The polluted, putrid, and hazardous canal known as the Ala Wai may become “fishable and swimmable within seven years” if the Genki Ala Wai Project gets its way. The project, a non-profit organization, was started with one mission in mind: to restore the Ala Wai Canal using environmentally-safe materials in the form of “Genki Balls,” through partnership with “students, teachers and the community.” HBA middle schoolers have joined in with their efforts, and HBA eighth graders May Shiraishi and Keira Liew are leading the change through their Capstone Project.
Genki Balls were invented by Dr. Teruo Higa, a professor from Okinawa, who began to study microorganisms after suffering from pesticide poisoning. (“Genki” in Japanese loosely translates to “healthy.”) Higa created the first Genki Ball, which was made with mostly everyday materials. The concoction comprises clay soil, rice bran, molasses, water, and EM-1. EM, which stands for effective microorganism, is a bacteria that can digest sludge and foul gasses found in polluted waters. According to the Genki Ala Wai Project, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that the balls are environmentally safe and that the EM microbes, “are classified as biosafety level 1, meaning they are not known to cause diseases in humans.” Mixed into a mud ball, the microorganisms can sink in water and nature will do its work.
Liew and Shiraishi are ocean-lovers and set out to find something unique for their Capstone Project. Liew recalled, “In the summer, May volunteered at a nature camp and got introduced to the Genki Ala Wai Project. May then told me about it, and we both looked into the organization.” In October 2023, the girls went to a Genki Ball event to experience the making and throwing of balls. They kept in touch with the organization and embarked on their project to get all of HBA’s eighth graders involved in making and throwing Genki Balls into the Ala Wai.
On February 27, all the eighth graders—about 100 students—gathered in an assembly to hear a presentation on the project by Liew and Shiraishi, and members of the Genki Ala Wai Organization. After the presentation, everyone got to work. Liew and Shiraishi had a goal of making 1,000 Genki Balls that day, though they both thought that it was near impossible due to the limited time they had and the fact that most students had never made one before. However, they were pleasantly surprised when they counted up 1,062 balls at the end of the day. Both Liew and Shiraishi agree this was the most memorable part of their project.
Science teacher Mindy Swanson, who has been guiding Liew and Shiraishi in their project, is proud of what the students have accomplished so far. “They have been so responsible and organized, and it’s really their project. And what they’re doing is going to accomplish the goal of people being able to swim and fish in the Ala Wai,” she said.
On April 19, the 8th grade class journeyed to the Ala Wai after camp to put their Genki Balls to work. The original plan of going to the Ala Wai on April 12 had to be rescheduled due to a heavy downpour. Their original plan had 3 stations for the middle school students, Secchi disc station, chemistry station, and the macroinverts station. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the 8th graders were unable to participate in the stations and instead just threw the balls in the water.
As their project came to a close, they wrote a reflection, saying, “Not everything goes as planned, just like how our field trip got canceled. But, we had patience and trust that things would work out and show that God is still good.”
