North Kohala, Hawaii ~ On February 2, ten Kealakehe High School students from the Pre-architecture/drafting Class will make a field trip to the future site of the Hawaii Wildlife Center. The students and their teacher, Lawrence Rice, will be performing fun and highly technical projects to help with development of the Center.
Students will have RC Photogammetry planes they will deploy for aerial photos of the site. Some students are preparing foamboard scale models in class. Others are drawing the building in a computer program called “Sketchup” so that it can in turn be downloaded onto the hugely popular Google Earth. The students will also make a computer-generated 3D print scale model that can then be reproduced in plastic using the AutoCAD files provided by William Ruhl, AIA, pro bono architect for the project.
Although the physical facility is not yet completed, HWC has already become involved in education projects including the Kahana No‘eau Mentor program for teaching conservation science using GIS/GPS technology, Brown University Leadership programs, Cornell University graduate program, UH Hilo RET teachers program, and the UC Berkeley MARE program. Due to the amazing efforts of the students and the entirely pro-bono design and development team the Center is looking to break ground this March. The dedicated and talented team includes William T. Ruhl & Rhoady Lee, architects, JS Bedingfield Construction Management, Tinguely Development, Pattison Survey, and Kohala Engineering.
Contact the Hawaii Wildlife Center if you would like to donate to this project. The Center is halfway to their fundraising goal. Continued and ongoing support is needed, particularly as ground breaking nears.
Hawaii Wildlife Center, to be built in North Kohala, will become Hawaii’s first ever wildlife recovery and conservation center for treatment and recovery of sick, injured, and orphaned native wildlife, especially threatened and endangered species. Rescued animals will be returned to the wild once they have recovered. The Center will further Hawaii’s emergency response capabilities by providing assistance when there are natural or man-made disasters that affect wildlife populations. Educational programs at the Center will include training in wildlife conservation, research procedures, and cultural awareness. The new facility will include a wildlife care and response unit, a public interpretative courtyard, and an education pavilion.
For more information or to make a donation, contact Linda Elliott, HWC president, at (808) 889-5180 or contact us.