 I'm excited to journey with you as you learn how to take your help back today. We have two very enthusiastic women who are very passionate about your children's learning experiences through science as they spark their awareness with things around them. Welcome Dora Nakafuji and Ananda Ferrara. Hello, how guys are girls. So Dora, please tell us a little bit about your background. Wendy, this is probably a few times that I've been on this show and it's always exciting to have you on the show with you. My background is I'm an engineer and I'm currently at Kamehameha Schools and I'm in the strategy and transformation group. My role is really to kind of work across our various assets from campuses to properties to our lands and look for efficiencies and innovation technologies that we can actually bring to our landscape that can help us modernize but also be more efficient in the way that we use our resources. And Dora, you have a few alphabets that follow your name. I can't even spell them or get them in the correct order. Is it PHD? So tell us what your PHD is in, Dora. So by changing I'm an aeronautical mechanical engineer. So that just means that I like to work on systems that integrate a lot of different engineering systems together from energy to propulsion to flying in an aircraft because you have everything, from sanitation to food service. Wow, so I'm always so very proud whenever I see that and whenever I'm with Dora, I feel so special because she's one mighty wahini that took education up and beyond in the aeronautical engineering field wahinis. So learn from her, listen to her, feel her passion and you too can do this as well. And so Ananda, I would love to share what your history is all about as well. Thank you so much, Wendy. And I agree. I think Dora is one of the smartest people I know. I agree. So I've been working with the Y for the past 16 years. I started off in fitness center as a college student and once I graduated I realized that I need work experience in order to build a meaningful career and fortunately the Y was there and I thought that I would gain office skills but I gained so much more. I had the opportunity to tell parents that they qualify for financial assistance and I got to see those children thriving in our program. And that's when I realized that I was a part of something greater and so I've been strengthening communities in Hawaii with the Y of Honolulu for the past 16 years. I've worked in many, many capacities, resources, development, membership, marketing, and also as a branch executive director. We work on association wide initiatives, including diversity inclusion, healthy lifestyles, philanthropy. I'm currently leading Kupuna and volunteer strategies. I oversee the kind of key wildlife branch which is located by Kahala mall. They stop in and say hello. We are a gathering place, and we're welcome to all ages and backgrounds and abilities and interest and we offer not only expansive health and fitness resources classes, but we also have programs to help people all ages from toddlers to become their best selves in spirit, mind, and body. And so we serve thousands of children, adults, and seniors every year and we also have served thousands of meals to Kiki in need over the past two summers during the pandemic. Wow, so what does the Y program do? What don't they do, right? And that's our goal and my heart has always been integration of Kupuna and Kiki and that's exactly what you're doing there at the Y. So that's why we all resonate well to carry on with this journey to just get them together, hanging out, liking each other and communicating with each other and making it more like the blue zones. And that's the qualifications of blue zones when you have the Kupuna and Kiki communicating with each other. I think that's so very, very important. And I myself as a product of the Y, I mean baby and me classes, the exercise programs and the continuing exercise postpartum as well. So everyone I'm sure has had one step or one hand in the YMCA or the YWC programs as well. So thank you for being here ladies. So I know we have so much to talk about and so much energy that we want to put off and share with everyone. And I know we want to start about this SPARK program. Tell us about what is Project Spark? Well, Ananda and I can probably tag team on about this, but it actually just started out as kind of a concept of can we like link together concepts of land, ocean and space, and then create a meaningful experience for children or students and learn from practitioners that also work in this space of land, air and space. And so SPARK is actually an acronym for science, play space and sexual research and know how. And the reason that we wanted to do that is because it's really a offering or an opportunity for many of our students who could be SPARKed or basically inspired, and then give them a place that they can play, you know, and check out all these different exploratory opportunities, and then put to practice something that they really kind of are passionate about, and then eventually get to that level of performance that brings out their skill sets, and they become practitioners to teach others. So at any age, you don't have to be a kupuna just to teach it, but these kids can actually teach themselves, teach others, and that's what's exciting. And so offering this as a way to connect the whole cycle from land, ocean and spaces is all connected one system. That's what it's all about. And then connecting to the community and the practitioners so that they get some hands on experience. And I love the name SPARK. I mean, it's like another name for light. And, you know, we always want to work with light, sunshine, brightness and everything in that arena versus the other side. So is there anything you want to add to that, Ananda? Just want to say that, you know, this project was sparked by our friendship and partnership, and so excited by where the ideas will spark for the children in the future, and where they will go with their passions and their interests from this program. Wow. So from SPARK, we are going to cover all the different aspects. So we're going to start with a little bit of land