Ella Hartmann was an intern with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund during the summer of 2023. Here is her story!:
Aloha! My name is Ella Hartmann, and I am a freshman in high school in San Francisco, California. I’ve always been drawn to the sea. Everything from its exotic creatures to the smell of salty air makes me want to learn more about it. This sense of curiosity and awe also makes me want to protect it and help preserve its beauty for years to come. Participating in the Honu Watch with the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund was an amazing experience. The kindness shown by everyone involved made it a very pleasant and worthwhile experience, and I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to partake in this impactful program.
Honu Watch program intern Ella Hartmann at her Day 1-Orientation at the beautiful Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center. PC: HWF
On the first day, we gathered at the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center, where we met Auntie Hannah (aka Hannah Bernard) and some of the other amazing HWF staff members and interns, and learned about what we’d be doing over the course of our time in the program. After some quick introductions, we were shown around the facility. This is where the learning began…
Signs covered with text and images about sea creatures lined the walls, alongside video displays which shared powerful stories about Hawaiian culture, land, animals, and so much more. I found the messages conveyed by these displays to be very captivating- one about trash and pollution in particular. After a bit of exploring, the internship task at hand was thoroughly explained to us. We were to go to a beach on the north shore of Maui, Hoʻokipa, a favorite basking spot for green sea turtles. This beach also happens to have the perfect conditions for wind-surfing, snorkeling, as well as surfing- which attracts a lot of tourists. This can end up being problematic when people disrupt the turtles’ basking behavior because of their lack of knowledge regarding wildlife protection. I learned a lot about honu (green sea turtles) over the course of this program, so now I can educate others!
Turtles basking at Hoʻokipa Beach. PC: Ella Harmann
Going to Hoʻokipa every morning didn’t feel like hard work at all. The beach is beautiful! Getting there before it got busy- around 8:50- wasn’t in any way a chore. We got to the beach, and had the pleasure of meeting Auntie Magda, one of the lovely staff members from the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund who also played a key role in helping us learn the ropes.
I experienced so many things that I’d never seen or experienced before. Over the course of this internship, I’ve seen more turtles than I’ve seen in my entire life. I’d never have the chance to see this many turtles anywhere else, so it really was special. Under the warm sun, we’d take a count of the total turtles each hour. Every time a turtle left or a new turtle swam up, we would make a note. Not only did we take note of the number of turtles present, but we also did a head count of the people on the beach who were there to see the turtles. The Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund does this because of the recent increase in human activity on and surrounding Hoʻokipa Beach.
Ella Hartmann with the HWF team at Hoʻokipa Beach. PC: HWF
By recording the number of turtles and humans throughout the day, we could see how humans affected turtle beaching behavior. When people began to crowd past the line put in place to protect the turtles’ space, Auntie Magda would kindly but firmly tell them to move away. Educating the people who get too close to the turtles was very important because we wanted them to understand why we were doing what we were doing. Around 1:00 pm, we would take a final turtle count and wrap up our shift.
I’d highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in wildlife conservation and educating yourself and others in order to help the environment and the animals that live in it. Even teaching one person about how we can help keep turtles safe can make a difference. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the Honu Watch program with the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund and all of its amazing staff and interns, and hope to be able to return some day soon.
Ella Hartmann with family and HWF Executive Director, Hannah Bernard. PC: HWF
