Month: June 2026

We set out with Paddling Palau bright and early into the Rock Islands, lead by our guide Mac. First we were on a boat, then moved into kayaks. Our first stop was a small cave where we could listen to a species of bird called the Palauan Swiftlet who uses sonar to navigate the dark caves. Then we went to Mandarin Fish Lake to snorkel and spot the tiny Mandarin fish. They are highly sought after in aqarium trade due to their beautiful colors and unique look.

The water was so beautiful and clear, we could not stop admiring it. We had some yummy bento boxes from Kings for lunch, but didn’t wait the 30 minutes after eating before getting back in the water, we couldn’t help it! We kayaked through the islands a bit more (note to self, put extra sunscreen on your thighs when you kayak), then headed back to the boat. It was an afternoon full of amazing snorkeling spots. Our guide Mac took us to a place where you can snorkel with the current pulling you along, and you hardly have to swim! We saw incredible corals, unlike anything you can find elsewhere in the world, and some were the twice the size of us.

Next we went on a search for dugongs near their protected area where they go to feed when the tide is high. They are an endagered species here, but also a very important special ceremonial food for the local clans. Locals are working to find a balance within both of those needs. We spotted one bull with the drone and were able to see its head pop up for some air. We also searched for a manta ray, but with no luck, as it is not the season for them. After the long day, we headed back to the hotel to rest up and head to dinner. Some students went to Tori Tori, a nearby Japanese restaurant with delicious sushi.

We can’t wait for our second day in the Rock Islands tomorrow!

This post was written by Bailey and Susannah.

Today was the students’ day off. So what do you do on a day off in Palau? Get out on the water! Certified scuba divers (and Scott and Selina) went diving with Sam’s Tours and saw amazing underwater sights, while many of the others paddled and snorkeled the rock island with kayaks from Paddling Palau. A great day off! This video blog was produced by Jack and Lauren.

The first thing on our agenda was the Bureau of Environment to see Ilima, who we had already met back at our time at the Ebill Society. Ilima is the head of the Bureau, and was kind enough to give us a presentation about who they are, what they do, future goals, and past achievements already made! Their work has 8 different programs which cover everything from resource management to endangered species. She informed us that even though they oversee and manage so many things, they only have 12 people currently working. Most of their work, however, can be separated into 2 different sections: Division of Protected Areas and Species (DPAS), and Division of Forest, Land and Water Management (DFLW). She also told us about some of their key commitments and goals for the coming years. One of those is expanding Protected Areas Network (PAN) to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. These areas are very important for Palau, so expanding them would help the island thrive even more. 

Another thing she mentioned that really stuck out was Palau’s energy. She said that currently the island runs on diesel to power their electricity, which was really surprising. When we asked about renewable energy, she explained how hard it would be because their only option is solar. If a solar panel breaks, there’s nowhere to dispose of it and no one to fix it on the island. This make it hard for them to switch to renewable energy, but even then she did say that they are still trying. Talking to Ilima gave us all a deeper look into the politics of facing climate change and protecting the island, and how much deeper it goes than just small conservation efforts that we got to see at Ebiil. Thank you Ilima for all the work you do fighting for your country and for sharing it with us! 

After our time at the Bureau of Environment, we headed over to a river with waterfalls called Meskelet, lead by a member of the Forestry Department. After a quick swim at the falls, we visited the Palau National Aquaculture Center to learn about their fisheries processes. During a tour of the center, they walked us through the breeding processes of giant clams, tiger prawns, sea cucumbers, and milkfish. The staff showed us their 8 different species of clams, which they raise, spawn, and distribute to clam farms. Some clams are exported, but only to aquariums.  

Along with the amazing good happening in conservation, we also got a view into some of the issues the industry is facing. Poaching is a known problem within the fisheries community, but the ways of handling it are controversial. While at the center, we saw an Indonesian fishing boat docked. Many boats fishing in protected areas are run by low income and marginalized workers. When they are caught, many are abandoned by their companies. With no company to claim the boat and no documentation, the workers are often kept at port, unable to enter the country. Oftentimes their families don’t know if they are still alive. The process to get them home can take years. You can learn more here: https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/uncategorized/2015/ap-investigation-slaves-may-have-caught-the-fish-you-bought/

We returned to the hotel for a group reflection before going out to explore Koror, and spent the night immersing ourselves in the food and culture of the community at the Koror State Night Market.

This blog was written by Taylor and Savannah.

Today was our last morning at the Ebiil Society. Some students got up early to catch the last snorkeling opportunity off the pier, while others woke to strong winds and a rainstorm coming in. We raced to pack up the paddle boards and tidy up the camp while it poured rain, then took some time to sit together and reflect on our time here at Ebiil.

