The motivation and inspiration for the creation of the Navigating Change Educational Partnership came from one of Hawaii's most respected leaders, President of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Nainoa Thompson who rebirthed the ancient art of wayfinding.  Guided by Master Navigator Mau Pialug of Satawal Island, Nainoa Thompson along with Bruce Blankenfeld have captained replicas of two ancient voyaging canoes over thousands of miles of open ocean using their scientific knowledge along with their intuitive ancestral connections to the natural ocean and sky world.  As an intense visionary with a deep passion for education Nainoa coined the phrase, "Navigating Change" and in 2001 pulled together a "Navigating Change Partnership" of entities to implant this vision in the hearts and minds of our children so they could garner a sense of hope and responsibility for better taking care of their resources back home.  The double-hulled voyaging canoe, Hokulea was the catalyst for connecting to thousands of  people as Nainoa and Bruce navigated with a crew aboard through the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.  Over the span of 18 days messenges were sent back home via U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service educator onboard speaking to over 1800 students and answering "Navigating Change" questions formulated from the Teacher's Guide developed by the Partnership.  Much of the focus and content of questions came from students guided to compare and contrast the main Hawaiian Islands with the intact ecosystems within the National Wildlife Refuges of the Northwestern Islands.  This voyage not only touched the lives of students but it became the beginning of a Navigating Change movement as thousands of people followed along through mostly front page daily news articles and images transmitted by the on-board journalist. 

"Navigating Change" is a project focused on raising awareness to ultimately motivate people to change their attitudes and behaviors to better care for all our islands and ocean resources.  This vision, inspired by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, is shared by its partner organizations: Bishop Museum, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Maritime Center, State of Hawaii Department of Education and State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Other non-profit and private financial contributors include the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation, NASA, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and University of Hawaii's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technololgy. 

• Over 80 classrooms containing 1800 students including a class from Maryland, Louisiana and Am. Samoa participated in teleconferencing opportunities through satellite phone connection with the crew on board Hokulea. 
• The voyage itself generated almost 2,500 column inches of newspaper coverage and nearly two hours of cumulative television news coverage. 
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service educator on board Hokulea was the most recent recipient of the Rachel Carson, Sense of Wonder Award. 
• Developed through many different pots of partnership funds, a Comprehensive Teacher's Guide complete with a poster, video and audio components is now being distributed to schools throughout Hawai`i.
• The Harold K. L. Castle Foundation just recently funded a part-time "Navigating Change" position to be supervised by the Partnership.
• Soon after the voyage, community based projects were infused with excitement about "Navigating Change" and one particular community  based event honored 600 students who worked on a local Bay project throughout the school year.  Over 5,000 people were in attendance to greet Hokulea as it sailed into the Bay for this environmentally based special event day held May 1, 2005.  Another Community is earmarked for such an event on October 2, 2005. 
• Over 200 teachers have participated in "Navigating Change" Teacher Workshops conducted by the partnership held throughout the State of Hawai`i, more are scheduled next year.
• To date we know of over 100 teachers have implemented the Navigating Change Teacher activities in their classroom
• Over 10,000 students have participated in the Navigating Change full immersion activity based exhibit funded by NASA and developed by Bishop Museum with assistance from the Partnership.