KPNWR

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) is a non-profit organization bent on protecting the Native Hawaiian Life birds that take refuge in this wonderful pond. Many of these birds are slowly decreasing in population which has helped keep this pond going smoothly; except for one thing. California Bulrush is a type of plant that originated in California and takes its home in sunny marsh areas, such as the pond. The only thing is, that it is fast growing and very hard to get rid of. The plants can grow up to 10 feet and in large masses. They provide nothing to the birds and the birds can’t even nest in them because of their size and type. This is putting some of the most beloved Native Hawaiian birds in danger, such as the Hawaiian Stilt and the Hawaiian Coot. It is taking away the room for these birds to populate in, causing them to leave, dying off even faster due to human causes outside of the pond area.

The study we created was to figure out how to get rid of the California Bulrush in a peaceful and effective manner. All sorts of ideas popped up but after getting to the pond we decided to test out three different options; Cut, spray (special animal safe poison), and cut+spray.

We split into three teams, one for each test stated above, and each team got one paper in which we had to put down all the proper information on (Density, average height, pH, turbitity, ect.). After taking down all the data that we needed, each team did their job. After a week we came back and recorded the same data with a new sheet once again.

After reviewing the data we turned it into these four graphs. The first two are made with the data we collected during our first visit, as the last two graphs are made by the data we collected after the treatments have been done. As you can tell by the data collected and the graphs shown, blah blah turns out to be the most effect way to kill off the bulrush as blah blah is the second best choice.

Still want to learn about Kealia Pond? Visit their website at:

Want to find out ad watch these native birds for yourself? Here is a link to a map on how to get there and where they are located! Have fun and till next time! <3

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