Students restore wetlands Published Nov. 8, 2006 By Senior Airman Erin Smith Kukini editor HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii -- Hickam's 15th Civil Engineer Squadron environmental planning flight joined forces with students and teachers from Kamehameha High school for two environmental planning projects at Bellows Air Force Station and Hickam. Forty student volunteers from Kamehameha schools removed invasive vegetation near the Bellows AFS Burial Vault and in Hickam wetlands. They cleared out plants like the Haole Koa and Mangrove trees and left the native species, the Milo tree. "The advantages of the project are two-fold.," said Valerie Curtis, 15th Civil Engineer Squadron. "It is good that we are getting volunteers from the local community for our cultural and natural resource programs and it also allows us to reach out to the community and let them see what we are actually doing here within the installation and how we are taking care of the resources." The 15th CES environmental planning flight plans to do monthly restoration projects. "There are several benefits [to these projects]," said 2nd Lt. Kyle Slick, 15th CES. "The project helps to provide visibility to a significant cultural area for Native Hawaiians. Additionally, cutting back the non-native habitat will help to restore old wetland habitat that was destroyed when the river was diverted decades ago. Removing invasive species allows native species to prosper like they did before the Islands became heavily populated." To find out more about cultural and natural resources, call 449-1584 extension 251.