2023 HNC Overview Piece

CONNECTING CHILDREN & FAMILIES TO NATURE HAWAI‘I NATURE CENTER

OUR MISSION Hawai‘i Nature Center seeks to foster awareness, appreciation, understanding and stewardship of Hawai‘i’s environment by educating children with an interactive and immersive approach.

OUR HISTORY OF SERVICE This noble work started deep in a tropical

In the early 1990s, HNC branched out to Maui

rainforest in 1972 when the Outdoor Circle’s

with a center in ‘Īao Valley where it has

Parks Committee proposed an education

offered a vibrant collection of programs ever

center in O‘ahu’s Makiki Valley. In 1981, the

since. This environmental education nonprofit

Makiki Environmental Education Center

is not a chapter of a larger organization. HNC

opened and five years later grew to an

is home-grown, local and independent. It

independent 501(c)3 non-profit the Hawai‘i

relies on support from friends like you.

Nature Center.

A TRAIL BLAZER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Recognizing the benefits of connecting children and adults to nature HNC has been a pioneer in environmental

Each year educators deliver programs to

education and protection in 1981.

18,000 school children of which 9,500 are from underserved schools. Nature Adventure

HNC programs are conducted outdoors and

Camps are held during school breaks

expose children, ages 6 to 11, to nature and

promoting environmental stewardship to an

educate on topics such as: forest, wetland,

additional 2,000 children annually.

coastal ecosystems, climate change and personal responsibility to protect and

HNC is distinct as both of our Centers are

preserve Hawai‘i’s natural resources.

located adjacent to unique Hawai‘i habitats providing comprehensive learning opportunities.

MORE GREEN TIME

LESS SCREEN TIME

The lessons HNC taught range from the

On average, Americans between the age of

water and nutrient cycle to more inter-

8 to 12 spend four to six hours every day on

disciplinary issues of healthy watersheds.

screens. HNC supports upwards of 70,000

These topics become the scientific building

hours of outdoor education every year.

blocks for the next generation of environmental leaders to understand and address more complex issues such as climate change.

In-the-field curriculum brings in-classroom teaching to life with observations, investigations and experiments.

OUR WORK IS IMPACTFUL Stanford University* systematically searched academic literature and identified 119 peer-reviewed studies that were published over 20 years that measured impacts of environmental education on K through 12th grade students.

ENVIRONMENTAL: BENEFITS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION knowledge in science, mathematics, reading,

improved academic performance

writing and more

enhanced critical thinking skills development of personal growth and lifebuilding skills such as confidence, autonomy and leadership

emotional and social skills environmentally friendly behavior academic skills (21st Century skills) motivation to learn, including enthusiasm for

increased civic engagement

and interest in school

positive environmental behaviors

*https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00958964.2017.1366155

SINCE OPENING OUR DOORS...

1 MILLION children have been educated since 1981

$ 13,000 in scholarship funds awarded to Title 1 families to attend Nature Adventure Camps (2020)

PROGRAMS We have successfully introduced five programs that integrate State of Hawai‘i DOE: Next Generation Science Standards into HNC curriculum

Nature Adventure Camp (NAC) School Programs Outdoor EDventure Days Homeschool Science Series Weekend Educational Program

20,000

10,000

connected to nature each year

per year from under-served Title 1 schools

KEIKI & ADULTS

KEIKI

HAPPY FAMILIES HI Nature Center has been a Silver Lining. I can’t count how many times Alex and I spoke to one another, agreeing that HI Nature Center was the bright light and saving grace of the pandemic. You have been instrumental in helping Nina avoid screens, social isolation and associated mental health problems. Unlike many parents this year, we have watched our daughter learn, grown and thrive!”

We are so happy to have found this Nature Camp for Nainoa! He is really lucky to be able to come to such a beautiful place and be free to explore, play, be creative and most all, have fun with other friends!”

We truly appreciate HNC and its awesome teachers for keeping our daughter safe and happy during her summer nature camp sessions. She looks happy when I drop her off and excitedly tells me about her adventures (esp the fishing at the stream and the hikes) during the day. This has been a blessing when parents like me and my husband are trying to figure out how to keep working fulltime, and having a safe place for our daughter (she is our world) to spend her days outdoors and with other children, exploring.”

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Todd Cullison Executive Director

Pauline Kawamoto Operations & Volunteer Program Director

Emma Shelly Education Programs Manager

Gavin Moffat Fund Development Coordinator

BOARD OF DIRECTORS President

Secretary

Treasurer

President Emeritus

Lacey Nakaguma Bank of Hawai‘i

Tran Chinery Alexander & Baldwin

Guy Churchill Bank of Hawai‘i

Eric Wright Par Hawaii

JAMES GEIGER, ESQ. Mancini Welch & Geiger LLP

CAITLIN MOON Cades Schutte

JOSH HARGROVE Prince Waikiki

TANNIS THORLAKSON SULLIVAN, PHD Driscoll’s Director of Sustainability

G. ROBERT JOHNSTON Hawaii Pacific Solar

NICHOLAS PASLAY Hawaiian Electric

MCKIBBIN MIST D.R. Horton

JERRY RAUCKHORST Retired from Catholic Charities Hawai‘i MICHAEL VACHIO JL Capital INA WONG AHL