Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge from the afternoon of August 30th-31st. Following the orientation, in-person meetings or mini field-trips will be held the first Wednesday of the month from 3:30-5:30pm, and virtual meetings will be held the third Wednesday of the month from 4:00-5:30pm. At meetings, students will learn about environmental issues on Maui from various community groups and plan future service projects and guest speakers. You can see examples from last year’s program below. The program ends with an overnight inter-island trip in late April.
Students entering grades 9-12 are welcome to apply for this free program using the button to the right and our staff will contact you with more details. All sessions are required and students who miss more than three sessions will not receive a certificate of completion or be able to participate in the year-end trip.
Schedule details:
Orientation August 30th-31st Overnight at Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge from August 30th at 4p, followed by morning activities on the 31st ending at noon
In-person meetings/field trips 3-5:30pm 1st Wednesdays: Sept 4th, Oct 2nd, Nov 6th, Dec 4th, (no Jan), Feb 5th, March 5th, April 2nd, May 7th
Virtual meetings 4-5:30pm 3rd Wednesdays: Sept 18th, Oct 16th, Nov 20th, (no Dec), Jan 15th, Feb 19th, (no March), April 16th
Service projects and other weekend dates: two fall service projects, two spring service projects, Mauka/Makai Career Days in November, and tentative off-island trip April 26th-27th
2023-2024 Leadership Council Projects & Photos
Below are some of the projects and events that the leadership council has participated in during the 2023-2024 school year.
September 2023 ♦ Huliau Leadership Council Orientation and International Coastal Cleanup
Kahului Harbor
International Coastal Cleanup 2023 hosted by Huliau Leadership Council was a success! Students removed trash from Kahului Harbor and sorted the debris according to the type of trash. After the beach cleanup, the council participated in activities including paddling in a 6-man outrigger canoe and discussed environmental issues they are interested in investigating. We’re excited to see what the council accomplishes this year! Mahalo Hawaiian Canoe Club for the opportunity to get our students out in the water to paddle! It was the first time for most of them!
October 2023 ♦ Nohoʻana Farm
Waikapū
Our leadership council visited Nohoʻana Farm as our first in-person meeting. Students helped to clear invasive grasses blocking an ʻauwai and ended the session cleaning kalo in Nohoʻana Farm’s brand new kitchen!
November 2023 ♦ Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute
Māʻalaea
Our Huliau Leadership Council visited the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute. Students discussed the importance of our coral reefs and sea turtles in Hawaiʻi. As well as learned about some of the local and global threats impacting these species.
December 2023 ♦ Stenciling project w/ Maui County Stormwater Management Program
Wailuku
The Huliau Leadership Council participated in a stenciling project with the County Stormwater Management Program! In groups, students collaborated to spray paint awareness signs near storm drains around Wailuku. The signs state “No Dumping, Drains to Ocean” and are painted there hoping to deter unwanted dumping into the drains.
December 2023 ♦ Maui Tea Farm Service Project & Ziplining
Kula
The Huliau Leadership Council and Alumni Council visited Maui Tea Farm! We started our day with a farm tour to learn about the tea varieties and native plants grown on the property. Then, students worked together to weed areas of the farm so that māmaki could be planted in the future.
We finished off our day ziplining at Skyline Hawaiʻi! Our students had a blast going through the 5 zipline courses.
February 2024 ♦ Tipu Tipu Restoration & Sustainability
Waikapū
Tipu Tipu Restoration and Sustainability hosted our Leadership Council at their greenhouse in Waikapū! Students worked together to weed out invasive grasses from around the native plants being grown in their nursery fields. Once these natives are ready to be outplanted, they’ll be taken to Tipu Tipu’s restoration site in Wahikuli.
February 2024 ♦ Kauluwehi Biocultural Garden
Kahului
For our spring service project, our students visited the Kauluwehi Biocultural Restoration Garden! This project, located at UH Maui and a part of the Sustainable Living Institute of Maui program, started as an effort to restore native species across Maui. Led by their garden coordinator, Dustin Palos, students worked together to remove invasive species and plant lāʻī, vetiver, ʻohai, and kukui. After lunch, students researched different native plants in the garden and each prepared their own plant pressing!
March 2024 ♦ Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project
Hoʻokipa
The Huliau Leadership Council went on a mini huakaʻi to Hoʻokipa as a part of our monthly in-person meetings. While there, Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project took our students on a tour of the ʻuaʻu kani nesting ground along the coast, discussing the importance of our native seabirds and protecting their nesting areas. We ended our session with planting ʻakiʻaki grass near the naupaka and other native plant species in the area.
April 2024 ♦ End of the Year Oʻahu Trip!
Oʻahu
Our Leadership Council visited Oʻahu this weekend to celebrate the end of our program and check out what some of our alumni there are up to! 🎉
It was such a fun, educational weekend for our students and a great way to wrap up the school year!
Our Huliau Leadership Council students created Instagram posters as part of our #EyesonCOP26 social-media campaign encouraging world leaders at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow to take meaningful action on climate change. You can check out all their posters and other climate-related art and projects on our new “climate conversations” page.
