Page 40 The Earth Scientist

© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

This paper describes the NOAA Climate Stewards project selected by one elementary 

school on the island of O‘ahu. The project focused on raising and releasing sea urchins to 

help restore the health of recently remediated reefs adjacent to the Waikı ̄kı ̄ Aquarium. In 

May of 2013, 117 urchins were released giving everyone involved a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that in their small way they could do something to improve 

overall reef health. Also discussed are the challenges and successes encountered by the 

participating educators’ and students’, the logic for selecting the school to participate in 

this program, and recommendations for similar citizen science stewardship projects. 

Introduction

Science in many elementary classrooms is given minimum time and generally is taught out of a 

textbook (Jones and Swanson, 2009) and according Chamberlain and Crane, (2009) moving beyond 

the textbook can be a valuable tool when introducing new science concepts to students. The Sea 

Urchins for Reefs Future (SURF) Project was designed to engage teachers and students in science 

content and process by linking the content to students’ lives through a Citizen Science research 

experience focused on restoring the health and sustainability of Oahu’s reefs. 

Why the reef’s? In Hawai‘i, scientists from the Hawai‘i Institute 

of Marine Biology, Waikı ̄kı ̄ Aquarium, the Hawai‘i Department 

of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and Hawai‘I Pacific 

University’s Ocean Institute, have noticed high-diversity coral 

communities around O‘ahu shifting over the past several decades 

to algae dominated reefs with greatly reduced species diversity. 

In most cases these algae are invasive species like Dictyosphaeria 

cavernosa or “bubble algae” (Stimson, Larned, and Conklin, 2001) 

(Figure 1) and Gracilaria salicornia or “gorilla ogo” (Meditz and Jang, 

2010). According to Vitousek, D’Antonio, Loope, Rejmanek, and 

Westbrooks (1997), understanding the impacts of invasive species is 

crucial to preserving marine biodiversity and biocomplexity because 

these invaders, not only consume, outcompete, or hybridize with 

Richard M. Jones, University of 

Hawai’i at West O’ahu

Ocean/Climate Literacy, 

and Action at Hale Kula 

and Beyond

In late 2017 the NOAA 

Climate Stewards 

Education Project changed 

its title to the NOAA Planet 

Stewards Education 

Project.

Figure 1. The invasive species Dictyosphaeria cavernosa or “bubble 

algae”. Photo Credit: University of Hawai’I Botany Department.
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© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

native species, causing a loss of native biodiversity, they can also alter the ecosystem through uncontrolled growth that potentially smothers corals, altering reefs permanently.

With this research in mind, especially the unchecked growth of algae potentially smothering and 

killing corals, the initial focus of the SURF project at Hale Kula Elementary was designed to make 

teachers and their students aware of the impacts of invasive alga-like bubble algae and gorilla ogo on 

the reefs of O‘ahu. This project, designed by the author, the teachers, and the students focused 

on teacher participation in professional development as well as Citizen Science research projects 

designed and developed to be not only place-based but to provide the teachers with a new set of 

tools and different perspectives on science that in turn helped students connect science content 

more easily to their everyday lives (Vardell, Hadaway, and Young, 2006; Hadaway, Vardell, and 

Young, 2002).

As the project developed and matured, the teacher and student 

teams learned how to reduce the impacts of invasive algae by 

growing and releasing the common collector urchin, Tripneustes 

gratilla, (Figure 2) which have been found through previous 

research studies to be promising as a biocontrol agent (Stimson, 

Larned, and Conklin, 2001; Hunter, 2003; Conklin and Smith, 

2005; Meditz and Jang, 2010), acting as common reef grazers, 

eating alien algae off of reefs where the algae has been mechanically or hand removed previously. Once introduced on these 

“cleaned” areas of the reef, Hale Kula urchin’s are able to control 

the regrowth of the algae which improves reef health and ultimately community sustainability. 

