Visiting students — from left, Kerry Kaili Wong, Nadine Zahiruddin, Claire Eva Benjamin, Malena Rivera Sequrra and Nic Lin — from EnviroLab Asia in California study the culture and environment on Maui.

LAHAINA — As bustling everyday activities carried on in Lahaina, Dr. Busaba Yip, cultural director and docent of Wo Hing Museum on Front Street, welcomed Professor Hao Huang, the Bessie and Cecil Frankel Endowed Chair in Music at Scripps College in Claremont, California, and five students from EnviroLab Asia.

The visitors came to study Hawaiian and Chinese history in relation to local culture, tradition and environmental changes on Maui. The group spent ten days meeting locals around the island and on Lanai to learn about the relationship that Hawaiians as well as Chinese immigrants had with the local ecology.

The trip was sponsored by EnviroLab Asia, an academic program at the Claremont Colleges that encourages the production of new knowledge about the interaction among nature, the built environment and human populations by using cross-disciplinary approaches involving the social sciences, humanities and the arts.

“When the group arrived on the island, they embarked on an intensive immersive learning experience,” said Dr. Yip.

“We took them to the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum, Wo Hing Museum, the Heritage Gardens in Iao Valley, the Lahaina Heritage Museum, Sun-Yat-Sen Park, the ruins of his elder brother Sun Mei’s ranch, the Kwok Hing Society Hall in Kula, and the Kaanapali and Napili beaches to see the environmental impacts of tourism. Additionally, we visited Dragon’s Teeth, and a full day on Lanai where they saw the effects of invasive plant species and uncontrolled water runoff. The students became aware of how years of greed and the need for profit in this world can lead to irreversible damage and environmental destruction. It left us all with things to ponder about our actions going forward.

“Water is a great challenge in our land and community. Presently, we have to handle and solve the problem for our future generations. That is why all students are so important to our society. They need to be aware of the issues and collaborate on the solutions. By understanding the concerns of the environmental crisis, they become our hope. In Hawaii, it is a way of life to live in cooperation with nature and in harmony with each other. It is a kuleana (responsibility) to our ‘aina (land). He alii ka ‘aina; he kauwa ke kanaka — the ‘aina is chief; man is its servant. This proverb, an important pillar in Hawaiian culture, is a reminder of the kuleana we have as people to serve the ‘aina, as well as the reassurance that in return, the ‘aina will care for, feed, and provide for our needs. Through this relationship, we maintain balance with our natural environment and each other. My wish is that these students remember the importance of what they saw on their visit to Maui and Lanai and are inspired to work for change. Clearly, a global roadmap is needed to avoid a water and climate catastrophe everywhere.”

Professor Huang, a Fulbright Scholar who led the group of students and a faculty colleague, noted, “While we learned so much about history and the environment, the true highlight was what we all learned from the Maui kama’aina. By slowing down to listen attentively to local wisdom, we all gained far more than we had accomplished by studying scholarly texts.

Culture and history became real things that matter personally. The generosity of spirit of the many kumu who shared their life knowledge was very much appreciated by all of us. As I told my students, we were privileged to begin to understand aloha by experiencing it, and by reciprocating it.

“We learned so much about the Hawaiians and Chinese on Maui through immersive experiences such as fieldwork and meeting and talking with kama’aina from all walks of life, and especially in Kula where many Chinese immigrants settled. Our fieldwork projects, guided by Dr. Yip, were priceless, and we are very grateful for her invaluable help. As an ethnic Hakka, I am very aware of the strong Hakka presence on Maui. I am serious about teaching students to be more aware of Hawaiian and Chinese history and culture. Also noted on our island travels were the relationships to music and art, as I myself am a concert pianist and an ethnomusicologist. It has been my experience that traditional ritual practices often involve music and often negotiate a balance between humanity and nature. EnviroLab Asia is focused on this kind of relationship between people and their environment, particularly with ecological practices.”

It is clear that even after spending a semester studying Hawaiian history with a focus on Chinese immigrant history and the environment, the time the students spent on Maui gave them a new perspective on the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of Hawaii. Student Claire Benjamin said it has been an honor to spend time with Dr. Yip and so many others who hold deep connections with their culture and the land.

“Learning about the environment alongside Maui’s history, I have become very interested in the usage of water,” Benjamin said. “From the tales of old Hawaii to today, water has played a big role in this society. I explored the connections among the water usage on the plantations, the ancient legends and the drought happening today in our final video project for EnviroLab Asia.” (To view the final video the EnviroLab Asia students produced, visit https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CYMbVbOFetahtPXAz82FzHusNZKycqZh/view?usp=sharing.)

“I learned that the sugar plantations required a lot of water for their production, and because of this, most of the water use was for agriculture, and water sources became sparse across the land. Seeing the environmental changes on Maui because of the plantations and invasive species, and how this has impacted the people of Hawaii, is something I could never have learned from a textbook,” she added.

