"Project ISLE" began in 1996 when high school science teacher Dietrich Nebert and middle school science teacher Len Bloch created a program for teachers all over the world to travel to the Big Island and learn innovative ways of teaching science in the field. A highlight of the trip was a long hike to see the lava flowing from Pu'u 'O'o, and over the years, the eruptions of Kilauea have remained a symbol of the Big Island Expedition.
Roots in Education
In 1997, ISLE expanded by adding Maui as a destination, followed by Kuai. Our Big Island Expedition now has campers exploring only the Big Island.
The next milestone was in 1998, when graduate college credit was added for teachers attending the expedition. Teachers continued to attend the annual trip until 2005, when most school districts began cutting extended education funding for teachers. By this time, Dietrich was teaching science to fifth and sixth graders in Portland, Oregon, and Len left Project ISLE, continuing to lead teacher education expeditions. In 2006, Dietrich ran an expedition to the Big Island for two families interested in a science-based vacation. The idea of making Project ISLE an expedition for sixth graders and parent chaperones emerged.
Transition from Teachers to Students
Now known as ISLE Project, 2007 marked the first year of The Big Island Expedition, with fifth and sixth grade teacher Brian Black joining. That expedition hosted 12 students and two parent chaperones. That was a special year for those students. They were the last ISLE Project campers who were able to hike the edge of the crater at the bottom of the caldera. In 2008, a vent opened up in the crater, and an eruption event began that lasted until the historic eruptions of lava in 2018. That crater, once a mile wide, is now two miles wide.
The caldera of today would be completely unrecognizable to that first group of students, showing how fast the landscape of Hawaii can change. Also in 2008, Dale Petersen joined the expedition, as the numbers of students and chaperones doubled the first year's numbers (and would eventually triple).
In 2012 we achieved 501(c)(3) educational non-profit status. Dietrich became the director, Brian the program coodinator, and Dale the logistics coordinator.
A second ISLE Project expedition was added in 2013, Headwaters to Ocean (H2O). Designed for fifth grade students, this expedition is a two-night marine biology trip headquartered in Newport, Oregon. In addition to marine biology, students study estuary ecology, river dynamics, earth systems, and forest ecology.
The Future
ISLE Project will continue to grow in the coming years. Plans include day excursions for students in the Portland, Oregon, area. Other plans include expanding overnight programs to Mt. St. Helens and Central Oregon.