The Project

Why Hale Kula Elementary? The teachers in this school, while 

not unique in their limited understanding of environmental 

education, climate science, and earth system science as a whole, do work with a unique student 

population for O‘ahu. The majority of their students, on average 22 per classroom, have one or 

both parents serving in an active duty capacity in the US Army. Due to the transient nature of 

military family life, these students also have limited experience with the reefs on O‘ahu, threats to 

the reefs, and the importance of protecting these reefs to ensure a sustainable future (ecological 

and economic) for O‘ahu. Another reason for choosing Hale Kula is that the building Principal 

and the teachers in this school had recently engaged with the author and several other education 

faculty from the University of Hawai‘i - West O‘ahu in a Title II STEM Professional Development 

project and they were eager to apply many of the their newly-learned skills into another project, one 

that would engage their students directly in “doing science”, or what the Next Generation Science 

Standards call, “developing an understanding of the enterprise of science as a whole (NGSS Lead 

States, 2013). This initial cohort of six teachers was also selected because they represented grades 

K through 5 at the school and had the potential to initially reach 110 students through their 

participation in the NOAA Climate Stewards Education project and the “Citizen Science” Research

conducted in conjunctions with these students.

One key component of the Citizen Science Research project is that it provided teachers and their 

students field-oriented and place-based experiences and curriculum that not only enhanced their 

understanding of the natural and cultural environment (Cusick, 2012) but also got them actively 

involved in an ecological restoration project that is locally and globally relevant, improving 

the sustainability of the reef ecosystem of O‘ahu. Engaging in Citizen Science with the goal of 

Figure 2. Baby Hawaiian collector sea urchins (Tripneustes gratilla). 

Photo Credit: NOAA.
Page 42 The Earth Scientist

© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

improving local reefs has been supported during 

and after the initial project by David Cohen at 

the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural 

Resources (DLNR) Fish Hatchery at Sand Island 

who provided both essential instruction and 

focused science content concerning the common 

collector urchin, Tripneustes gratilla as well as larval 

and juvenile animals for the classroom growth 

tanks (Figure 3). 

The project was initially carried out in the fall of 

2012 by students and teachers at the individual 

classroom level, each with a 29-gallon “BioCube” 

saltwater fish tank that housed between 15 and 20 

two- to five-millimeter urchins (Figure 4). The teachers, in partnership with their students, designed 

a variety of experiments to maintain and grow the urchins for release on the reefs either in Ka ̄ne’ohe

Bay or the waters adjacent to the Waikı ̄kı ̄ Aquarium adding to current efforts by the Aquarium and 

the DLNR to mitigate invasive algae (Figure 5). 

The first attempt at raising urchins in the classrooms was mixed, and several tanks had catastrophic 

mortality (100%). Other classrooms were more successful, with mortality ranging from 20% to 75%. 

Much learning came from this initial semester; participants discovered that several classrooms 

would get hot over weekends when fans were off and windows were closed, raising the temperature 

in the tanks to levels fatal to urchins. Other teams realized that they overfed the urchins and the 

pH and water chemistry drifted beyond optimal levels, and one team found that it was better to 

measure and mass the urchins weekly rather than handling them on a daily basis. The classroom 

with the lowest mortality, 16 or 20 survived four months and grew to a size suitable for introduction onto reefs on O‘ahu, used fresh seawater, refreshed weekly, and fed them only fresh limu 

mane`one`o, a Native Rhodophyta (UHM, 2015). 

The project focused on raising and releasing sea urchins to help restore the health of recently 

remediated reefs adjacent to the Waikı ̄kı ̄ Aquarium and acted as the motivator for one teacher and 

her students’ to create a Public Service Announcement, “The Time We Became Citizen Scientists” 

(vimeo.com/65187852) that they entered in the 2013 Olelo Youth XChange.

Figure 3. Collector sea urchins after transport from the Sand Island 

Hatchery and prior to introduction to classroom saltwater tanks.

Figure 5. Students mass and measure the sea urchins to reveal growth patterns. 

Figure 4. Sea urchins in salt water fish tank. 
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© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

In December the teachers, several parents, and students made the trip 

to the reef adjacent to the Waikı ̄kı ̄ Aquarium, where they released 41 

urchins (Figure 6). During the spring of 2013 the teachers and students 

were ready to “try again” and this time, the experiences they gained 

during the fall paid off with roughly 25% of the initial starting population of 156 urchins suffering mortality. In May of 2013, 117 urchins 

were released giving everyone involved a sense of accomplishment 

and the knowledge that in their small way they could do something to 

improve overall reef health. Over the summer the teachers expressed 

interest in adding tanks in other classrooms at their school and asked to 

include other schools in their area as well. This development is exactly 

what NOAA had in mind when it began the Climate Stewards Education 

Project (United States Global Change Research Program, 2009). 

