Practical application of classroom learning is often a difficult aspect of teaching. However, David Bybee, assistant professor of biology at BYU–Hawaii, seems to have found the solution: service. For the last two terms, Bybee has brought his subject to life by taking his Conservation Biology and Biology 100 classes to help with native Hawaiian forest restoration projects. The projects are located behind the University along the Ko’olau Summit Trail and near the Kahawaiinui Trail at a site recently burned by forest fire. Bybee calls the fire site “the battlefront” and describes it as a war raging between the native Hawaiian rainforest and the invasive plants that have gained a foothold since the fire.
One may question Bybee’s passion about restoring the native plants until learning that some of them are the only plants left of their kind in the world. Rare Hawaiian plants such as Huperzia nutans have only six known remaining individuals. Others such as Chamaesyce rockii and Cyanea koolauensis are limited to populations of just a few hundred individuals, all of which are found only in this little corner of the Ko’olau mountains behind the University. Over the years, the invasive plants have slowly been climbing further and further up the mountainside, overpowering the native rainforest and leaving it nearly non-existent in many areas. Volunteer groups like Bybee’s Biology classes, in collaboration with Army biologists, may be the only reason the plants don’t go extinct.
“However,” Bybee confesses, “this isn’t just a cool biology project, though I would still do it just for that.” His passion for the project began with a desire to “find activities and experiences meaningful to students here in Hawaii.” He didn’t want his students to simply read textbooks about distant places; rather, he wanted to “take students into their own backyard” to learn. Bybee also felt a push to teach his students “to be good stewards, to take care of the land, and take care of each other.” Judging by the students’ reactions, the project accomplished just that. Kalie Johnson, a Biology major from Virginia, commented about the purpose of the project: ”Our whole goal in class was to learn about and think about ways that we can preserve and restore Laie. On this trip we were able to be a part of that restoration firsthand.”
During his first trip to the summit with students, Bybee met Scott Lynch, the Natural Resources Manager of the Ko’olau Mountain Watershed Partnership, who introduced the idea of the burn site project to Bybee. Since that time, three groups of students have volunteered at the burn site. Their help has been so valuable that Bybee plans to continue the project in the future. He is pleased to see that the community has taken an interest in the project as well. Recently, Hawaii Reserves, Inc. (HRI) gave the U.S. Army permission to build a fence around the endangered plants to protect them from the wild pigs that roam the area. Bybee also anticipates involving Kahuku High School science students, scouting groups and other interested community members in the project as well. According to Johnson, the project “allows the community and students to get involved and see how much of an impact small things can have in preserving God’s creations.”
“This is what we want to see more and more of,” Bybee comments on the community involvement. The hope is that the project will springboard into more ways that BYU–Hawaii students can work alongside community members to care for the ‘aina, or land, on which they are blessed to live. Biology class with David Bybee isn’t about a passing grade; in his words, it is about “learning correct principles, both biological and spiritual.”