With the presentation to 45 students at Ala Wai Elementary School on March 6, 2023, the Operation Wildlife (OWL) Team finished all the school sessions for this school year.

We shared our OWL presentation at 26 schools, including 6 in Hilo and 5 on Maui, with a total of 1,787 people, including students, teachers and administrators. Sixteen OWL volunteers went out to the schools, and we even had a few non-member volunteers observing at some schools. A couple of our volunteers played critical roles of Neighbor Island advisor and biofact triage specialist!

The best critique comes from teachers. Here are some from this year’s evaluations:

“The students had an amazing experience. A lot of them said that they never would have thought that they would be able to see or touch such beautiful animals in their young lives. One student said it was the best moment he ever had at a school. A lot of my students were inspired to do something and create change because of this presentation. Thank you for creating such a wonderful program for students”.

“Thank you for all that you do. A lot of my kids felt the importance of taking actions to help our native species. It is an experience they will never forget.”

“All of the provided teaching material, video presentation, and viewing of biofacts were above and beyond our expectations. The students loved it!”

The student with the sea turtle, in the photo above, said he had a staring contest with the turtle and lost! Comments like these make it all worthwhile!