Community Service

As much as we miss the Big Island, we have been loving our time in Maui! On our first day, we took a scenic flight across blue waters and had a pancake feast, where the group initiated tech-free meals since phones had been returned that morning.

Maui showed off its lush, tropical beauty as we journeyed along the coast to our new home, a campground surrounded by quintessential Hawaiian mountains and black sand beaches. We watched the kite surfers shred the wind in awe, enjoyed our first sunset in this new setting, and got some much-needed rest before embarking on our next leg of service.

Early the next morning, we had the privilege of meeting Ua and Nāpua, the founders of Kipuka Olawalu, an environmental NGO dedicated to the conservation of Hawaiian land and culture. We slathered on sunscreen, grabbed our work gloves, and headed to the kalo, or taro, patch, a sacred crop with deep-rooted mythology in the Hawaiian creation story.

We removed invasive species and harvested leaves to make traditional bracelets! We closed out our session with an ‘oli’, a special chant of gratitude to the land. We spent the rest of the day by the sea and officially commenced the 2026 “Putney Olympics”!

Today we returned to Kipuka Olawalu and started the day learning some beautiful Hawaiian proverbs. We continued with our commitment to the ʻāina by touching our hands to the earth and working in the native forest.

We planted trees by the river, satisfied with the notion that our labor would quite literally one day bear fruit.

After lunch, we hopped in the vans, excited to go check out a colony of native seabirds (ʻuaʻu kani) with the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project, one of the largest conservation NGOs in Hawaii.

We wandered along the iconic coastal trail of northern Maui and witnessed these spectacular birds tending to eggs in their burrows. We learned that ʻuaʻu kani spend nearly their entire lives at sea, that they can sleep while they fly, and that their guano is the reason behind Hawaii’s fertile soils.

Seabirds are also considered a living embodiment of past ancestors within Hawaiian culture. We moved from the fresh air of the cliffside down to Kapalua Bay for swimming and sandcastle building before heading to dinner and completing the day with a giggle-filled nightly meeting.

We are ready to soak up all the remaining time together within this special community our group has cultivated.

—The Service Hawai’i Team

To learn more about our high school Service Hawai’i program, click here!