Part of Maui Nui Marine Resource Councilʻs “Know Your Ocean” Speaker Series
Have you ever wondered why some people care — and others seemingly don’t — about protecting Maui’s coral reefs? Imagine if you could climb into their minds to understand what causes visitors and residents of Maui to be motivated (or not) to care for our reefs through their behaviors and actions. How would that help your community be more effective in protecting its reefs?
Maui Nui Marine Resource Council invites the public to an important free Zoom webinar on Wednesday., Aug. 5 at 5:30 pm to find out more about the social and psychological factors that influence human behavior in our nearshore environments, based on a recent joint study conducted in West Maui by Polanui Hiu, The Nature Conservancy, and Stanford University.
Attendees will meet Francisca (Kika) Santana, the leader of the study and a fourth year PhD candidate at Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. Her team surveyed 300 reef users and learned about their reef-based activities, perceptions of reef health, their social-psychological indicators (such as place attachment and self-efficacy), and pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Alana Yurkanin, Maui Marine Project Manager at The Nature Conservancy, will also share her insights on the survey results.
During the webinar, viewers will be transported to Polanui, a small, popular beach in Lāhaina, protected by an offshore reef named Nā Papalimu O Pi‘ilani. For generations, this reef sustained Hawaiian families with its abundance of fish and edible limu (algae). Sadly, that abundance has vanished and Polanui now has the lowest fish biomass in Hawai’i, meaning its fish are smaller and fewer than all other sites surveyed across the state.
Viewers will meet Ekolu Lindsey and the Polanui Hiu, a local community group that he co-founded which works to restore the resources and Hawaiian traditions once practiced along this shore. Find out about their work and their results of recent human use and creel surveys conducted at Polanui (surveys of beachgoer and angler activity in the nearshore waters of this area).
The webinar’s guest emcee is Darla Palmer-Ellingson, local radio show host of the public affairs program, Island Environment 360, made possible by H-Hawaii Media.
“Let’s learn together to find ways to be more effective in bringing about positive change for our reefs, both now while tourism is largely absent, and later, when visitors begin to visit Maui again,” says Amy Hodges, Programs and Operations Manager at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council. “This free webinar is offered as part of our Know Your Ocean Speaker Series, offered online due to Covid-19.”
Maui Nui Marine Resource Council thanks the County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development for helping to make this presentation possible.
To register for the webinar, please visit https://bit.ly/reefcare. After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining this webinar.
Maui Nui Marine Resource Council News Release
Image of: Kika Santana (left) surveys Marie Janiszewski (right) as part of a study of reef users on Maui. The survey was conducted to learn about the respondents’ reef-based activities, perceptions of reef health, social-psychological indicators (such as place attachment and self-efficacy), and pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Courtesy Maui Nui Marine Resource Council |
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