Aloha mai kākou!
‘O Katie Hearther ko‘u inoa.
No ʻEwa, O‘ahu mai au.
Noho au i ʻAiea, O‘ahu.
Aloha everyone! My name is Katie Hearther. I am from Ewa, O‘ahu, and live in ʻAiea.
I have loved and been fascinated by the ocean since I was born, and volunteering on Kuaihelani is a dream over ten years in the making- sparked when I hiked O‘ahu’s Kaena Point and encountered my first mōlī (Laysan Albatross). A lot has happened this past decade! I graduated from the University of Washington in 2020 with a double major in Oceanography and Marine Biology, and a minor in Arctic Studies. When field seasons were canceled in 2020 I returned home and began a five-year journey in informal marine science education and outreach.
I worked for Hawai’i Pacific University to plan and implement a STEM camp for Hawai’i girls aged 13-18, where students learned of many disciplines that connect science, culture, and community. Local mentors helped the campers explore fishpond restoration and monitoring, marine debris research techniques, traditional wayfinding, and more. I also worked for Hawai’i Sea Grant at the Hanauma Bay Education Program, leading marine science education programs on coral reef ecology, fish identification, and sea turtle and monk seal conservation. My position just prior to Kuaihelani was with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation working as a federal contractor at NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center, the headquarters for the Pacific Islands region. As an Education and Outreach Associate I welcomed local classes on tours of the facility that covered a wide range of offices and research topics such as the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, fisheries management, humpback whale biology, and more. These positions allowed me to share my excitement with others and learn deeply from patient mentors and cultural practitioners.
I am also a long-time volunteer at Loko I'a Pāʻaiau, a traditional fishpond in Pu’uloa (Pearl Harbor). I help lead community workdays, engage students in ʻāina-based education, and am constantly learning and appreciating Hawaiian ways of knowing. I participated in the 2024 and 2025 Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa gatherings on behalf of Pāʻaiau, where practitioners gather to share knowledge and discuss challenges to our respective projects, as well as kōkua the host site. I am endlessly grateful to have been invited into these cultural spaces and, in return, have a kuleana (responsibility) to assist in the collaborative, responsible, and pono study and preservation of our Hawai’i ecosystems so they are accessible for generations to come.
This is my very first field position, and I arrived with zero practical seabird experience but an intense curiosity and desire to learn. Ten years ago I was solely interested in the albatross- now, my favorite part of being here is the holistic nature of our work and how everything is interconnected. The people too! I often think about how everything we accomplish here as a team is built on the foundation of all the past crews, staff, cultural practitioners, and advocates who have cared for this place and fought for its protection. I am grateful and humbled beyond words to mālama this precious ʻāina, and play a small part in perpetuating a space with such staggering natural and cultural heritage.
Article written by Katie Hearther