Kula Eco Park is an eco-park situated on Fiji’s Coral Coast and is one of the highlights for students on AUIP’s Fiji program. The Park was established in 1997 and has steadily developed over the years to become ‘the environmental showplace of the South Pacific.’ Its main focus is the preservation of Fiji’s indigenous flora and fauna, including birds, reptiles, insects, butterflies, trees and shrubs. The Park also runs breeding programs like that for the endangered Fiji Banded Iguana.
The Park is nestled in a lush valley of coastal forest with extensive trails winding throughout. Students on the Fiji program are taken on a two-hour tour of the Park and learn about all of the different species housed there, the native flora and fauna including trees and shrubs used for medicinal purposes and the different programs that the Park runs.
One of these programs is ‘Hands-on Environmental Education’ which educates local school children in conservation and environment awareness issues. Through the generosity of donors (recently including some students from AUIP’s Fiji programs), the Park is able to bring the children to the park free of charge where they spend the day learning about their local environment. To date, more than 9,500 school children have taken part in this program.