Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges awards $31,250 in scholarships, supports 17 emerging conservationists

Nonprofit Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges, which supports the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge Complex, continues assisting the education of future conservationists through scholarship awards honoring the legacy of Daniel Moriarty.

“This year, Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges is providing a total of $31,250 in scholarship awards to 17 students from Hawaiʻi studying toward conservation-based careers,” said Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges Executive Director Thomas Daubert in a release. “This is our largest distribution ever for our organization, made possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters. We are truly honored to support the education of these amazing young people and look forward to their future contributions to conservation work across Hawaiʻi nei.”

Recipients of 2026 Daniel Moriarty Memorial Scholarships:

• Samantha Alvarado.
• Julia Barzilai.
• Melelaʻi Beck.
• Isabel Fontaine.
• Caitlyn Fowler.
• Chloe Hannsz.
• Loea Keanaʻaina.
• Sage Keller.
• Emmylou Kidder.
• Laulea Miike.
• Kieran Mitchell.
• Colten Nagahisa.
• Dannika Pila.
• Anolani Saizon.
• Ciaralan Tolentino.
• Pikomanawakūpono Vaughan.
• Elise Yukimura.

These students are pursuing degrees within a wide array of wildlife conservation-based careers such as botany, earth systems science, environmental science, environmental studies, marine biology, marine science, natural resources and environmental management, global environmental science, sustainability education and sustainable fishing.

Scholarship recipients honor the legacy of Dan Moriarty, an outstanding environmental educator and conservationist who played a major role in developing Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauaʻi and fostering a strong conservation ethic within our community.

Kīlauea Point Natural History Association, now doing business as Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges, awarded more than $230,000 in scholarships since 1998 in Moriarty’s name and continues to work to inspire, support and develop tomorrow’s conservationists.

Moriarty managed Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge from 1979-90. His tireless 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 seabird refuges in the Pacific.

He also spearheaded the successful drive to acquire Nihokū, or Crater Hill, and Mōkōlea Point to make them part of the refuge.

Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges in 1998 endowed a scholarship fund in Moriarty’s memory, continuing to award annual scholarships in his name since.

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.

Students must have been a resident of Hawaiʻi within the past 5 years, accepted or enrolled in a 4-year college or university or a 2-year program provided by a community college and maintained a grade-point average of 3.0 or better.

Visit the Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges website or contact Thomas Daubert at 808-828-0384 or via email at scholarship@kilaueapoint.org for additional information and to discuss ways to support future wildlife conservationists.