Youth need to be inspired to learn about their unique heritage. They will than take pride in it and take care of it. Hawai i, the most isolated archipelago worldwide, shelters a variety of endemic plants. About 900 flowering plant species are found nowhere else. The massive barrier, the Pacific Ocean, separates the Hawaiian islands about 2,500 miles from the nearest continent.
Native species are thus more vulnerable to disturbance.
Teaching Suggestions 1. Native plants and animals are either indigenous or endemic. Indigenous organisms are those that occur in Hawai i and else where. Many coastal plants are indigenous like naupaka kahakai . Hawai i. Areas can be as great as the entire Hawaiian Chain to specific regions like a single gulch like Pa-hole.