On May 8, 2008, Project Niu launched an ocean-going sensor from Waimea Bay to teach students about the impact that each one of them can have on the environment. "Read more" for the full story of this big day. Track Niu here.

Perhaps the best way to understand Project Niu is through the eyes of a coconut…

Imagine you’re a coconut. Since you’re in Hawaii, you’re called “Niu”. But you’re not just any coconut; you’ve got some high tech electronics that help you talk to satellites and broadcast your geographical coordinates all over the world via the Internet. Like many coconuts, you will end up floating in the ocean going wherever the currents and winds may take you. Unlike those other coconuts though, you have an important mission. Your goal is to show students in Hawaii what happens to pollution that’s carelessly left behind, where it goes, and the impact that every person can have on the environment. Wow, you’ve got a lot to do! Are you prepared for this?

Well, for the past several months, engineers at Archinoetics have given you gadgets that will help you on your mission, including a satellite modem, a GPS antenna, and a temperature sensor. And to prepare you for this long journey, especially since your mission is so important, you needed some training sessions. The engineers took you all around Oahu to make sure you could communicate well. And of course they have made sure you’re waterproof, so you’ve gone swimming in the ocean several times, even in some pretty gnarly waves. But hey, you can handle big waves… you’re a coconut with millions of years of evolution behind you and countless ancestors who’ve braved long journeys across the sea. How do you think you got around the world in the first place?

While the engineers have been getting you ready for your trip, a sixth grade science class at Kawananakoa Middle School has been doing some preparations of their own. They have been studying the currents and wind patterns around Hawaii to form hypotheses about where you might travel. They recognize that hypotheses are not just guesses, but that they require scientific observations and serious research. Even with all their work, the class has some uncertainties about where you may go, but know it is ok to modify their hypotheses as new information becomes available along your journey.

The students have learned that the ocean will take you thousands of miles, but that you’re not the only one who travels by sea. They warned you that you will have some very unwanted fellow passengers on your voyage. So, who are these freeloaders? Sadly they tell you that some of the ocean’s other travelers include things like plastic and other garbage. Yuck! Double yuck! And the students explain that just like you, this trash will travel away from Hawaii to distant shores, polluting someone else’s beach and the seas in between. Being a very smart class, they have also figured out that even though Hawaii is the most isolated island chain in the world, if their garbage will reach foreign lands, then surely Hawaii too can be polluted by people thousands of miles away. Wow, the students have learned some pretty complex concepts about how everyone in the world affects one another; you are pretty impressed by this, since many adults still fail to grasp this idea.

The students also explain to you that the Native Hawaiian people showed their “kokua” (support) for the environment, which helped promote its long term sustainability. You find it very forward-thinking that the Native Hawaiians used a system called “ahupua’a” in which land was divided from “mauka to makai” (mountain to sea). For each division to succeed, it needed to employ sustainable practices from the top of the watershed all the way to the ocean. The students are keeping this concept of sustainability alive in Project Niu and you really hope they share the message of kokua with their friends and family.

The students have gained an understanding of humans’ impact on the environment and realize that each one of them can make a difference. They know it’s their own responsibility, because you are a coconut and you cannot protect the environment yourself. The class really loves your future ocean friends like sea turtles, dolphins, whales, and monk seals, all of whom cannot clean up the oceans either. So, they realize that each piece of trash that they pick up, whether it was theirs or not, gets you and your friends one step closer to a beautiful, clean ocean for your journeys. Importantly, the students now realize that the world is theirs to protect and save, starting right here in Hawaii.

You’ve got some major motivation for a successful mission now, huh? This is a lot of pressure for a coconut to handle!

So, May 8, 2008, the Project Niu team takes you to Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu to start your journey. It is a beautiful sunny morning, the sky is bluer than you’d ever think possible, and the seas ahead look calm and welcoming. On this morning, when the world just seems to be showing off about how beautiful it can be, you feel so lucky that you live in a place as perfect as Hawaii.

While everyone from Project Niu sets up their things in Waimea Beach Park, you sit anxiously waiting for the students to arrive. You’re busy talking with the satellite every minute for some final practice when you catch a glimpse of the bus driving up. All the students pour out with huge smiles on their face, thrilled to be at their outdoor classroom and even more excited to see you, their very own Niu, the first coconut who can talk to the satellites. If the engineers had given you a mouth, it would be grinning from ear to ear (well, if they had given you ears too).
The day begins with a traditional Hawaiian prayer with a man named Butch, who asks permission for everyone to enter this sacred beach at the mouth of the Waimea River. Butch is given a traditional Hawaiian lei recognizing and thanking him for coming to teach the students. In modern times, Waimea Bay has become famous for some of the world’s best big wave surfing, though you’re relieved that you won’t be floating through Waimea’s fifty foot waves, since they only come in the winter.

Everyone walks down the beach and sits on the sand right near the water. Butch teaches the class about the full meaning of the word “aloha” and that it is more than a greeting, but that it also means the “breath of life”. When the people of Hawaii great each other and say aloha, they touch their foreheads and noses together, say “aloha”, and share the breath of life. The students learn this and other lessons about the traditions of the Hawaiian people, recognizing the “mana” (spiritual power) of this place. When Butch finishes his stories, everyone says “mahalo” (thank you) to show their appreciation.

