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Volunteers and interns on Midway Atoll

Recently, the team on Midway Atoll hosted a service trip for nine KUPU interns that were interested in the conservation on the island.  The interns were immersed in what the volunteers here experience every day, restoration sites that have come a long way, historical landmarks that give the island its unique background.

Spring/Summer 2018 volunteers from left to right: Laura Howland, Jake Egelhoff, Kaitlyn Jacobs, Joey Latsha (KUPU), and Elaine Beaudoin.

Along with our volunteers, the interns assisted an outplanting at one of our restoration sites on island, and over four hundred plants were put into the ground in a span of less than an hour.  Outplantings are one of the most rewarding things the volunteers do here, because you can see the difference you’re making on a piece of land.  Within the time that our volunteers are on island, they can watch as the evil nightshade disappears, and growth of plants like kāwelu, ʻīlima, and naupaka increase the chances for resurrection of the land and a new habitat for the animals. If a day in the life of Midway is anything, it is definitely rewarding.

Midway Atoll - An Ecological Marvel

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is located about 1,200 miles northwest of Honolulu within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).   Over three million birds, encompassing 29 different species, nest or winter on Midway Atoll’s three islands and all of them are susceptible to predation by mice.

Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles and spinner dolphins frequent Midway’s crystal blue lagoon encircled by coral, and the atoll is home to the largest albatross colony in the world and is the most important and successful breeding ground for Black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis).

Apply to become a volunteer on Midway Atoll.

Want to read more about Midway? 

A Laysan Lovesong

MIdway Atoll: Restoring an Ecological Gem

A Future to Count on for Albatross at Midway NWR

Discovering Midway’s Cultural History

War and Peace at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial