Day 4 - Keauhou Bird Conservation Center and Volcanoes National Park(Sulfur Banks and the Jagger Museum)

Is there a place where you feel so connected to the earth that you just want to stay?  This is the place that makes me rethink my career choice every time we come up here.  The land is so rich in history and science and promise of a better tomorrow that I think that I want to stay...then reality hits! My hope is always that the students take away that the land is not ours. We are just a part of this great world and we have to do what we can to make sure that future generations get to see these lovely forests and I hope that there will be so many birds and native wildlife here that they will wonder what the fuss was all about.

HFS 2013 Planted Seedlings

After 2 years of growth

After a hard morning of planting.

After lunch, we got to visit the Bird Conservation Center.  We leaned about the wonderful work that they were doing to try to reintroduce some of the native birds including the Hawaiian Crow.

After sadly leaving, we headed into the Volcanoes National Park for some exploration before heading to the Jagger Museum to see the glow of the lava in the crater.

Crater during the day....

Some Botany...

Halema'uma'u Crater at night.  The crater seems larger and deeper that in years past.  A few months ago, the crater filled up with lava and some spilled over.  Maybe next year!