Hawaiʻi Sea Grant fellows connect resilience, ʻāina and community in Waiʻanae and on Molokaʻi

From wildfire mitigation in Waiʻanae to dry forest restoration on Molokaʻi, four Hawaiʻi students spent their summer learning how caring for ʻāina can help build more resilient communities.

In August, 2026 Peter J. Rappa Resilient and Sustainable Coasts Fellows wrapped up their summer projects, sharing their work in final presentations at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The fellowship honors the legacy of longtime coastal sustainability extension agent Peter Joseph Rappa of the UH Sea Grant College Program (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant).

“The fellowship is made in Peter’s vision for outreach and extension work in Hawai’i, which is interdisciplinary and place-based,” said Maya Walton, associate director for research, fellowships, and administration at Hawaiʻi Sea Grant. “He really thought that people should come from different academic disciplines and work together on our most pressing coastal questions.”

“I think the fellowship is an amazing opportunity for students that are just starting off in their early careers, and that just want to learn more about what possibilities are out there,” said Rappa Fellow Near-Peer Mentor Oli Carbi.

2026 cohort

This year’s cohort, Marley Kong-Mercado, Ila Nako, Shaelaree Pelekane-Manosa and Haya Stein, were paired with mentors from Pili Nā Moku, a five-year project dedicated to developing and implementing holistic resilience initiatives from mauka to makai. Focused on five moku, Waiʻanae on Oʻahu, Kona Kauaʻi, Central Maui, Molokaʻi and Kohala on Hawaiʻi Island, the project aims to strengthen adaptive capacity and build a more resilient future for Hawaiʻi.

“I think something special about the fellowship was that we were all working on such different projects, and we’re able to connect each one of them together to create a big approach to helping our community, but in many different ways,” said Stein. 

Kong-Mercado and Nako, were based in Waiʻanae, where they focused on wildfire mitigation and the role native vegetation and restoration can play in reducing risk. The fellows worked with Firewise, Kaʻala Farm and Mālama Learning Center. Nako also traveled to Molokaʻi to work with ʻĀina Pulapula at the Hoʻolehua Homestead, where she learned about growing the plants needed for future outplanting.

Also on Molokaʻi, Pelekane-Manosa worked with community members Uncle Bobby Alcain and Kaipu Makani; she used historical research, community interviews and mapping to trace changes in sedimentation, land use, water and the coastline over time.

For Stein, the summer was about using storytelling to connect people with the work happening across Hawaiʻi, while also collaborating with her fellow Rappa Fellows. In Waiʻanae, she documented Kong-Mercado and Nako’s wildfire mitigation work. In the other moku, she learned about the landscapes, listened to the moʻolelo of place, and met with partner organizations working to care for their communities and ʻāina.