Sustainable Shanah 101: Making the case for ‘green’ change in Hawai‘i

University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa doctoral candidate Shanah Trevenna has become a revolutionary force behind student organizing and sustainability.

Trevenna’s efforts to galvanize students and the community around a common goal – sustainability – has scored her a place in Hawai‘i Business Magazine’s (HBM) recently published “5 for the Future,” which highlights up-and-coming student leaders in Hawai‘i.

“We were looking for people for our ‘20 for the next 20 (years)’ ... candidates were nominated from a variety of fields ... business people, politicians, nonprofits (and)community organizers,” said HMB Managing Editor Jason Ubay.

“This includes those who haven’t peaked yet and are still starting up their career ladder,” he continued. “Shanah impressed us with the Sustainable Saunders and UH projects ... she is very smart, articulate, and she was able to explain technical, complex concepts in a way the average person can understand.”

This statement is a far cry from the initial response she received when she first approached professor and future advisor Jim Dator.

“I was one of the first people Shanah came to visit when she arrived in Hawai‘i,” Dator said. “When I heard what she wanted to do, I could only laugh.”

“Impossible,” was Dator’s initial reply to Trevenna’s proposal to make Hawai‘i self-sustainable.

Dator recalled his early advice to Trevenna: “Local politics will eat you alive. You will never be able to make the changes you want. Indeed, here at the University of Hawai‘i, positive change is even more difficult than elsewhere in the state. Lots of luck!”

A seasoned professor with lots of local experience, Dator scoffed at the proposition.

“I had heard stories like hers from many other newcomers many times before and then watched their bones bleach in the sun,” he said.

Perhaps it was what Dator also referred to as Trevenna’s “mastery of facts ... and uncanny ability to mobilize people,” as well as her tenacity in getting the task accomplished that eventually prevailed over skepticism.

Lucky for UH, and Hawai‘i, Trevenna was undeterred, setting about to make her case: Hawai‘i has the potential to be the global leader in both food and energy sustainability.

A graduate of the University of Ontario with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, Trevenna has a love of science that is matched by her enthusiasm.

“I am passionate about energy, which is why, in addition to managing and building our green energy resources, I also believe in increasing human energy ... where problems are seen as opportunities to create change,” Trevenna said.

“Shanah has very successfully built a genuine studentled community,” said Dr. David Nixon, Public Policy Center adviser.

Nixon credits Trevenna’s ability to motivate student awareness with an increased interest in public policy.

“The organization was able to really stand out ... we’ve had a large number of students calling to saying that they want to get involved,” Nixon said.

Trevenna’s efforts, such as transforming Saunders Hall into a systemwide model for self-sustainability, have revitalized the almost nonexistent sustainability programs at UH, and led to $150,000 in savings for the university – all by implementing small changes at no cost.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” Trevenna said. “Science allows for us to prove quantifiably the successes, such as the potential to save millions (of dollars).”

Savings is just one part of the success seen in Trevenna’s sustainable projects; quality of life is also a priority for the 36-year-old. While admitting that she “truly did pine” for her home, Trevenna’s homesickness has subsided since her brother also moved to Hawai‘i.

“Even my mom plans to relocate in August,” Trevenna said about her mother’s upcoming move to the island.

When not advocating or teaching, Trevenna enjoys many sports, including surfing, applying the lessons she learns in the water to other projects, like wave energy research in the electrical engineering department, and a book, “Surfing the Tsunamis of Change.”

“I see the community as a source of personal sustainability and it is my personal mission to make Hawai‘i the world model for sustainability,” she said.