Project Niu - The Start of Niu's Journey

Waimea Bay

On the North Shore of Oahu is famous Waimea Bay, home of some of the biggest waves around.

Molokai

The north shore of the island of Molokai.

Honu (green sea turtle)

Green sea turtles, called "honu" in Hawaiian, are found throughout the Hawaiian islands.

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve

Hanauma Bay is a popular snorkeling spot on the east side of Oahu.

Talk Story

My Account

The Start of Niu's Journey

On Thursday May 8th we launched Niu. We launched it at Waimea Bay on Oahu. We arrived there around 9:30am. When we got there the real fun started. We got to take pictures of Waimea and all its surroundings. When there we were greeted by Butch. He was there to explain to us about the importance of the water and nature to the old Hawaiians. I learned that Waimea in Hawaiian means sacred water. This apparently proved how important nature was to them. We also learned what Aloha truly means. Of course it means hello, goodbye, or love but it also means to stand facing each other and take in the breath of life. You do this bye touching your noses.

We didn't just sit around talking about history though, we got to do a lot of other stuff like put stickers and write messages on Niu. We put stickers of turtles, the Hawaiian flag, and also wrote thing like Project Niu Rocks and Recycle it helps the world. Shortly after we were sent on a photo scavenger hunt like to take pictures of the beach, lifeguards, natural items and non-natural items. The planners of Project Niu, Evan and Erin, asked a lady to come and sing us so Hawaiian chants. One of my classmates Kaili actually got up and danced in front of everyone and was really good. Then Korsak, my teacher got to go out on a canoe and drop Niu in the water.

I wish we could've gone swimming in the water . Even though the tide was high so when we would stand near the edge of the water we would still get wet. I hung around my friends a lot. They let us eat separately, so I ate with my friends. I remember I stole my friend Ryan's strawberries, which were really awsome,and he and his friend chased me around till I gave it back.

We had so much fun. I know the best part must seem to be I got to skip a whole day of school and more with my classmates and no other 6th graders but it wasn't. The most awesome best part was when I got interviewed 4 times by a film crew and a newspaper reporter. I think I can speak for the rest of my classmates when I say that that day was totally awesome.