We want to thank everyone at the Ebiil Society for everything they did for us this past week. We learned so much from the staff during our stay, and we are tremendously grateful to them for all the hard work they put into feeding and hosting us. We ate so many incredible meals while being here, and we even got to learn how they make and prepare some of their foods which was an amazingly unique opportunity. Additionally, we are extremely honored to be able to borrow knowledge from them and to have made so many memories with them. They were incredible hosts, and no amount of time with them would have been enough.

After a group photo with the staff, we loaded our bags into the cars and said our farewells. Until next time, Ebiil. Sulang!

We returned to the Palau Hotel and got settled, then took some time to get groceries, gifts, or walk around town before we gathered up for dinner. We went to the Rock Island Cafe where we had a large array of foods, and stories and laughter filled the table. Some students finished the evening with some exciting tasks like picking up laundry and visiting the dive shop Overdrive for some dive gear and souvenirs.

We look forward to our adventures in Koror this week. Thanks for reading!

This entry was written by Adam and Susannah.

Today, we thoroughly observed fishes, from seeing them in the reef, to catching them, to cleaning and gutting, and finally eating them.

Snorkling in the Ebiil Channel

We started off the day by walking to the pier and splitting up into two boats. We rode across the ocean into the Ebiil Channel, which is a no-take, no-touch area; meaning that no one is allowed to fish or take organisms from the protected area. This was originally to protect grouper spawning but has also helped many other species to thrive.

The group then had the amazing opportunity to snorkel in the Ebiil Channel and we saw so many beautiful sea creatures! This channel has unique geography with shallow corral reefs, cliffs, and the deep channel. This is because it is a channel that leads from the open ocean back to the shallow lagoon.

Lunch & Megapodes

After snorkeling, we headed to the island Ngerkeklau, where we had lunch for the day. We saw the endemic (species found only in one part of the world) megapode and heard the story of the megapode and the turtle, a Palaun folklore. This is a Palaun story that explains the origin of the relationship between megapodes and turtles. A woman prayed for children and gave birth to a turtle and a megapode. The woman was unhappy since she didn’t have human children to help around the house, so the turtle and megapode left. The turtle helped the megapode cross the ocean and in turn the megapode now helps baby turtles hatch by digging up the sand and scratching leaves to protect them from predators. The megapode was previously an endangered species, but the population has since increased and they are now only considered threatened.

Fishing & Gutting

We then headed to a different, non-protected area of the ocean and started fishing for our dinner. Using a hand line, we were able to catch a variety of fishes, totaling 28 fishes that we feasted on for dinner. We put squid bait on hooks and sent the weighted line to the bottom of the ocean, and patiently waited for a bite. And bite they did! After hauling in our catch we started on gutting the fish and prepared it three different ways for dinner.

Rest assured, we were learning about food waste in America the entire time. We gained insight into how most of the fish in the U.S. is not used, whereas in other parts of the world, all of the fish is utilized (including the eyeball!). This connects to how cultural values and traditions can influence a country’s sustainability. Another example is when fishermen from the Virgin Islands were complaining about red hind fish restoration becoming too successful since the fish were growing too big to fit plates. Traditionally, they would serve the whole fish on the plate, so due to the restoration success, they were not able to continue this cultural practice. Conservation efforts should always be planned within a cultural context, and take into account as many perspectives as possible.

Super Fish Dinner

Today’s post was written by Raven and Angela <3

Bright and early this morning we walked down the road to Ebiil’s mesei (taro patches). Cultivating Taro is a culturally important practice to Palauan’s women. Often, maintaining a Taro patch is a way that Palauan women provide for their families. These taro patches can be passed down generation to generation for hundreds of years!

Once at the mesei we learned about their significance from Auntie Marie. In Palauan culture, taro is always planted left to right. We got a short demonstration on how to plant taro using stems from previous taro plants from Iseko of the Ebill staff. We then got to plant our own patch! The mesei are split into bluu (squares with taro planted) and kellaeb (The waterways between each bluu). We walked in the waterways so that we did not disturb any of the already planted taro. While walking in the waterways we sunk into the mud up to our thighs! Luckily we were given coconut oil to spread on our legs before hand so that the mud and taro did not bother our skin. Once planted, the taro will take 8-9 months until they are ready to be harvested. Learning about this practice made us appreciate all of the taro that we have been served at Ebiil.

Water management of mesei is extremely important for the health of the taro. The waterways that flow between the mesei are often connected to many other mesei belonging to other families. It is important to keep the water clean and flowing so that the community can all share water. After planting taro we went to look at a mesei that has been completely destroyed. A dam was built to provide clean water and water pressure to the village. While this is good, the women of the village shared concerns that the dam would flood the community mesei. Their concerns were not taken into consideration and when the dam was built, exactly that happened. Today the mesei are overrun with grasses.

