Four groups of middle and high school students on Kaua'i are participating in a unique 10-week canoe paddling program at Hanama'ulu Beach Park.

Partcipants will be taught about the canoe's role in ancient Polynesia, as well as in today's world; hull design and its correlation to ocean conditions;

rigging, canoe repair and paddle construction; basic navigational principles that apply to canoes, and how the weather and ocean conditions affect navigation; fundamentals and techniques of the traditional Hawaiian stroke and modern-day Tahitian stroke as applied to canoe racing; basic water safety and become certified in water safety and CPR.

One of the two canoes used in the program will have to be repaired by the youths before it can be put in the ocean.

Funding for Hanama'ulu Hui Wa'a was provided by a Hawai'i Community Foundation grant.

"We want to share all that we know about canoe paddling with the kids," said Francis Lopez. "It doesn't make sense for us to keep this knowledge to ourselves."

Lopez and Francis Takasaki are the program instructors. Kaua'i Parks and Recreation Director Bernard Carvalho was instrumental in launching the program.

The main objective of the program is to offer positive activities at Hanama'ulu Beach Park, where problems such as drug trafficking have kept the public from using the park in the past. "We want to keep negative energy away from the park by having positive things for the kids and families to do," said Takasaki.