Media Advisory: UH math students to launch genki balls into Ala Wai Canal
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
For media planning to attend, please call or email Marc Arakaki at (808) 829-0750 or marcra@hawaii.edu.
WHAT: Approximately 2,000 pollution-fighting “genki balls” will be launched into the Ala Wai Canal, as part of an innovative mathematics lesson combining environmental cleanup with real-world applications. The genki balls were made by hundreds of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Math 100 students in mid-October, and underwent a three-week maturation period before being released.
WHEN: Saturday, November 9 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Diamond Head side of the Ala Wai Canal near the Waikīkī-Kapahulu Public Library
WHY: Genki balls 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.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS:
- The project is a collaboration between UH Mānoa’s Department of Mathematics and the Genki Ala Wai project.
- It incorporates lessons on scientific notation and environmental data analysis, aligns with the course’s microbiome unit and is part of a new General Education pathway focused on sustainability and climate change solutions.
- 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.