Waimea Valley

Written by Guest Blogger, Saklan 7th Grader, Astro

Deep within the lush tropics on the island of Oahu, there resides an 1875-acre nature park by the name of Waimea Valley. This valley holds more significance than simply being a botanical garden, for the abundance of wildlife is also reflected in the richness of its history. The seventh grade class visited Waimea Valley on Tuesday, February 7th. During the visit, we walked the 3.5-mile hike, and at the end of it, swam under a waterfall.

Waimea Valley is one of the most flourishing environments for farming and is considered one of the best environments for tropical plants in Polynesia. This is because of the heavy tropical rainfall that happens all over the Hawaiian archipelago which in turn creates vibrant soil. In fact, Waimea Valley is home to 5,000 species of plants, most of which are rare Polynesian plants or native Hawaiian plants. Though this doesn’t seem all that exciting, Waimea Valley is one of the reasons why many native Hawaiian plants are not extinct, which makes it extremely important. When we visited, we saw many foreign plants that have adapted to live in a climate like Hawaii. The valley is located on the north shore of Oahu, near Haleiwa. We were lucky enough to experience this beautiful location on our Hawaii field experience.

Thank you, Astro, for sharing your experience!