When we got back to Ebiil we had a delicious lunch of fried rice, tofu salad, and poki. Just the energy kick that everyone needed to move on to our next activity of the day! Now that taro was planted it was time for us to start processing taro. We started by helping the staff scrape all of the dirt off of some taro that they had cut from the stems. Wearing gloves during this process is essential as taro skin containes calcium oxalate crystals. When handled raw this compound can cause irritated and itchy skin. The process of scraping the dirt off the taro was oddly satisfying and got us one step closer to our meal!

After lunch we had some free time. Brian , Daniel, Red, and Dora lee took some students on a tour of the garden at Oleii that provides the Ebiil society with food. The garden grows many important foods and medicines like papaya, tapioca and sweet potatoe as well as fresh eggs. Not only are these foods important for nutrition, but they also have cultural importance for Palauans. By continuing grow them and use them, the Ebiil society is helping to protect Palauan Culture.

After returning to the main site, their was still more extra time before dinner. Some of the students spent time interacting with the young fruit bat Razor, a pet of one of the workers at Ebiil. Others decided to snorkel out to try and find a WW2 sunken plane just the jetty. Me (Noah) and Adam went off in search of the wreck. On the way out to the reef they found several interesting creatures in the eelgrass such as crocodilefish, sea stars, and jellyfish. Eventually the eelgrsss transitioned into coral. We searched for the wreck but were quickly distracted by the pristine reef. We saw numerous hard and soft corals, sharks, stingrays, angelfish and feather stars.

Heading back to camp, the Ebiil Society had prepared a delicious dinner of BBQ chicken. We then cleaned up and waited for the arrival of the fifth Chief of Ollei. As third chief, it is his responsibility to be the messenger between the different Chiefs. He has done a lot of important work to protect the fisheries around Ebiil, particuraly protecting giant clams and establishing a protected zone around Ebiil Channel. In Palau, roles are split between genders where the woment tend to the taro patches and harvest clams while the men go out and fish. That is why it is the responsibilty of the Chief to protect to oceans and fisheries.

Written by Abigail Johnson and Noah Brown

Hello friends and family! Today Jack and I compiled our best vlogging skills and much to our disappoint they did not turn out as we expected an hour or two of work became a day. BUT we were able to create a vlog that we think will give you a better picture of some of the work we have been doing and learning about so feel free to click on the link below to view our wonderful YouTube video! Some of our activities from the day included walking along the coastline to get to the mangroves which held a sacred Palauan space known as Orateruul. We learned about local legends and the significance of the place which Jack talks about in the video!

I was our snorkel videographer for the day and filmed some of the snorkeling within the mangroves along with some important features of the mangrove like its root systems and leaves. We caught a bunch of amazing fish species on camera as well! Please go check out our video and enjoy!

Signing off for now!

Paige and Jack

https://youtu.be/f1XYfGp8Z

Today was our second full day at Ebiil. Our group started the morning split off in two groups: one with a task to snorkel for retrival of giant clams, and the other paddle boarding off shore of Ollei on the search for sea cucumbers.

Clam Catchers Team 1

The Giant clam group ventured off by boat to the giant clam farm to pick up some young clams for relocation. It was pretty cloudy today and the wind picked up so it was a fun and bumpy ride. Once we got to the right place we saw several patches of netting in the water. These were the underwater clam gardens that were protected by the fencing and netting. Within the gardens, there were many clams of varying size and color, completely covering the sea floor. The Palauan women who cared for the gardens easily picked out young clams for us and moved effortlessly in the choppy waters with years of experience. We collected around 100 young giant clams, taking some from each garden and swimming them over to the boat and collecting them in blue barrels.

Measuring Sea Cucumbers

The other group paddled to a cheremrum (Palauan for sea cucumber) nursery site and practiced field measurements and even found a few, although surprising less than usual. We then faced some rough tides meeting with the other group on the boat, the wind taking our paddle boards off route and into the mangroves. Luckily the water was shallow enough to jump in and redirect ourselves. 

Clam Restoration in Ollei

Once we made it to the boat and everyone was reunited, clams were handed off and placed on the sandy seafloor. While we snorkeled around placing clams, we saw various corals, fish, and sea stars. The clams had closed from their long journey, probably to retain moisture and for protection. As we placed them in their new homes, it was really cool to see them open back up. In some areas the local fish were immediately checking out the new additions to their home. Once we were finished, we again split off into two groups. Most of the class went back to Ebiil on the boat, while a few of us traveled via paddle board train.

Removing Rebar

Later in the afternoon, Ebiil staff and some students went back out on the water to detach a clam trap, which catches netting, rebar, and debris in water, disturbing swim pathways and accumulating trash. The small team of elite rebar removers went out at low tide and helped to clean up the remains of an old clam garden.

Today’s blog was written by Lauren and Raven :p

We went up to the old bauxite mines, a major producer of aluminum which was mined in the 20’s by the Japanese. In the midst of getting caught in the rain, we planted native trees in order to help restore the land. We put coconut shells and palm fronds over the seedlings to protect them from the shade and help retain moisture.

