KILAUEA — The legacy of Dan Moriarty was honored recently when the Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges distributed $30,000 in scholarships in support of the education of future conservationists.
“This year, Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges is providing a total of $30,000 in scholarship awards to 14 students from Hawaii studying towards conservation programs,” said Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges Executive Director Thomas Daubert, in a press release. “This is our largest distribution ever for our organization, made possible thanks to the generosity of numerous major donors in our community, including Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, The Bell Charitable Foundation, an anonymous family foundation, and other generous friends. We are truly honored to support the students’ education and look forward to their future contributions to conservation work across Hawaii Nei.”
This year’s recipients of Daniel Moriarty Memorial Scholarships include Samantha Alvarado, Julia Barzilla, Melela‘i Beck, Aysha Berry, Isabel Fontaine, Rain Hannsz, Sage Keller, Emmylou Kidder, Bella Kualiani, Laulea Miike, Dannika Pila, Emma Seres, Ciaralen Tolentino and Elise Yukimura.
These students are pursuing an array of wildlife conservation-based degrees including biology, botany, earth systems science, environmental science, environmental engineering, marine biology, marine science, and sustainability education.
Moriarty managed the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge from 1979 to 1990, and his efforts in restoring native vegetation and protecting seabirds were largely responsible for transforming the former lighthouse grounds and surrounding cliffs into one of the premier wildlife refuges in the world. Additionally, he spearheaded the successful drive to acquire Nihoku, or Crater Hill, and Mokolea to make them part of the refuge.
“Dan was an outstanding environmental educator and conservationist who played a major role in fostering a strong conservation ethic within our community,” Daubert said. “In 1998, the organization endowed a scholarship fund in his memory, and has continued to award annual scholarships in his name ever since.”
Since 1998, Kilauea Point Natural History Association, now doing business as Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges, has awarded more than $225,000 in scholarships in Moriarty’s name, and continues to work to inspire, support and develop tomorrow’s conservationists.
Each year, students studying in the broadly defined fields of botany, zoology, natural history and related subjects concerning the Hawaiian environment are encouraged to apply for a scholarship. To be eligible, students must have been a resident of Hawaii within the past five years, been accepted or enrolled in a four-year college or university, or a two-year program provided by a community college, and maintained a grade point average of 3.0 or better.
Scholarship awards are made possible by generous donations to the Daniel Moriarty Scholarship Fund, and from proceeds of sales from the Nature Store at Kilauea Point Natural Wildlife Refuge. For more information, visit the website www.kauairefuges.org, or connect with Daubert at 808-828-0384 or scholarship@kilaueapoint.org.
Source: The Garden Island