With a new appreciation for the natural beauty and power of Waimea Bay and all of Hawaii, the students all walk up the beach for their next activity. You are very excited about this, because the Project Niu team announces that “Decorating Niu” is up next! Until now, you’ve felt so naked, painted just a solid white to help reflect the sun’s rays and keep you from overheating, which could harm your high tech gizmos that let you talk with the satellites. Many of the students and the Project Niu team have brought stickers for you, such as their favorite cartoons, the Hawaiian flag, Archinoetics, B-WET Hawaii, and NOAA. Some students have written their names along with some great quotes, such as, “Please recycle. It helps the world”, “Hey! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, and “Niu Rocks” (you sure do!).

There’s one sticker though that is by far your favorite. It has a very simple message that reads, “This is a school science project. If found at sea, please leave it in the water. If found on or near land, please hold it and contact us.” Below that a phone number, mailing address, and email address are listed. You really, really love that the team gave you this sticker (three of them in fact). Now you have a chance of coming back home someday should you ever lose your ability to talk to the satellites, such as if your batteries stop working or if you get harmed out at sea. The engineers and scientists assured you that they will be tracking you very closely throughout your entire voyage and will do everything in their power to bring you home, even if it means flying to Tahiti to get you!

The next activity on the schedule is singing, guitar playing, and dancing with a woman named Mihana. Her voice is so sweet and kind that you already know her beautiful Hawaiian songs will stay with you in the long days ahead of you out at sea. She gathers all the people on the beach under an old majestic banyan tree, captivating everybody as they listen to her sing, interlocking hands, swaying with the music, and smiling with their friends. Some of Mihana’s songs have been passed down through her family for generations while others are Hawaiian classics that everyone knows and sings along with. You wish the music would never end, but you know it’s a full day of big activities, and there’s so much left to do before your journey can begin.

Next, the students all gather into small groups, each with a leader. The leaders are just some of the coolest people around, including friends and family of the Project Niu team members, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Hawaii Integrated Ocean Observing System (HIOOS), and creative geniuses from Adobe Systems who have traveled a long way to help you start your voyage and capture the whole event on film. Each group is given assignments to make observations of the current environmental conditions as well as manmade and natural factors that impact the watershed. The groups are all given digital cameras to document their findings, and of course take pictures of you (now dressed in all your stickers and signatures). You overhear that after you are out to sea, the students will all cleanup the beach to make sure garbage goes to the landfill and bottles go to the recycling center. You’re confident these kids will do a great job because they really don’t want any of the trash to end up traveling with you across the Pacific Ocean.

Suddenly you get a feeling of nervousness and excitement deep in the pit of where your stomach might be if coconuts actually had stomachs. Someone announces that it’s your big moment, your time to shine, what you’ve been training for all these months… it’s time to go to sea! The students, scientists, engineers, and film crew all gather at the water’s edge with an unprecedented level of energy. They have worked so hard to make this moment possible and you are ready to make them proud, to go on your voyage, to show the world the impact that each person can have on the environment.

As everyone comes together, they are all thrilled to see that two Hawaiian green sea turtles are swimming right off shore, a tremendous sign of good luck for your voyage. These “honu” swim through Hawaii’s waters with an unmatched grace and beauty. Being able to witness them while snorkeling or scuba diving is truly one of the greatest gifts that the oceans can offer. You know you will see many honu on your voyage and think again about how your mission in Project Niu will help protect the turtles’ environment for countless future generations to enjoy.

With the honu’s presence boosting everyone’s confidence for your journey, the Archinoetics team puts you in the hands of the best science teacher any kid could ever ask for, Mr. Korsak. You look at him with his bright red shirt as he, Traci and Hunter from Archinoetics, and Captain Skip step into a four-person outrigger canoe. This is the traditional sea vessel of the Hawaiian people that long ago brought them to these islands across the seemingly infinite oceans. The Native Hawaiians were incredible navigators and some of the best watermen the world has ever seen. As you board the small boat while it is pushed into the water, you only hope Captain Skip has the same skills!

When this whole outrigger plan came up, you wondered why it was necessary. Why do you need a boat to start your journey? Couldn’t everyone just put you in the water right from the beach? You’re a coconut after all; this is what you were born to do! But then the scientists explained to you, however, that although they were sure you would make it out to sea if you started on the shoreline, you might first wash back onshore a couple times. You figured that a little boat trip to avoid getting pounded into the rocks by the shore break was well worth it.

As Mr. Korsak and the others get settled into the outrigger and then paddle away from shore, you see all the students waving and you hear them cheering at the tops of their lungs for you, wishing you goodbye and good luck on your journey. Then just as you’re breaking through the first set of waves, Mr. Korsak lifts you up high over his head causing the crowd on the beach to let out a deafeningly loud applause that you will never forget. You look back at the all the “keiki”, these incredibly gifted students, the future of Hawaii, and feel confident that their lives will be forever changed by your journey. You feel their excitement and think about all they’ve already taught you about each person taking personal responsibility for protecting the environment. And with that image of the smiling students forever emblazoned in your coconut memory, you look back out towards the horizon, across miles of open blue-green tropical seas, and feel like the luckiest little coconut in the world… a coconut with a mission for the future of Hawaii!

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