KILAUEA — The Friends of Kaua‘i Wildlife Refuges recently awarded $25,000 in scholarship awards — the Daniel Moriarty Memorial Scholarships — to 14 students from across Hawai‘i who are studying toward careers in conservation.
“This is our largest distribution ever for our organization,” said Thomas Daubert, the executive director for The Friends of Kaua‘i Wildlife.
“The distribution was made possible thanks to the generosity of numerous major donors in our community, including Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerbeg, an anonymous family foundation, and other generous friends. We are truly honored to support the students’ education and look forward to their future contributions to conservation work across Hawai‘i nei.”
The scholarships support the education of future conservationists through distributions from a scholarship fund honoring the legacy of Daniel Moriarty, an outstanding environmental educator and conservationist, who played a major role in developing Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge and fostering a strong conservation ethic within the community.
The recipients of the Daniel Moriarty Memorial Scholarships were Dasha Allyn, Samantha Alvarado, Julia Barzilia, Nandi Fisher, Isabel Fontaine, Makala Gibson, Shu Hoo, Rasil Manandhar, Tyra Nishimoto, Dannika Pila, Juliana Rhee, Emma Seres, Ciaralen Tolentino and Celest Velardo.
The students are pursuing degrees in a variety of wildlife conservation-based areas, including biology, environmental science, marine biology and tropical plant and soil science.
They honor the legacy of Dan Moriarty, who managed the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge from 1979 to 1990. His tireless efforts in restoring native vegetation and protecting seabirds and protecting seabirds were largely responsible for transforming the former lighthouse grounds and surrounding cliffs into one of the premier wildlife refuges in the world.
Moriarty also spearheaded the successful drive to acquire Nihoku, or Crater Hill, and Mokolea to make them part of the refuge.
The organization, in 1998, endowed a scholarship fund in his memory, and has continued to award annual scholarships in his name. The Friends of Kaua‘i Wildlife Refuges has awarded more than $200,000 in scholarships in his name, and continues to work to inspire, support and develop tomorrow’s conservationists.
