Day 12: Green is not just a color on Tetiaroa

Hello! My name is Riley. I am a rising fourth-year chemistry major. We are nearing the end of our trip, but there is much work to be done! Everybody’s projects are in full swing and the schedule is packed with boating schedules as our sub-groups explore different parts of the atoll. 

With “Team Fresh”, my project on Tetiaroa investigates the impact of the varying seabird populations on the nutrient concentrations in the surrounding fresh and marine waters of the lagoon. This morning, my team went to sample a channel, or hoa, between the motu of Hiraanae and Horoatera. There were so many birds circling overhead and gliding above the water while their huge, fluffy chicks observed us from the trees. The stench of bird guano and trudging through the green waters and thick silt were the only downsides to an otherwise great sampling day. Let’s just say watching bird poop float past my legs warranted a warm shower as soon as we got back to the field station!!

Meanwhile, we have groups looking at the variation of carbonate chemistry along natural currents in the lagoon, the effect of dredging on the chemistry of the water, the association of biological composition with marine chemistry, and investigating the turbidity of the water and coral growth. Last but not least, every member of the group helped collect samples for a 24-hour time series that seeks to demonstrate the temporal variation of carbonate chemistry in the lagoon!

Later, the whole group embarked on “The Green Tour”, which overviewed the various technological installations that represent The Brando Resort and the Tetiaroa Society’s mission of sustainability and environmental stewardship. We learned of the ~4000 solar panels powering the entire atoll, the seawater air conditioning system cooling the village, and the desalination plant that turns water from the lagoon into usable water. 

Our guide, Vaitea, then led us down a path while pointing out the native trees that grew on the atoll; from the ironwood, or aito, with its sturdy wood and blood-like sap of a warrior, to the adaptable cabbage tree that was first able to establish on the atoll when it was still volcanic rock. We landed in the fa’a’apu, which looked like a lush garden. Vaitea explained that the fa’a’apu is a demonstration of the Polynesian technique of digging into the soil of the atoll to access the groundwater in the freshwater lens, and filling it with compost to create rich soil suitable for growing fruits and vegetables in such a remote location.

For the last stop on our tour, Vaitea spoke to us about the cultural heritage of traditional herbal medicines. We learned how the native plants were used as remedies to common injuries and illnesses at the time. Another guide, Herehia, told a powerful story about her family’s lineage as holders of medicinal knowledge and how European colonialism brought diseases that Polynesian herbal remedies could not cure. She told us how the word for tree, rā'au, used to be synonymous with “medicine”, so it would remind their people to return to nature to be healed. Colonizers banned the practice of it when they saw it fail to cure foreign disease, which caused generational knowledge to be lost over time.

With a new sense of appreciation for the nature around us and the culture we have been immersed in for the past couple weeks, the group ended the night by analyzing final samples in lab and planning for another busy day of science tomorrow! 

Riley