More than 1,000 Maui second-graders learned plenty at this year’s “Agriculture in the Classroom” (AIC) Field Trip at Haleakalā Ranch—and it turned out the keiki weren’t the only ones learning. The event on April 10 and 11 also provided a perfect opportunity for representatives from conservation groups to gather together with representatives from the Ranch and learn about how rangelands are managed. Standing in the green pastures and hearing firsthand from Jordan Jokiel, vice president – land management, and Kristin Mack Almasin, Livestock Manager, Ulupalakua Ranch who participated for the Maui Cattlemen’s Association, the conservation folks got a clear picture of how much work goes into being good stewards of the land.
Conservation groups included East Maui Watershed, Maui Invasive Species Committee, Skyline Eco Adventures, The Nature Conservancy, Mauna Kahalawai, Ulupalakua Ranch, Maui Forest Birds and Maui Cattlemen’s Association. Many of them being of the younger generation in their 20s and 30s, they learned for the first time that Haleakalā Ranch has been doing conservation long before conservation was “cool,” from the late 19th century on into the 1920s when the Ranch transferred lands to the federal government for the creation of Haleakalā National Park, and continuing to the present.
“The AIC event was a really great way for those of us in multiple sectors to get together and meet, talk story, collaborate, and learn from each other—outside of Zoom meetings, conferences, working groups, phone calls, and committee meetings,” Jokiel said. “It was really refreshing and valuable, especially for some of the younger folks who may not be as familiar with Haleakalā Ranch and our role in managing the land.”
Jokiel and all of the conservation partners enjoyed their time talking with the keiki as well. Rotating through groups over the course of the day, they shared with students the relationship between agriculture and conservation, emphasizing the value of watersheds and the threats and solutions that land managers face. The kids worked in small groups around individual tables to make seedballs: koa for distribution at Skyline EcoAdventure’s restoration site; cool season forage for the bare ground in the recent Crater Road burn scar; and warm season forage to be deployed in the Ranch’s makai pastures.
In addition, Greg Friel, vice president – livestock operations for Haleakalā Ranch, gave a demonstration on horseback of how stock dogs help with herding and how to bring cattle up to the corral. He was accompanied by his granddaughter Skylynn Friel, a 2024 graduate of King Kekaulike High School. Skylynn grew up in the ranching lifestyle, raising and showing hogs, lambs, goats, steers and replacement heifers with Maui 4-H from age 9 to 18, and competing in Maui High School Rodeo from grade 10 to 12. It was a joy to watch grandfather and granddaughter work seamlessly together with their horses and dogs to move the herds.
This year’s AIC included activity stations and learning from ag educators MCFB, Hawaiian Electric, Maui Soil & Water Conservation Districts, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, and Bayer, as well as Haleakalā Ranch. Fifteen elementary schools across Maui participated: Carden Academy, Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Maui ma Pāʻia, Pāʻia, Kula, Kahului, Pu‘u Kukui, Kamehameha Maui, Kīhei, Makawao, Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena, Doris Todd Christian Academy, Pukalani, Pomaikaʻi, Lihikai, and Kamaliʻi.
“To see all of the kids at the Racetrack just warms my heart,” said Scott Meidell, chief operating officer for Haleakalā Ranch. “We just couldn’t be happier to serve as the host venue for this field trip.” The Ranch has been the host venue since 2015, helping to share the vital role that agriculture plays in our community.
AIC is sponsored and presented by Maui County Farm Bureau, with a big mahalo to grant funders Maui County Department of Agriculture and Maui County Council for their support. Another big mahalo goes to Old Lahaina Lūʻau, Maui Gold Pineapple Co. and Kula Country Farms, for providing the keiki with delicious treats of banana bread, chilled pineapple and fresh strawberries; and to Ethan Romanchak, owner of Native Nursery and MCFB board member, for helping with event set-up.
AIC is only one piece of Haleakalā Ranch’s ongoing community outreach and stewardship of the land. But with the many ways that the Field Trip connects conservation with rangeland, younger generation with older, educators with other educators, and keiki with the ‘āina, it may be the Ranch’s most valuable outreach—and the most fun.
