Jaya Mishra was an intern with the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund team on Maui from June to July 2023. Here is her wonderful account of her experience with HWF:
Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund intern, Jaya Mishra, helped to patrol honuʻea nesting sites on Maui. PC: HWF
Growing up, I spent countless mornings in my living room, watching groups of vibrant freshwater fish flit around in our aquarium. When my family would make trips up to the National Aquarium to spend a day admiring jellyfish, greeting turtles, and standing in awe of the countless fish varieties, I wouldn’t want to leave. I never imagined that one day not so far in the future, I’d be able to connect with the animals I was so intrigued by, without even a pane of glass dividing us.
My two weeks with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund can’t be summarized in a few words. They presented an incredible opportunity, and I was fortunate to learn countless lessons in wildlife conservation along the way. I feel very lucky to have been able to collaborate and learn in such a positive environment, alongside people who were both experienced and exceedingly welcoming. Not only is HWF’s work vital to protecting Hawaii’s many native species, the air of liveliness and togetherness that is constantly present creates the dynamic of a family. During the length of my internship, I took part in a variety of hands-on tasks and activities. I learned how to snorkel, and in doing so was able to glimpse a few of the species HWF works to educate on, including yellow tangs and a green sea turtle. I was able to help educate visitors to the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center on marine life, including sharks and humpback whales, and in the process I learned about the whales’ unique migration and eating habits. I was lucky enough to observe tens of resting honu at a time as they basked on Ho’okipa beach, and on the same beach I stood at the permitted distance (50 yards) from a napping Hawaiian Monk Seal – one of the world’s most endangered seal species. I participated in the HWF’s turtle night patrol to keep overnight watch for a mother Hawksbill turtle – another extremely endangered species. It is rare that an intern has the opportunity to participate in such a wide array of experiences, and is able to witness multiple wildlife conservation efforts firsthand. The following are just a few of the memories I reflect on from the time I spent with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund.
HWF interns helped to sort through and characterize marine debris. PC: HWF
Marine debris and plastic pollution are an ever-growing environmental issue. For one, it can have wildly harmful effects on marine life, leading to animals found with their heads stuck in plastic grocery bags or fins tangled in fishing nets. In many areas, debris can often be found washed up on the shore when the tide retreats. One morning, a few volunteers from HWF paired with a local group of middle-schoolers to clean the trash we found at a nearby beach. To begin beach cleanup, we reached Kahului at 8 AM. It was inspiring to me to see how many students had been willing to wake up and arrive early in the morning to help keep the area clean. It was heartening to see how diligent and collaborative they were, seeming happy to be there and enjoying talking with their friends as they worked. Their attitude was infectious, and reflected a positivity I think could be useful in many aspects of life. We spent the morning scouring the beach in groups, filling bags and bags with trash separated by material; whether it was plastics, rubber, or other types of material. On a few occasions we spotted something blue in the sand and realized it was a Portuguese Man O’ War, which the kids would proceed to return to the ocean without hesitation.
Jaya helping to weigh-in collected shoreline debris. PC: HWF
One group of students discovered a tire almost completely buried in sand, and spent their remaining time on the beach working as a team in attempts to remove it. Once we had made our way down the length of the beach and finished collecting all the debris in sight, we emptied the bags out and sorted through them, counting the contents of each material pile for NOAA’s records. It was gratifying to see how much trash, which would otherwise have spent its time polluting the ocean and causing harm to wildlife, was being removed and repurposed. Some of it would be taken back to the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center, where we would later weigh it, then the students would use it in artwork later in the day. Through this experience, I learned how conservation efforts that take comparatively minimal effort, such as spending the morning picking up trash you come across on the beach, can contribute to a cleaner and safer ocean habitat for our wildlife. I also learned how to efficiently clean, record, and organize trash – and reuse it in creative ways.
Another important lesson was made clear to me from the students’ patience, energy, and willingness to help. If more of us shared this determined spirit, there would be potential to make bigger differences in the world. After understanding just how many pounds of trash we had been able to remove, it quickly became evident that small actions contribute greatly to the bigger picture when it comes to minimizing negative impacts on local ecosystems.
Upon reaching Hoʻokipa beach, my job was to begin learning about the HWF Honu Watch program, and to keep an eye on the local green sea turtles. I was shocked by the area’s crystal blue waters and soft sand. I remember first taking it all in, and registering the rows and rows of large rocks which seemed to decorate a taped-off section of the beach. Until I noticed the rocks move, I didn’t realize I was looking at around 40 of Hawaii’s large, endangered green sea turtles. I was lucky to spend a few days at Hoʻokipa under the supervision of Magdalena Carey, the fund’s Senior Naturalist and Honu Watch Project Coordinator.
Jaya with HWF Senior Naturalist and Honu Watch Project Coordinator, Magdalena Teriitua Carey, helping to protect a nesting site. PC: HWF
During the time I spent there, I learned exactly what went into protecting the Honu – monitoring and recording their whereabouts, keeping track of when new turtles reached the sand and old ones returned to the water, and staying aware of when humans were getting too close, to make sure the turtles remained safe from any level of stress or disturbance.
