Empowering Students to Build the Future They Will Inherit: a story from PAF COO Derek Esibill
If Hawaiʻi’s future environmental challenges will be inherited by today’s students, then students must also be empowered to shape the solutions.
That idea was the foundation of the ʻImi Wai Ola Student Science Conference, an annual gathering where students from across Hawaiʻi come together to present projects, and, more importantly, engage with one another as collaborators, researchers, and emerging leaders. Through various initiatives—including Pacific American Foundation’s Kilo Kai program, APIS, the PAF internship program—students investigate environmental issues directly affecting their communities. By learning by doing, ma ka hana ka ʻike, they build the confidence and relationships needed to be problem-solvers.
Restoring the Ocean from a Single Coral
A Kilo Kai student works with a small coral to create tiny tissue pieces called explants—each capable of becoming a new coral. Some are cryopreserved to protect their genetic future, while others are grown into young colonies for reef restoration. From a single coral, many new corals can emerge, accelerating recovery that would take decades in nature. This work blends Indigenous knowledge with modern science, reflecting a deeper commitment: not just saving reefs, but regenerating them. For The Next 200, it represents a future where our oceans—and the communities connected to them—thrive for generations to come.