Summer Programs
Applications for our 2025 summer programs for youth in Maui County ages 12-18 are now open! Additional details will be added, but students can apply now to reserve their spot.
Careers in Conservation Summer Program
Students ages 14-18 (Maui County residents)
June 11-13th, 2025
Maui high school students are invited to join us for a 3-day exploration of ʻāina and kai-based careers. Students will participate in hands-on activities, shadowing a few of Maui’s professionals in fields like marine conservation, forest restoration, and native species protection. Students will also participate in an introduction to scuba diving with Extended Horizons. No previous experience is required.
The program fee is $125 for three days and need-based scholarships are available. Transportation from UHMC campus will be provided to all sites.
Day 1 – Maui Ocean Center & Pacific Whale Foundation: students will spend the day at Maui Ocean Center, where they’ll explore a variety of careers in marine science and aquarium operations while learning about the center’s efforts to protect and restore coral reefs. After lunch, the Pacific Whale Foundation’s Conservation Team will lead an interactive session focused on the impacts of marine debris and the strategies being used to reduce it in our oceans.
Day 2 – Scuba with Extended Horizons: students will join the professional dive team from Extended Horizons for a beginner friendly scuba diving experience, called PADI Discover Scuba Diving. No previous experience is required. There is a brief online lesson to complete at home and then an orientation before heading into the ocean for a guided dive with certified PADI instructors. Dives will take place in the Lahaina/Kaanapali area (location announced the day before). Each dive in Maui is filled with tropical reef fish, turtles and the excitement of breathing underwater!
Day 3: The Nature Conservancy & Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project: students will embark on a hike into the Waikamoi Preserve led by conservation staff from The Nature Conservancy. Along the way, they will explore the unique plant and animal species in the area and learn about the ongoing conservation efforts to protect this unique ecosystem. After lunch, field biologists from the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project will join the group to share about their work restoring native forest bird populations.
Huakaʻi i Waiheʻe
Students ages 13-18 (Maui County residents)
June 25-26th, 2025
Huakaʻi i Waiheʻe is an immersive overnight program that travels through the ahupuaʻa of Waiheʻe learning about cultural land division and management, ethical stewardship and the cultural skill sets of moʻolelo and kilo. This program is open to students ages 13 to 18, including recently graduated seniors. Activities include overnight stay at Waiheʻe refuge, hike to Waiheʻe Ridge Trail, refuge site tour and story telling activities and a service project with Hawaiʻi Land Trust and Hanona. The program fee is $50 including dinner & breakfast and need based scholarships are available.
Day 1- Hawaiʻi Land Trust & Hui O Waʻa Kaulua: students will spend the day at Waiheʻe Refuge with Hawaiʻi Land Trust, where they’ll take part in a tour of the refuge, learning about the storied place of Kapoho then jump into a service project assisting HLT with their restoration and conservation efforts of the refuge and the loko iʻa they are working to re-establish. Students will set up camp at the refuge camp site where they will enjoy lunch, campsite activities and swimming at the nearby river mouth, followed by dinner and a star gazing lesson later in the night with Hui O Wa’a Kaulua.
Day 2 – Waiheʻe Ridge Hike & Hanona: students will enjoy a locally sourced breakfast at the campsite before embarking on the Waiheʻe Ridge trail hike led by Huliau staff. Along the way, they will learn about some of Hawaiʻi’s native and invasive species, the ahupuaʻa system, and cultural stories relevant to the uplands of Waiheʻe valley. After lunch, the storytelling continues at the shoreline in the hālau waʻa (traditional hale) of Kealakaʻihonua, the on-site heiau. There, they will engage in discussions on restoration efforts and learn mele and cultural practices related to the space with HANONA.
Huliau EcoAdventure
Students entering grades 7-9 (Maui County residents)
July 29th-31st, 2025
EcoAdventure is a three-day summer program for incoming 7th to 9th graders, offering students the chance to explore the connection between land and sea through hands-on learning and adventure. Students will experience restorative agriculture at Kīpuka Olowalu, learn of the biodiversity of native Hawaiian plant species with Maui Nui Botanical Gardens and Nohoʻana Farms and connect to marine ecosystems through educational activities at the Maui Ocean Center. This program encourages youth to build a deeper relationship with ʻāina, grow as environmental stewards, and have fun while learning through service and exploration.
The program fee is $125 for three days and need-based scholarships are available and easy to apply for. Parents will pick-up and drop off at the designated sites each day.
Day 1- Kīpuka Olowalu & Olowalu reef: students will spend the day at Kīpuka Olowalu engaging in hands-on learning about restorative agriculture through loʻi kalo maintenance and exploring the history of the area, including visits to storied sites and ancient petroglyphs, with time to swim in the river. After lunch, Huliau staff will guide students through a moʻolelo and coral reef activity along the shoreline, focusing on the significance of mother reefs. Students will get the chance to swim and explore the Olowalu ahupuaʻa from uka to kai.
Day 2- Maui Nui Botanical Garden & Nohoʻana Farms: students will begin at Maui Nui Botanical Garden, where they’ll learn about native species, canoe plant migrations, and Hawaiian plant cultivars through an ethnobotany tour and hands-on demonstrations of cultural arts and practices. The day continues in Waikapū with a visit to Nohoʻana Farm, where students will enjoy lunch and talk story with ʻOhana Pellegrino. Students will have the opportunity to work in the loʻi patches, swim in the river, and learn how to prepare harvested kalo through the kuʻi kalo process.
Day 3- Hui Papa Hana Paʻakai & Maui Ocean Center: students will begin the day with Hui Papa Hana Paʻakai, Maui’s newly restored historical salt farm in Keālia. There, alongside cultural stewards, they will learn about the importance of paʻakai (salt) and the practices of preserving salt eco-culture. Students will then enjoy lunch at the Maui Ocean Center followed by scavenger hunts, coral stations and interactive activities throughout the exhibits led by both Huliau and Maui Ocean Center Staff.