The importance of hands-on research is obvious as told by Dr. Huang and his students. The beauty in their experience is that each student felt called to learn more and contribute to the climate change issues that are affecting our island, Hawaii and the planet.

Student Nadine Zahiruddin recalled, “Doing field research and learning first-hand from Hawaiians who lived through historical events is much different than conducting online research. Local Hawaiians from Maui and Lanai welcomed us with open arms and shared their stories and the histories of their heritage in a process here called ‘talk story,’ a most memorable experience.

“All of our experiences have been very special; however, one event in particular has stuck with me. Throughout our trip, Dr. Yip shared with us the history of the Chinese in Hawaii, as well as the history of the Wo Hing Society for the Chinese. Wo Hing served as a cultural and social haven, and provided religious and political help for the Chinese population. Within the society, there was also a Chinese temple on the second floor of the museum that was open for those who were looking for a space to worship.

“Walking into the temple felt like walking into a piece of history that had been so well preserved, and truly felt like a sacred moment that I will remember for a long time. I saw the Chinese plaques and calligraphy from generations ago, and the remnants of those who had worshiped and burned incense in the temple. I was also able to play an old Chinese musical instrument as an offering to the ancestors, and I felt very connected to the island and those who came before me.”

The students went many places that helped them to reconnect with nature and understand the importance of maintaining Hawaii’s natural sites. Visiting places like Iao Valley and indigenous plant gardens in Lanai helped student Malena Rivera Sequrra realize what sustainability and resilience truly mean.

“Seeing the problem with the black plastic used for pineapple farming in Hawaii frustrated me because of the lack of solutions available,” said Sequrra. “However, seeing Lanai gave me hope that it could possibly stay free of the myriad of golf courses and hotels that have taken over the other islands. Visiting Kula, we were welcomed by Sarah Shim, president of the Kwock Hing Society. There we learned about the history of the Chinese immigrants Upcountry and the impact they left behind. Shim told us that at Kwock Hing, they want to gather the community together, including the youth and the elderly, to teach history lessons and the importance of passing knowledge down, including the discussion of mistakes and ways to resolve them.

“In addition, we went to the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Cane Museum in Puunene. Through the various artifacts available to the public at the museum, we were able to picture past life on the island. Throughout this trip, many experiences have felt surreal. For example, the visit to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s Park, also in Upcountry Kula, showed us that everywhere we went, there was history to learn from. He was an extraordinary man with high ideals and ethics. I hope to come back to Maui to do volunteer work in the near future.”

The group of undergraduate students learned about Hawaiian native and Chinese immigrant history and culture on Maui not only by examining various artifacts, but also by talking to other experts on Maui. For example, Kalapana Kollars at the Old Lahaina Courthouse showed them that, similarly to immigrant Chinese beliefs, the first Polynesian explorers were on a purposeful voyage of exploration and also trusted that the spirits of their ancestors would guide them.

Student Kerry Wong explained, “EnviroLab Asia tried to prepare us for this experience by creating a set of guidelines. However, nothing could prepare us for the wealth of knowledge that we learned during our stay on Maui. Having the opportunity to visit sites of interest and learn from experts has helped provide a holistic picture of Maui and how the environmental impacts of sandalwood deforestation, sugar plantations and pineapple plantations are connected to the histories of migration of many nationalities and cultures, and how it is all interconnected to the rich culture here in Hawaii. As many of the people we met on this trip have emphasized, there is much we can learn from the ways ancient Pacific islanders and indigenous Hawaiians faced challenges. I am incredibly grateful to have been able to embrace the richness of the Maui culture and environment.”

Student Nick Lin became especially concerned during the trip to Lanai. As guide Alberta de Jetley told stories of the incursion of invasive species on the island, Lin could not ignore the level of environmental devastation.

“This personal experience added a whole new dimension to our time on Lanai,” Lin reflected. “While a large cause of the environmental damages are invasive species, the history of plantations is another cause, as seen by the pieces of black plastic permanently embedded in the ground all over the island. This was the first time that I had really understood the size of the plantations, as the black plastic covers almost all the areas that we stopped by. This is a similar thing to what we saw on Maui, although a far more concrete example.

“While Hawaiian history and the history of the Chinese on Maui is what first brought us to the island, we learned so much more. The people we met have truly been the most important part of this trip, with their warmth and welcoming. Every person treated us with a level of kindness and respect that is not found anywhere in the continental United States. I think that comes down to the concept of aloha — not just hello or goodbye, but giving a little love to those around us. I think this feeling of respect to others is something that I want to carry through the rest of my life. It is not a difficult thing to do, and the effort taken can improve someone’s day with just one gesture. Kindness does not take a lot, and I think that is one of the grandest things that the people on the Mainland could learn from Hawaii.”