After the plant restorations, we headed for lunch and a stroll to Kuabes beach, where we found sea cucumbers, several fish species, coral, and hermit crabs as we walked the low tides.

After planting the saplings, we had to replenish the seed supply so the group worked on breaking open seed husks and planting the seeds so that we may have more seedlings for the mine restoration later.

We also worked on processing coconuts. We saw how to break open the husks, take out the coconut, crack it open, and how to scrape it out. Ebiil kitchen will use the shavings to make coconut milk.

We literally went from ridge to reef today, being able to plant seedlings on the restored mine land and walk the low tide by the reef. In doing this, we got to see the benfit of vegetation and how it plays a part in stopping the sedimentary run off into the ocean which affects the vulnerable coral reefs.

Today’s blog post was written by Kasia and Adam.

Today we departed Koror and started making our way to Ebill Society, a local women-founded non-profit, where we will be spending the next six days studying everything from watershed management to clam restoration. There were two main stops along the drive. The first was a guided hike up a historic stone path that led to a large and beautifully painted Bai (traditional meeting house for tribal chiefs), and the second was a stone Monolith site. It was a very hot and muggy day but an absolute DOWN-POUR in the middle cooled us down and made the hike down from the Bai fun!

Inside a traditional Bai

Our guide Vivian and her husband helped us understand each story behind the artwork on the outside and on the beams of the inside of the Bai. Each beam represents a story from a different family, and the people who painted them got to learn about the tale within the process.

Each Bai is built using nearby plants and trees, no nails or metal. The triangle roof is woven together using palm fronds which are then dried in place, and they act as “shingaling” for rain to slide off of it. The long vertical and slightly raised beam in the middle connecting the firepits works as an alarm system for intruders. When someone comes through the door, that is the first thing they step on and it is meant to be slightly loose so it rattles and wakes the chiefs up.

We also got fresh coconuts to drink the water from at the top, which we agreed was the best coconut water any of us have ever had!

After getting a shower (the rainstorm) we hiked back down and had traditional Palauan food for lunch- including fried fish, rice, and glass noodles. After that we loaded back into the vans to see the ancient monoliths. They are giant rocks that have been there for thousands of years and the orgin of them is somewhat unknown because they are made of rock that is not found anywhere else on the island. It was a short but steep hike down to the site with lots of stairs, but it was very worth it. We will be asking the women at the Ebill Society about the traditional Palauan story behind the monoliths and will keep you updated on what they say!

We arrived at Ebill late afternoon and had time to walk out to the ocean and see the mud flats during low tide that we will be doing clam restoration on in a couple days. Dinner was prepared by the cooks at Ebill and included grilled fish, taro, white rice, and democh soup. We all loved it and are excited to see what it will be in the coming nights! Before bed we had a group reflection about the day and learned more about what Ebill has done to help with watershed management. They understand that however the land is treated and whatever is put into it all runs back to the ocean and can affect all different forms of life.

We are all looking forward to learning from them in the coming week and borowing knowlege to pass on and spread awareness to the natural resource issues they have faced and solved over the years. Thank you for following along and we will keep you updated!

Best,

Bailey and Anna

On the first day of Palau we departed to the Balau National Museum, where we read how countries encountering the native Palauans influenced and changes their way of life. It’s interesting how some outside influence improved such as Germany writing the language in the latin alphebet while other times it disadvantaged the country’s sovereignty.

After a small car ride into the Palau Aquarium, we learned how people survey fish with the fish survey sheets given out on our trip. Id’ing fish was really hard especially when the fish is not displayed on the boards. Scott was great help when one of us had trouble trying to find what category our desired fish was at.

From the aquarium we headed to the Japan-Palau Freindship Bridge Park to regroup under the sun house and finally jump in the water! Both new and experienced snorkelers got to buddy up, test their gear, and take a peek under the sea.

After a swim and our first snorkel under the Friendship Bridge, we joined the staff of Paddling Palau for dinner, dessert, and a presentation from master storyteller Mac Sasao. Before starting the presentation, he blew his horn 3 times to acknowledge the ancestors and the sharing of knowledge.

He told us about the Palaun flag, whose yellow circle represents the moon. The blue background shows the peaceful night sky with the moon outshing the stars. If you look at the flag, you’ll also notice that the circle is off center. This represents a new future for Palau, away from colonization. Part of this future is marine conservation. After making some of an economic comeback from intense colonization, big fishing lines were banned. 80% of their waters are no take, making them one of the largest marine preserves in the world. These conservation areas protect Palau’s unique marine lakes, inner lagoons, outer reefs, and pelagic zone (open ocean).

Today’s blog was written by Taylor Habedank Fuller and Izzy Yeung