connections. So we all know that every little creature has its role in our existence. So please tell us about a sweet creature that you had introduced their system and what they do in the role in our society. Dora, I know that this is exciting for you as well. Yeah. So we actually shared some images of this opportunity with the kids. And so when we think of land, we always think about agriculture and a lot of our elementary students get to experience growing kalo in the low heat. And one of the things that we, when we started working with a lot of the farmers is that we also realized that pollinators are just as important here in Hawaii. And without pollinators, we don't actually don't get fruit and we can't get seeds to continue. So working and teaming with a lot of our industry folks, and this project because we are reinventing how we engage with students, right? This group of kids with middle school age kids. So they're kind of at an age where they're kind of like, can't wow them anymore. They kind of know more than, they think they know more than we know already. And they're not high school students. They're not high school students where they're pretty much busy with their courses and they're a little bit more just in depth of what they're already interested in. Middle school age kids, they need to be sparked, right? So they want to be able to find someone maybe that they can see as a role model. And so what we did was we brought these practitioners that were really passionate about their roles. And there wasn't just a job. It was like, we have life for them. So they shared values, they shared connections to the land, they shared culture even because we're such a mix of different ethnicities, right? So I think it was really helpful to see that kind of connection. So the first thing we started with with these pollinators and started with bees. Bees are social bees and they're solitary bees. And so we worked with one of our practitioners, Jasmine Joy, who is a partner or founder of the Lea Hawaii, and she practices what's called ethical bee keeping. And it was amazing because what she brought was not only kind of a spiritual connection to these creatures of nature, but also this ethical practice of all the life cycles about the bees, isn't it? They're productivity, their ability to produce things that these humans can now enjoy, which is honey, but also the science and what is in the honey. So things like that, that things that we also did that we taught the kids about where solitary bees and where social bees live. So there's a connection also to our community too, because we actually launched in the summer for this perfect spark. So the kids were, and there was another slide I think of working with the kids where they got to help us restore the bees, the bee hives. We restored eight bee hives, 80 new frames, which then the bees can actually make their homes off of, which resulted in 500,000 bees to be rescued basically from the swarms. So thinking about preparing spaces and preparing them about taking care of nature's creatures, also taking care of also maybe even just our house's community. I mean, how does that connect to our society? They're rescuing bees, and they help us do so. So that's, that was with Jasmine Joy. Wow, that's, you know, I want to jump in because the bees, I mean, just bringing that hive to the students, most of us, even adults, we don't get to see that. And so you just wonder how the heck does that little insect, that little bee make that honey, and why is it the bee so important? And people, I'm glad you brought that to the students because people have to realize the importance of that bee, because I always simplicity, for simplicity's sake, I would say, if we don't solve the bees, we don't have the flowers, we don't have the produce, and then what happens to us. So it's really brilliant of you all to bring that from the very beginning of your sessions to show this to the Kiki, how important it is to take your mother nature and the byproducts, which is the bee. And I just congratulate you. I mean, when I saw that, I was like, yay, yay, yay. And I know that you brought in the right people to speak on that and get them excited and interested on it, because that'll just spark one more bit of curiosity for them to want to dig into it and understand more, and maybe even just appreciate honey, and the value of honey and where it comes from. And then you mentioned that, you know, some of the bees are social and some are independent. And, you know, I surf, and more and more these days I find that I'm surfing with the bees. And what that simply means is we find a lot of bees in the ocean with us. Maybe they got off course, maybe the wind blew them somewhere they shouldn't be, but we try and save them and we draw out their wings and we try to bring them to shore. I don't know what the success rate is, but we feel we're doing a little bit of our part. And so I just like, I can still resonate with this whole process of the land and now we talk about water and I as I said the bees were in the water and here we are we're going to be talking about the water in our next segment right now. It's we here in Hawaii are surrounded by water and that's why the bees probably end up there. But sometimes we take it for granted. So I want you to talk to us more about water and being wise on its use. Yeah, so the next connection which is land to water and the water to space eventually but the land has definite connections we typically grow things in the land. But what we're also realizing is that it the land also needs water water is what life depends on. And so one of the things that we've been learning about to is this full connection to the environment and the water cycle. So learning about platforms that are much more efficient in the way that grow, conserve water utilize water and recharge it back into the earth. So the land, the all very important so thanks to you Andy, we have the tower garden, which has allowed us to introduce this concept of being water wise, and using these platforms to teach a different way of farming that utilizes aeroponics. And I actually find this is really fascinating because