This project turns out to be scalable and had the ability to move beyond 

the initial 6 classrooms at Hale Kula. The potential for other classrooms 

and even private citizens to become involved with growing sea urchins 

for future release on the reefs of Oahu is exceptional and growth of the 

project beyond the initial cohort will not only provide an opportunity 

for students and other nonprofessional scientists to participate in scientific research, it will provide needed place-based experiences for students 

and the community that will enrich learning and help teachers meet the 

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) (Table 1).

While Hale Kula was the initial target audience for the NOAA Climate 

Stewards project, and the campus continues to grow urchins, it is hoped 

that further sources of support will allow second and third iterations 

that could eventually be included in all public and private regular and 

special education teachers, island wide.

Going Further

By actively participating in the Hale Kula’s SURF NOAA Climate Stewards 

project, teachers and students have studied, cared for, grown, and eventually released urchins to the 

reefs in the waters adjacent to the Waikı ̄kı ̄ Aquarium. This not only has the potential to improve 

overall reef health, but it has also given the teachers and students an opportunity to provide a 

service to the community that is directly tied to community resilience through improved reef health. 

Improving reef health not only provides a more diverse ecosystem, these healthier reefs have the potential to positively impact the local economy in several ways. As corals regain their role in an ecosystem 

that has been hampered by invasive algae and other stressors, they become a prime destination of 

Hawaii’s tourist industry as well as a renewed source of juvenile fish, growing the availability and diversity of species for both subsistence and sport fishing. Healthy reefs also help buffer O‘ahu’s fragile 

beaches from erosion and inundation during storms and from rising sea levels. 

Finally, participation in SURF’s “Citizen Science” has provided teachers and students with meaningful, first hand experiences engaging in place-based science, thus enabling them to understand 

that they do have the ability to make a difference for the future of O‘ahu Hawai‘i and globally. 

Participation in NOAA’s Climate Stewards project has been a very successful program that shows 

that even a small project, like the project at Hale Kula Elementary has the potential not only to 

change the teachers and the students directly involved, but countless others beyond the walls of 

their classroom.

Figure 6. Hale Kula Elementary teachers release sea urchins into 

the ocean. 

Table 1. Next Generation Science Standards 

Performance Expectations Addressed by Project

Performance Expectations

K-ESS3-3. Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact 

of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living 

things in the local environment.

K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and 

animals (including humans) need to survive.

3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a 

problem caused when the environment changes and the 

types of plants and animals that live there may change.

5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual 

communities use science ideas to protect the 

Earth’s resources and environment.
Page 44 The Earth Scientist

© 2019 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Resources

The Time We Became Citizen Scientists: vimeo.com/65187852

How Tiny Sea Urchins Are Saving Ka ̄ne’ohe Bay: fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/

how-tiny-sea-urchins-are-saving-kaneohe-bay

Sea Urchins Help Combat Invasive Algae on Corals: oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/mar17/sea-urchins-hawaii.

html

Sea Urchin Hatchery: dlnr.hawaii.gov/ais/invasivealgae/urchn-hatchery/

References

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Bay, Hawai‘i and an experimental assessment of management options. Biological Invasions (7). 1029-1039.

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About the Author

Rick Jones is an Associate Professor of Science Education and Science at University of Hawai’i at West 

O’ahu (UHWO). He holds B.S. degrees in Geology and Secondary Science Education and a MS in Natural 

Science from the University of Wyoming and an Ed. D in Curriculum and Instruction – Science Education 

from Montana State University. He has over twenty-five years of teaching sciences in public schools in 

Wyoming, Hawai’i and Montana. Rick was the 2014 University of Hawaii Regents Teaching Excellent 

Awardee and recently completed his seventh year at UHWO, where he teaches Geology, Meteorology, 

Oceanography and Science Methods courses. Rick can be reached at rmjones7@hawaii.edu.