Hawaiʻi B-WET

Definitions of Hawaiian Words

To gain a better understanding of the Hawaiian language and culture, get familiar with the Hawaiian words and other terms that are used throughout the Hawaiʻi B-WET program.

1. Ahupuaʻa: An ahupuaʻa is a division of land, which is often oriented vertically extending from the uplands and usually includes portions of the sea, that is part of a larger traditional resource management system established by ancient Hawaiians to sustainably utilize the resources throughout the islands. The ahupuaʻa was developed and maintained as a practical approach for environmental stewardship and management of human-nature relationships. The ahupuaʻa encompasses an intimate understanding of the holistic connections, functions, and interactions between the lewa (sky), honua (Earth), wai (freshwater sources), and kai (sea). Within the ahupuaʻa, human interactions and the use of biocultural resources were strictly managed through laws and social norms that were passed from generation to generation. This was a prominent practice and significant accomplishment in the history of traditional Hawaiian society. Today, ahupuaʻa management weaves Native Hawaiian knowledge systems, values, and practices with contemporary tools through community partnerships working towards biocultural restoration.
2. ʻĀina: Land, ocean, communities; a source of sustenance that feeds one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
3. ʻĀina Momona: Healthy, productive and thriving communities of people and place.
4. Biocultural: Weaving knowledge systems to understand the link between nature and culture and the interrelationships between humans and the environment. Defined in conservation fields as “conservation actions made in the service of sustaining the biophysical and sociocultural components of dynamic, interacting, and interdependent social-ecological systems” (Maffi and Woodley, 2012).
5. Climate Science: The term for sciences related to any of the studies that deal with the long-term average of conditions in the atmosphere, ocean, ice sheets, and sea ice. These long term patterns of oceanic and atmospheric conditions at a location can be described by statistics, such as means and extremes, and/or Indigenous histories and observations embedded in local traditional communities.
6. Curriculum: Refers to the lessons and academic content taught in a school or in a formal course or program which demonstrates a scope and sequence of learning objectives and assessments that build upon each topic. An individual teacher's curriculum, for example, would be the specific learning standards, lessons, assignments, and materials used to organize, teach, and assess students' proficiency of a particular course.
7. Earth Science: The term for sciences related to any of the studies that deal with the Earth or with one or more of its parts. Many scientists use the earth systems science approach which treats the entire earth as a system. Earth sciences include but are not limited to: meteorology; climatology; atmospheric chemistry; geology; geodesy; geophysics; soil science; oceanography; hydrology; marine biology; glaciology; and marine, coastal, and atmospheric sciences.
8. Environmental Stewardship: The responsible use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices to enhance ecosystem resilience and human well-being.
9. Equity: The consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to historically underserved or historically underrepresented communities that have been denied such treatment.
10. Hawaiʻi: The islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Niʻihau, and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
11. Inclusion: The practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized. For applicants that means, the practice to incorporate any relevant traditional and/or community knowledge into project activities to represent the diverse perspectives and values of their target community(ies).
12. Indigenous: Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place.
13. Indigenous Knowledge: Refers to a cumulative body of knowledge, skills, observations, and systems developed, maintained, and practiced by “peoples with extended histories of interaction with the natural environment” and which are embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, Indigenous, and/or local communities.
14. Kupuna: Hawaiian word for ancestor, grandparent, elder, or source (of knowledge).
15. Mālama ʻĀina: Taking care of the land, ocean, and communities that take care of you through recognizing individual and collective kuleana (responsibility).
16. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs)
17. Pedagogy: The method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.
18. Pilina: Association, relationship, connection.
19. Resilience: A capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant multi-hazard threats with minimum damage to social well-being, the economy, and the environment (USGCRP 2018). While this definition is limited to a concept of “bouncing back” to a previous state that may be fundamentally unstable and unjust, ultimately, resilience should mean transforming to a more equitable and sustainable future state (Bey et al. 2020).
20. Stewardship: Behaviors and decisions that conserve, restore, and protect natural and cultural resources.
21. Students: Kindergarten through high school (K-12) youth.
22. Teachers/Educators: Formal educators for K-12 and informal educators for all audiences.
23. Watershed: Land area from which water drains toward a common watercourse in a natural basin. For the Hawaiʻi B-WET grant program, projects should incorporate the broader concept of ahupuaʻa.