Every year since Makauwahi Cave Reserve came into being, the Senior Class of Island School in Puhi, Kaua`i has celebrated their graduating class status by spending a day with

Island School Seniors at the cave. Photo from Jenn Murphy.

us at the site, doing arduous labor! We know from experience what a great group we
can expect, and we have always enjoyed working with Joan Shaw and the rest of the IS staff to put together a nice mix of caving, hiking, picnicking, and service. We give them some pretty serious work, to do, too.

This year they were a great help in extending the area cleared of thorny kiawe and other invasive plants in the area near trail post #9, where successive groups of seniors from the school have cleared invasives and planted many natives with great success. In recent years, we always have a mix of appropriate native plant seeds produced on the site for students to scatter in recently cleared areas and along the trails. The toughest part, most students agree, is dragging the brush to the chipper. The big noisy machine was run again this year by our OHA-sponsored landscape crew. It was great for the seniors to have a chance to work alongside these professional conservationists — native Hawaiians from the neighboring island of Ni`ihau — and vice versa. Thanks also to our equally professional volunteers, who supervised the safety and task organization that is essential to the work. One favorite job this year was stone wall building for erosion control, under the watchful eye of Joe Kanahele from the Makauwahi Jobs Program and volunteer Randy Riggs.