everybody thinks about only the soil but some of our kids live in urban areas and they don't have access to a garden, or, you know, they just don't have the ability to farm land, as we traditionally think. So these are aeroponics or hydroponics or occupied, they're actually providing opportunities and new platforms for our next generation of farmers, agro tech, you know, industry farmers that can actually take advantage of or utilize these resources or these platforms to grow. There's also a very exciting connection to space, because you wouldn't. One of the questions you always ask is how would you farm in space. And these platforms offer us that connection to dream beyond what we're doing here, but you have to know foundation how to grow, you have to know what it takes to care for a plant. And the nutrients that it needs or the plant needs to know to feed ourselves. So the platforms are an amazing thing that that you're, you're able to introduce us to and we're utilizing it in the community and and I'm not you may be able to share some other things that we're able to do with the tower garden. Over the course of the pandemic to. Yes, you know, the tower gardens we were so fortunate to have them on loan through Kamehameha schools and thanks to a grant now we own one and we're so excited because you know our footprint is pretty small and so to be able to grow these gardens vertically is just amazing. And so we actually were able to help provide fresh veggies to our employees that were on furlough during the pandemic. We also were able to provide veggies to children and our learning centers that were there while essential workers were out there working. And we also were able to provide to go Luna, who came in through our doors. So it's really been a wonderful addition and we're very happy to have it. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Wow, that's amazing. You know there's so many options of growing food, you know, aquaponics hydroponics, the system aeroponics or vertical growing systems, all very amazing. And part about any system is a system that works for you and it depends on your space, your land space, you know, your, your degree of time investment so it just matters and there's a system that suits every one of us. We just have to research it a little bit more and find the one that works, and that's the one that will take care of you. I know I've been growing my towers for almost 10 years, and I'll never stop. I know that you at the Y focused on two different methods of growing food this summer side by side. Please share with us this experience of and what were the results of growing side by side, whether it was Diana whether it was a vertical growing share with us your results on that. Thank you for asking. So we do have a very small and by small I mean, you know, there's a little garden that is out by our parking lot. And we also have our water garden towers and one thing we found is that the plants grew much faster with the water garden towers and also the bugs didn't get to them in the water garden towers so so I would say you know it was really great for the plants to be exposed to both methods and that's something they can bring home to their families so they may not necessarily have resources for a water garden tower but they can also grow something in a pot or in their backyard. Right, so as I mentioned the system that works best for you is a system that will create good health for you because you're taking the time to to invest into yourself by growing your own food. Another part for me is the prayer is that families will find community and communication around growing and while they're in the tower or in their fields, you know they'll take time to talk story and hear about the days. You know what went on in the day so I truly believe in what this is all about not just eating healthy but growing healthy together. So now Dora, let's discuss healthy airspace connections tell us more about that. So for this year, this is actually the second year we did the Project SPART with the YNCA. The last time we did it was actually the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. So we actually had an opportunity to launch some rockets with the West Windward Community College. But this year, because we actually were looking at a lot of this environmental and clean air, how do we mitigate more carbon back into the atmosphere. So we're looking at these are trees right, our giant air scrouters, if you will, and they produce oxygen for us. They sequester the carbon. And we work with a nonprofit organization led by Wiley SmartTree specific, and they do a lot of what's called Citizen Forestry Educational Programs, and they've been helping out communities map out their green spaces by documenting their green trees. And that's actually helping the city and county as well to manage the trees but also be cost effective because if you don't take care of the trees even if they're in the sidewalk area, they will die. So that costs a lot of money for taxpayers. So all these kids got really engaged in learning what Citizen Foresters do. And what we hope is that they will be part of the next group of Citizen Foresters to help us continue to document, track, and also collect data on the trees. So they all got to learn about measuring trees. They learned about the science, the morphology, and how to collect data. So right now in this slide, you can see the kids were being exposed to different leaves, different types of trees that we find in our neighborhoods, and then learning to name them as well. And so these helping giants really are about a reflection about how healthy our own planet, our spaces are. And so in the future, they can maybe be those green citizen, Citizen Foresters, but also smart about building urban communities and cities where we have green spaces. So it's exciting to see that. Yeah, I love that when I first heard that term, you know, that the trees are like the air cleaners. But what are you, the air scrubbers or scrubbers, right? I mean, to clean our air, you know, I mean, not just by the science part of it, but just even their presence in our environment where the wind is scrubbed by the