Virtual field trip brings the world of Hawai‘i forest birds into classrooms

Students across Hawai‘i are being offered rare access to learn about endangered Hawaiian forest birds. The Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC), near Volcano, on Hawai‘i Island, is one of two centers operated through a partnership between San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, for the care and perpetuation of numerous critically endangered Hawaiian forest birds.

During this “Year of the Forest Birds” (ka Makahiki o Nā Manu Nahele), the focus is on five species that are at risk. The partnership has produced several “virtual field trips,” which allow students to learn about places and species they might not get to see in person through a collection of 360-degree images, videos and interviews.

Dr. Josh Atwood, DOFAW information and education specialist, helped produced the latest virtual field trip, adding to a catalogue four years in the making.

“We really started this program during COVID, thinking people were unable to get out of their classrooms and to see different places around Hawai‘i,” Atwood said.

After 2020-2021 virtual field trips, which explored ecologically sensitive places not accessible to most people, Atwood noticed it was such a good educational tool that they continued to make new ones.

Other entries in the virtual field trip program include visits to closed areas like the laboratory for the Snail Extinction Prevention Program or the site of Kamehameha III’s summer palace at Kaniakapūpū, where in-person classroom visits would not be possible. 

“With a virtual field trip, a class anywhere in Hawai‘i can experience the center and develop an appreciation for the state’s forest birds,” Atwood said.

In late February, armed with a collection of cameras and technology, Atwood worked with the ‘host’ of the KBCC virtual field trip, wildlife care supervisor Lisa Mason. First standing outside the facility, Atwood recorded Mason as she delivered her introduction: “On your field trip today, you’ll get to see our facility and some of the birds who call this center their home. ʻAlalā, Palila, ʻAkikiki, ʻAkekeʻe, and Kiwikiu.”

Once inside the center, taping continued, first in the center’s “keiki corner” surrounded by a floor-to-ceiling mural of forest birds, gifted by local artist Kathleen Kam. “Here on this mural, you can see many of the birds that live across our islands, represented in their native habitats,” Mason explained.

The cameras then moved into the library which featured the second part of the mural. It’s dedicated to the Hawaiian crow (ʻAlalā), which viewers see in real life, once the shades are raised. In addition to ecological education, the virtual field trip also addresses the importance of forest birds and culture.

“To Kānaka Maoli, our native Hawaiian birds are very important to us,” said Mason. “They have many roles in the forest as forest engineers. They help to pollinate plants and to spread seeds to regenerate forests.”

According to Atwood, utilization of previously produced virtual field trips reached about 70,000 page views. His team is currently working with the Department of Education to align the virtual field trips with curriculum standards.

“We’ve heard from teachers and students how useful the virtual field trips are,” Atwood said. “There are clearly places where entire groups of people cannot travel, so this educational tool allows us to provide the next best thing.”