In addition to recording the turtles’ entrances and exits, we needed to keep an eye on how many people were in the areas directly surrounding the sectioned-off part of the beach, reserved for sea turtles to bask within, and also keep track of how many people arrived and left. For the first time, I saw a turtle with a face tumor, who I found out was one of the beach’s regulars. I learned how this ties back to humans, as Fibropapillomatosis can be an effect of human-inflicted stress, as well as a lack of reef-safe sunscreen usage. In addition, I observed the honus’ habits of tossing sand over themselves to stay cool under the hot sun, breaking the deceiving stillness that they otherwise maintained. I was taken aback by the way their behavior and expressions sometimes seemed uncannily humanlike. Another factor that became clear was how excited visitors became at the sight of the honu, crowding the roped off area to get a better view and take pictures. Sometimes it became necessary to reposition the rope separating the two groups, or to remind the visitors to leave the honus some space. When the boundaries were respected and precautions were taken, it was admirable to see how humans and honu could coexist beside each other, both on land and in water.
Welcome moonlight during a Night Patrol for nesting sea turtles. PC: Jaya Mishra
This particular experience also spoke to the bigger picture – humans have the potential to protect wildlife, but we also have the potential to harm them, whether we are doing so consciously or not. We can get too close to the turtles or apply a non reef-safe sunscreen, but we can also admire them from afar and remind others to keep their distance as well. It was amazing to be a firsthand witness of these fascinating animals – and how they aren’t so different from us – in a space that was safe for all involved.
Night Patrol was the most surreal experience I participated in during my time with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund. During the 7 hours I spent on Palauʻea beach, I was with a very experienced group of people – Hannah Bernard, the fund’s Executive Director and co-founder, as well as Magdalena Carey, two other long-term volunteers, and another intern who was my age. Upon our arrival shortly before sunset, we set up our sleeping bags, chairs, and tents, discussed the protocols to follow and what time the patrols would be going out, and each shared some of our favorite things about the island of Maui. Then we took turns sleeping and waking up to walk the beach. It was the beginning of nesting season, and during this time it is vital for the mama hawksbill (honuʻea) turtle to find an undisturbed environment in which to lay her eggs. I learned what to look for when searching for the hawksbill – including not to mix their prints up with tire tracks, which they can look very similar to. I also became aware that this particular species of turtle was critically endangered – and laid exponentially less eggs per season than the honu, also an endangered species. We were given special red light flashlights in case the situation required it, as normal white light could be harmful to the mama turtle by confusing or deterring her from landing on the beach. We learned how to react if we found ourselves unexpectedly close to a turtle, and how to avoid provoking them.
The goal of the encampment and turtle patrols, which were regularly conducted several times besides the one I attended, were to identify the mama Hawksbill when she touched down on Palauʻea or a nearby beach to lay her eggs, and to ensure she had a safe and undisturbed nesting environment. I walked the moonlit beach a few times as part of my first patrol group, and observed the pleasant lack of lights or loud noise in the vicinity at this hour. The shore was dark, peaceful, and silent, and we set up our camp that night around an enclosure that was created to protect the baby sea turtles. I was able to go on two patrols, and the goal of each was to be quiet and very watchful. Later, the other intern and I fell asleep pointing out the different stars scattered across the sky, and when I was woken up it was to understand, in a brief rush of excitement, that the very endangered mama Hawksbill had been spotted. Over the course of that night, I got to participate in something amazing, and learn from a group of people who were truly making a difference. Without this experience, I would not have known about the mama Hawksbill’s importance, how to look for signs she’d been there, or how to avoid scaring her and her companions from the beach. It was wonderful to be able to make any tiny contribution I could towards helping protect an endangered species, during one of many opportunities that I never could have imagined having.
Jaya Mishra sharing her knowledge inside the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center on Maui. PC: HWF
It wasn’t just the field experiences that made those two weeks exceptional. The Aloha spirit was showcased at the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center, where I spent much of my time. Here, I performed a few more familiar tasks – cleaning the exhibits, reorganizing certain rooms, and interacting with visitors. I found this time to be very beneficial to my experience in its own way, allowing me space to reflect on what I had been learning, and to develop questions and deeper paths of thought and connection between the topics I was discovering through field experiences. I got to speak with people of all ages and backgrounds who came in to learn something new about Hawaiian wildlife, and perhaps had a question or two about where to start. When I had first arrived, I’d sat in the immersive theater among a pile of bean bags, surrounded by images and sounds of Hawaiian wildlife, engulfed in the center’s introduction story. In the video room, I had learned about Hawaii’s endangered bird species and how wildlife organizations were making various efforts to conserve them. In the front entrance I admired the eye-catching murals and exhibits decorating the walls. I learned about the Kumulipo, or creation chant, and familiarized myself with the fund’s guiding principles. One such principle which particularly stood out to me was Hoʻihi, or respect.
Although my internship with the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund taught me a multitude of valuable lessons, my main takeaway was that it is incredibly important to treat our world with respect (hoʻihi) in everything we do – whether that respect be directed towards the people we meet and learn from, towards the animals we encounter and are awed by, or towards the beach we pick up debris from. It is not only vital, but something each of us can easily do, to show respect to the wildlife by helping them remain safe and stress free. To show respect to the beautiful beaches by keeping them as clean as possible. To show respect to one another by continuously thinking and acting in a way that creates positive change. Like the real-life example displayed by the turtles and tourists of Hoʻokipa, only through this cycle of Hoʻihi can we truly take steps towards ensuring a world where humans and wildlife can coexist peacefully.