trees. It was really, it's brilliant. I, I wasn't made aware of it until I spoke with you and I was on that show and I heard it and I thought, wow, that's amazing. So, you know, even we as Kupuna are still able to learn and understand the value of what we have in our environment. So tell us a little bit about what is a Citizen Forrester action. This was actually kind of fun because every time Wei and his crew comes out, we learn more about what they have to do out in the community to actually document the trees. And, you know, getting data on trees is not that easy. But all these kids, I mean, they were amazing. So what we did was we actually, not everyone has the rulers ready, right. So we actually had to practice math, and then we actually use our rulers to give them what they call a diameter standard height where they go and make the measurements because when we make measurements for trees on a wide the tree trunk is, you know, at this certain certain location, not to feed off the ground is not five feet off the ground is at 5.5. So what we did was we gave, we showed the kids using their own body parts as ways to make measurements, and then we applied math geometry to estimate the height of the trees. So we're using body parts and using these, you know, so you can do this and making measurements. So these are all trade tricks of the trade, if you will, or actually practices that they do in industry to estimate height. So we gave the opportunity for kids an opportunity. And it's funny, we broke them up into teams, they got to do the estimates working with the Citizen Forresters. We all got them together, and they had to compare notes. So it's just my very much like working on a team, and we took an average of the data so it really was hands on in the sense that they practice math. They actually learned about using their body parts and really being able to perform right we're talking about playing and then practicing, you're performing now so the next time they're called to go out and figure out distances. So hopefully they'll remember practicing their case and using their body parts as measurements about this. Wow. That sounds like a MacGyver technique. Right. You don't need a carrier tape measure or ruler when you're out in the forest use your body parts I mean that's, you improvise and that's exactly to me the term MacGyver, and how he survives in any, in any situation. I mean, these students, these kids, our children, life skills that they'll always be able to use, not just with plants but even just in life so I love it, I mean every day that we can learn one more thing it's just phenomenal for me. So, Ananda, let me ask you, were you a product of the why. I'm not as a child, surprisingly, I wish I was because I've been exposed to so much more. I'm jealous of all the opportunities that these kids have I'm glad I get to be a part of it through their eyes. Dora was talking about the tree learning and it was fun to see the kids apply that to our big tree in our yard. You know, I learned a lot also. Yeah, how did the why get involved with all these great programs that are that you're sharing with us today. Thank you so as Dora mentioned, we started working together a couple years ago. And it started because Dora's children were in our program. And so we got to know each other and she was sharing about Project Spark and I was just so excited because it's perfectly aligned with our goals. So today we focus on building a healthy spirit, mind and body for all and we take a holistic approach to wellness and Project Spark supports that. And we're stronger together than separate and this certainly was the case this summer. So we decided to focus on our middle school program which is called not alakai, which means the leaders. The program addresses the immediate and future needs of middle school teams and local communities across a walk with a focus on the skills needed to thrive in school and in a post COVID world. In addition to physical activity team building and character development. We instill our five core values of honesty, caring, responsibility, respect and diversity. And we have four main goals of the program one community and culture, which includes developing the skills necessary to be a YMCA change maker. Life skills, kind of like what Dora was sharing with mapping college and career exploration and mental health awareness. Project Spark provided opportunities for our children to be exposed to new and exciting experiences through incursions. So they brought the bees to the Y and the plants and the water garden towers to the Y. And studying what we have in our very own yard and broadening their ideas and sparking wellness and providing structured activities in a safe environment for our youth to grow and thrive. Boy, I was going to ask you, I mean you explained everything in a nutshell, but I just want to ask you in a real quick sentence or do, how has coven affected the wise programs with the kinks. It's a new reality that we're living with. And I think what's so critical is that we provide those hands on person to person activities because now they're in front of a screen so much and so we provide those active interaction opportunities. Thank you for never giving up and being so creative and all these PhDs doctors and just parents and just love of citizens, putting together your heads together to continue to build and encourage our cakey to thrive and strive to be more and want more. So how does our audience get in touch with you and find out more about your projects that you are all creating. Well, thanks for the Y. Just to call you ananda call you directly by the Y. 737 5545 or email me a Ferrera at ymca honolulu.org. Wow. Okay, we got it. So we've come to the end of our program. So you've been watching taking your health back on think tech Hawaii. Mahalo to Dora, not to Fuji with command me as schools and ananda Ferrera from the YMCA. We're talking story with us and sharing your spark for life and for our cakey we truly appreciate all that you're doing. And we just welcome all of you back in a couple of weeks to see more of what take your health back has to share with you. I'm Wendy low and aloha for now.