Approximately 2,000 pollution-fighting “genki balls” were launched into the Ala Wai Canal on November 9, as part of an innovative mathematics lesson combining environmental cleanup with real-world applications.
The genki balls, created by hundreds of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Math 100 students in mid-October, contain nutrient and microbial-rich soil designed to release beneficial bacteria into the waterway. Each teaspoon of healthy soil can contain up to one billion bacteria, contributing more than a trillion beneficial microorganisms to the canal’s ecosystem. The balls underwent a three-week maturation period before their release into the canal.
“I think that it’s important for UH Mānoa students to get involved in the community and this unit was about microbiomes, ocean acidification and climate change,” said Maʻalaea Collier, UH Mānoa math learning assistant. “This group of students, or generation in general, is becoming more aware of the effects. I saw students very engaged and wanting to participate.”
The project, a collaboration between UH Mānoa’s Department of Mathematics and the Genki Ala Wai project, incorporates lessons on scientific notation and environmental data analysis. The activity aligns with the course’s microbiome unit and is part of a new General Education pathway focused on sustainability and climate change solutions.
“It’s really valuable for the students to not only learn the math but also see it connected to sustainability and community engagement,” UH Mānoa’s Department of Mathematics Associate Professor Sarah Post said. “We have a lot of freshmen so this is a way for them to get involved at UH and in the local communities as well.”
UH Mānoa Interim Vice Provost for Academic Excellence Laura Lyons also joined the students to toss the genki balls into the water.
“What a wonderful way to help them to learn, to be engaged in the community at the same time and to be working on a practical solution for a real problem,” Lyons said. “I have this other feeling which is incredible gratitude because I live along the Ala Wai and this is my walking path. To know that people are caring for it, to know that we can be good stewards of the Ala Wai, that’s really important to me.”
The Ala Wai Canal, constructed in 1928, is one of the state’s most polluted waterways, collecting runoff from the Mānoa and Pālolo valleys. This initiative contributes to the Genki Ala Wai project’s larger goal of deploying 300,000 genki balls into the canal by 2026, with nearly 200,000 deployed to date. The Japanese word “genki” means healthy and full of vitality.
The Department of Mathematics is housed in UH Mānoa’s College of Natural Sciences.
—By Marc Arakaki
