LIHU‘E — Monk seal outreach is “having a bit of an explosion,” said Kaua‘i Monk Seal Watch Program Projects Coordinator Timothy Robinson. This month, the nonprofit — whose funding is entirely used to heighten monk seal awareness — began conducting
LIHU‘E — Monk seal outreach is “having a bit of an explosion,” said Kaua‘i Monk Seal Watch Program Projects Coordinator Timothy Robinson.
This month, the nonprofit — whose funding is entirely used to heighten monk seal awareness — began conducting presentations for visitors at the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas and the Sleeping Giant Sotheby’s International Realty office at Waipouli Beach Resort & Spa.
“Being invited into new venues is a real vote of confidence in what we try to do,” Robinson said.
The KMSWP already educates visitors at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Resort in Po‘ipu, as well as fourth-graders across Kaua‘i and Moloka‘i.
The nonprofit recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary with more than 10,000 students having participated in the curriculum and more than 4,600 visitors taking part in the Sheraton program which has been ongoing for more than four years, Robinson said.
Dedicated to educating children and adults about the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the organization hopes to help protect the ancient species and dispel the many myths associated with it, he said.
The presentations for visitors are approximately 50 minutes long and illustrate the important role the marine mammals play in Hawai‘i’s natural ecosystem, “with a particular emphasis on marine debris issues,” Robinson said.
“Many of our guests are return guests and/or vacation ownership homeowners with a vested interest in our beautiful island of Kaua‘i,” said Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas Director of Fun Marc Bennor. “With that being said, we feel it is important to provide a sense of place both historical and environmental.”
Environmental challenges prevail and education is “vital in the preservation of our little corner of paradise,” he said.
Offering information to visitors helps facilitate an “understanding of the monk seals’ plight and a deep appreciation for who they are outside of being cute and curious neighbors,” said Michael Olsen of Sleeping Giant Sotheby’s International Realty.
Visitors and employees “feel honored that (monk seals) continue to choose” Waipouli Beach to spend their days lounging in the sunshine, he said. And now Waipouli Beach Resort guests have the opportunity to learn more about them and the “fragile fabric of Hawai‘i’s eco-culture” at Sotheby’s office twice a month, Olsen said.
Only an estimated 1,100 monk seals remain throughout the Hawaiian archipelago, but only 115 or so actually traverse the Main Islands, NOAA Marine Mammal Response Coordinator David Schofield said earlier this year.
Arriving in Hawai‘i millions of years before humans, a “large seal kill-off” in the 1800s is likely thought to have devastated their population. Only within the last 20 years have they begun to recover — in small numbers, he said.
“Our bottom line is that education instills knowledge, and knowledge is the key to preserving Hawaiian monk seals,” Robinson said.
Visit www.kauaimonkseal.com for more information.
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
