Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges awards $31,250 in conservation scholarships

Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges awarded $31,250 in Daniel Moriarty Memorial Scholarships to 17 emerging conservationists, a direct investment in the students most likely to keep Kauai’s refuge system staffed with local expertise. The awards are aimed at turning classroom training into careers that protect the island’s birds, wetlands, coastlines and native ecosystems.

The students are pursuing degrees in fields tied closely to work on island, including botany, earth systems science, environmental science, environmental studies, marine biology, marine science, natural resources and environmental management, and global environmental science. Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges said the scholarships are applied directly to college or university expenses, helping offset the cost of getting into professions that often require years of specialized study before a student can return home and work in conservation.

The scholarship program traces back to 1998, when the Kīlauea Point Natural History Association endowed a memorial scholarship in honor of Dan Moriarty. That endowment was matched by Moriarty’s family, friends in the community, and profits from the Nature Store at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. Since then, Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges says it has awarded more than $225,000 in scholarships in Moriarty’s name. The latest total follows a steady climb from $20,000 for eight students in 2023 to $30,000 for 14 students in 2025, then $31,250 for 17 students in 2026.

The award program sits inside a broader conservation network that includes the Kauai National Wildlife Refuge Complex, made up of Kīlauea Point, Hanalei and Hulēia. Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1985 to protect migratory seabirds and threatened and endangered species, while Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1972, is the oldest and largest of the three refuges in the complex. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says Kīlauea Point is home to thousands of migratory and resident seabirds and draws more than 500,000 visitors a year, a scale that makes local stewardship and public education inseparable.

Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges says its mission is to promote better understanding, appreciation and conservation of Kauai’s national wildlife refuges and native Hawaiian ecosystems through educational, interpretive and scientific work. The group also provides free transportation for keiki environmental-education field trips to Kīlauea Point, linking early exposure to the islands’ natural history with college funding and, ultimately, careers that can keep conservation work rooted on Kauai.