Programs Blog

July 17, 2025

Dear Diary,

Our day started with an early morning volunteering event at the He’eia Fish Pond – nothing could have prepared us for what we would look like several hours and layers of mud later. The pond is located on the west side of Oahu in Kaneohe bay and is more than 4.5 miles wide (~11 kilometers for my metric fans). The Fish Pond is an artificially enclosed brackish body of water that allows juvenile fish in, but as they grow they are trapped by walls. We started off by weeding their taro beds slightly inland of the pond. This involved descending into approximately thigh high muddy water. After clearing five beds and obtaining a significant layer of mud, we moved towards the pond. We were greeted by a smell that I feel confident relaying was not enjoyed by anyone in the group. The fish pond is over 800 years old but was unfortunately taken over by many invasive species – particularly the red mangrove. The smell is due to disruptions in soil chemistry which causes anoxia and thus, the aroma that clung to us for the rest of the day.

Our next job was still in thigh high mud and the objective was to cut the mangrove roots using shears. I was particularly enthusiastic about this segment and ended up bearing the physical characteristics of my commitment. Our last task at the site was to add some dried plants to taro beds to prevent excess evaporation of water. Although slightly unfavorable to the senses, the event shed light onto the hardships affecting the locals. Did you know that although Oahu is not even the largest island in the Hawaiian chain, it is home to most of the population? Despite this, the locals are struggling with only four water towers, housing insecurity, and relying on depleted fish stocks to supplement their food source. 

That experience was our only academic plan for the day so a small group (shoutout to Hana and Matt) hiked to the pillbox that overlooks the beaches of the North Shore. Today was also my turn to make dinner for the program and our group even added a dessert for everyone to enjoy (and to make the boys do extra dishes later). 

Hello to anyone reading this – I miss you guys! Give Grechik an extra hug for me 🙂 

Maya Butkevich, Boston University