Growing Green: How One Pueo Educator is Planting a Love

Growing up in Kansas with summers spent raising chickens, canning garden vegetables, and making applesauce from scratch, he developed a deep, intrinsic appreciation for living off the land and ensuring everything had a purpose. 

 

It is a philosophy that perfectly bridges his past career as an environmental scientist in the frozen expanses of Alaska to his current role shaping the next generation of global citizens at Maui Preparatory Academy.

 

Both Kansas natives, Mr Patry and his wife Julie spent a decade in Alaska, where he carved out a dynamic career as an environmental scientist. Working first for an environmental engineering firm and later for the State of Alaska managing the Clean Water Act, his “beat” was the entire state. From cleaning up leaking underground storage tanks to surveying hydroelectric plants, his projects took him from the remote Aleutian Islands to southeast Alaska.

 

But Alaska winters are notoriously unforgiving. To escape the freeze, the Patry family began spending their winters thawing out on the shores of Maui. “One time, my wife just said, ‘I’m not leaving,’” Patry recalls with a laugh. “It was a 100-degree difference. It was -15°F when we left our house in Alaska, and it was 85°F when we got off the plane.”

 

The transition took a few years to finalize, but they made the leap. When they relocated, their two boys, Rohan and North, were just four and one. Initially staying home as a dedicated dad, he eventually transitioned into education to align with his sons’ schedules, a move that sparked a deeply rewarding second career. After seven successful years teaching fourth grade at King Kamehameha III Elementary on Front Street, destiny eventually brought him to the campus of Maui Prep.

 

Joining Maui Prep halfway through a school year is a challenge he describes as “changing horses midstream.” Yet, what could have been a stressful transition was instantly eased by the school’s tight-knit culture.

 

“I definitely love a challenge, but there was so much support,” Mr Patry says, recalling his very first day on campus when fellow faculty members welcomed him with open arms. “That moment was very symbolic of the welcome and support I’ve had here from everybody: staff, faculty, parents, and families. It’s just been a seamless integration into the ‘ohana.”

 

Now having just completed his second full year, his classroom has become a vibrant hub of discovery, scientific inquiry, and cultural connection.

At Maui Prep, one of the core foundational pillars is relationship-building. For this former scientist, that mission extends directly to the natural world.

 

“Culturally, there’s a very strong connection to the land here, and that’s something I really try to take into the classroom,” Patry explains. “I feel a relationship with your place is just as important as relationships with yourself and others. That’s something I try to teach students.”

 

Rather than relying on dense, dry textbooks, he uses a narrative-driven approach. His fifth grade students read mo‘olelo (traditional stories) and engaging informational texts published by local non-profits to see science as a living story.

 

Mr Patry teaches his 10 and 11 year old students about the intricate, fragile cycles of the ecosystem using vivid, real-world connections: how alpine forests rely on seabirds, which rely on healthy near-shore reefs and reef fish. “I try to help them understand that removing one piece can cause the whole Jenga tower to fall,” he says.

 

This deep environmental immersion directly inspired his classroom’s project for the annual Maui Prep Learning Fair. Centered around the theme “You Are the Future of Water,” his fifth graders were challenged not just to identify environmental issues, but to architect actionable solutions.

 

The results, Patry notes, were staggering. Students utilized coding and AI to build interactive games, recorded podcast-style presentations, and built intricate traditional dioramas and poster boards.

 

“I was just floored by their creativity,” he says. “But underlying it all was the identification of a problem they saw and the steps to fix it. They are empowered to make a difference right now—whether that’s water conservation, thoughtful planting, or gently educating people on the beach who might not know any better.”

 

When Mr Patry is not inspiring young minds on campus, you can find him practicing exactly what he preaches. True to his roots, his free time is spent entirely outdoors (whether in the mountains or out on the ocean) soaking in the very environment he works so hard to protect. Through his unique blend of scientific expertise, passion for conservation, and deep love for Maui, he is ensuring his students leave the island and the world vibrantly better than they found it.