Honolulu Chapter Hosts National Board, Celebrates Half of Century

ARCS National Board members and guests were (almost literally) blown away by their visit to the January 2024 meeting in Honolulu. Attendees experienced sun, rain, gusty winds, cultural insights, local flavors, science tours and more. Highlights listed below.
VIEW THE NATIONAL MEETING PHOTO GALLERY

Welcome by University of Hawai‘i President Dr. David Lassner on the lanai of UH’s historic College Hill residence. He spoke about the university’s responsibility to the indigenous population and its attempts to create a Hawaiian Place of Learning.

Local foods, including a box lunch prepared by College of Tropical Agriculture Instructor and Chef Lara Hackney and a Hawaiian food plate.

Manoa campus tours by ARCS Scholar alumni Institute for Astronomy Director Doug Simons and Microbial Diversity, Ecology and Environment Laboratory Director Anthony Amend; a visit to exceptional trees in the campus arboretum; and tour of the university's John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Honolulu Chapter’s 50^th Anniversary Kick-Off Luncheon featuring ARCS Scholar alumna Dr. Philomène Verlaan, an oceanographer and lawyer. Watch her talk on the ARCS Honolulu YouTube channel.

Field trips with geology commentary by Honolulu member and geologist Patty Lee and a description of his research on frogs in cacao plantations by Honolulu ARCS Scholar Holden Jones en route to Waialua Estates cacao farm, Ko‘olau Distillery, and a Windward Community College science lab.

Return to Coconut Island VIEW TOUR PHOTO GALLERY
An intrepid group DID return from a three-hour tour to Moku o Lo‘e (aka Coconut Island, seen in the opening credits of Gilligan’s Island), home of the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology. Philomène, left, thanked ARCS for fundin her research at sea and on the island, and founding member Roz Pearson reminisced about the meeting hosted by the late Barbara Pauley at the family’s vacation home on the island that resulted in creation of the Honolulu Chapter in 1974. ARCS Scholar alumna and estuary expert Dr. Yoshimi Rii then led the group to He‘eia Wetlands and described the reclamation process involving community in restoration of a traditional taro loi (garden) and fish pond ecosystem.