Dunn County

Paepae o He'eia Fishpond and Taro Farm Tour Day!

To start the day, we received a tour of the Paepae O He’eia Fishpond. This fishpond a 1.3-mile-long complete circle, that was built 800 years ago. The fishpond has 3 freshwater gates and 4 saltwater gates that have huts that are pictured. This Fishpond is in a restoration state, with the goal to harvest and distribute in the future. One thing that really stood out to me was their motto, “We raise the fishpond, and the fishpond brings fish to us.” Meaning, they are not just trying to catch all the fish they are really trying to create a sustainable environment for the fish to be able to reproduce and grow for the future population. This a lot different than the fishing culture in the Midwest! In the Midwest, people want to catch the biggest and greatest fish. However, at this fishpond they try to only take what is needed and give back to the water, so the water can be blessed back. Another thing I found interesting was that their goal is educate the youth and the community about the fishpond, by including the elderly that were around when the fishpond was actively harvesting. This provides hands on learning about Hawaiian culture and customs years ago, to provide a sustainable future for this fishpond. In addition, this fishpond collects mainly mullet fish, which is a fish that has a high population and will guarantee enough for future generations.

After the fishpond tour, we got the experience of a lifetime which was to harvest Taro! Taro is a Native Hawaiian plant that has leaves the shape of a heart. It is at the core of Hawaiian culture. To harvest Taro, we had to get in the ankle-deep mud and step on the roots. Once the roots were loose, we would pull the plant out, rinse off the mud and rip the roots out. After that, the farmers would chop up the Taro. Even though this was an amazing hands-on experience that taught us about their farming environment and native plants…. the taste of Taro was not my cup of tea.

Later that day, once we cleaned up after being full of mud, we visited the Hawaii State Art Museum. This museum held a lot of historical art. One being pictures of the process of Highway H-3. H-3 was built in 1997. It is the biggest construction and the largest public works project ever undertaken by the state of Hawaii. This process brought a lot of concern to the natural environment, however many experts in this field were highly involved to make sure H-3 would not take away too much of the natural environment. Another thing that stood out to me here was the “Children’s Museum,” which was a room full of children’s art. A few of my favorites are pictured. When I was in elementary school, I was not taught about topics like sustainability and how everyone needs to work together to save the world. This was so eye-opening to me because it just shows that the culture in Hawaii focuses on educating the youth and improving the present for a sustainable future!Read more