MEDIA RELEASE

High school students and teachers from the Big Island, Maui, Oahu, and Colorado will gather at Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) June 1-4 for the Third Annual Student Congress on Sustainability 2010. About 80 students are expected to participate in the free, four-day event hosted by HPA and The Kohala Center.

The mission of the Student Congress on Sustainability is to celebrate, inform, and cultivate student-driven environmental initiatives addressing local, national, and global issues.

By marshalling the enthusiasm, talent, and resourcefulness of young men and women, the Congress will be one means of facilitating widespread education and collaboration among high school students, serving to cultivate and shape habits of mind that will translate sustainable ideology into practice.

This year’s Congress will feature speakers Darren Kimura, chairman of the board of directors at Sopogy, Inc., Energy Industries Corporation, Energy Holdings, and Keahole Solar Power; Chris Bland, general legal counsel for Transfield; Dr. Lisa Pickell, research scientist at Cellana LLC; and Daniel Miller, who produced and filmed “Seeds of Hope.”

Students will attend four workshops about a variety of sustainability topics ranging from hydrogen power, careers in sustainability, and natural farming with indigenous microorganisms, to vermicomposting, sustainable agriculture in Hawaii, compostable and biodegradeable products, water, and waste.

Students also will be introduced to the Footprint Futures curriculum and work on energy audits and a project focused on reusing waste. Delegates will visit one of the following on their excursion — ReefTeach at Kahaluu Beach, Natural Energy Laboratories of Hawaii Authority Gateway, Keahole Solar Power, Cellana LLC, Friendly Aquaponics Farm, or Kawamata Farms — and will participate in a service project that includes beach and ocean clean up, assisting at the Kaupulehu Dryland Forest, weeding at the Kaupulehu Interpretive Center, and planting trees to offset their carbon footprint.

For more information, or to register for the Congress, contact Karen Yamasato at 808-895-1106 or e-mail at kyamasato@hpa.edu.