Christine Hitt
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ranger recently won a top award. Michael Newman, the park's visual information specialist, won the National Park Service's Excellence in Interpretation Award.
He created digital resources for the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that incorporate Hawaiian language and place name education.
"Michael's work exemplifies the Hawaiian proverb 'Ma ka hana ka ike' -- knowledge is acquired by doing," the park's news release said. "Through hands-on dedication, he has made Hawaiian culture available to a wide audience with innovative digital projects."
The park interpretation products include cultural videos, a Hawaiian language webpage, and an interactive map of the summit. The map pinpoints each location name's meaning and tells the story behind it. It gives the reader a deeper knowledge of the area in short bite-sized amounts of information.
My favorite, though, has to be the pronunciation webpage he created for Hawaii's national parks. It's a lot easier to pronounce names, such as Kukamahuakea and Keanakakoi, with its guidance. Place names at Haleakala National Park, Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site, Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park are also included in this guide.