Blessed with early morning showers, the fourth graders traveled 
to Ulupo Heiau in Kailua. They learned about the heiau and the surrounding Kawainui wetland. They also cleared out weeds in the taro patches and around the freshwater springs next to the heiau.
Ulupo Heiau was an agricultural heiau. However, at one time in its history it was a luakini heiau, a place that human sacrifice was practiced. It was one of the largest heiaus on Oahu. The rocks to build the heiau came from all over the island.
Kawainui was a very large fishpond surrounded by agricultural fields. Hawaiians raised various types of fish. They also grew taro, banana, sweet potato, and sugarcane. In the 1880s, Chinese farmers grew rice. Around 1920 the marsh began to form.
Today, much of the fishpond and agricultural fields are covered in silt and grasses. To help, the students pulled out invasive plants that clogged waterways and irrigation ditches. They cleared brush and bamboo. These cleared areas will be replanted with native plants and made into homes for endangered Hawaiian waterbirds.
