Land and People
By Melissa Chimera
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Image by Melissa Chimera
Category: Society & Culture
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Episodes: 78
Description
Hawaiʻi conservationist and artist Melissa Chimera and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa fire and ecosystems scientist Dr. Clay Trauernicht talk with land protectors in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific about the places they cherish through their professional and ancestral ties. We paint an intimate portrait of today’s land stewards dealing with global crises while problem solving at the local level.
In Season 5, we turn to Oʻahu and the wai (water) issues that came to the forefront after 2026’s extreme weather, beginning with the Kona lows, from rapid response and recovery to long-term stewardship of wai, ʻāina, and communities.
Brought to you by the Cooperative Extension Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
Music “Raindrops” courtesy Lobo Loco and “Bale Wengei” courtesy Joshua Rostron.
Produced by Kaheāwai Media.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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EP 77 Water planner Barry Usagawa on caring for Oʻahu’s water from mauka to makai
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Oct 20, 2026 |
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EP 76 Biologist Sierra McDaniel on conserving the inheritance of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
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May 30, 2026 |
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EP 75 Waikōloa Dry Forest biologists Jen Lawson and Rob Yagi on the interface between people and the rarest of the rare forests
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Apr 03, 2026 |
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EP 74 Biologist Jim Jacobi on mapping and surveying Hawaii’s unique ecosystems across time and space
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Mar 13, 2026 |
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EP 73 Pilot David Okita on the evolution of helicopters as an essential tool for conservation land management
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Feb 26, 2026 |
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EP 72 Wildlife biologists Colleen and Ian Cole on making lasting alliances across diverse communities and geographies
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Feb 13, 2026 |
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EP 71 Hawaiian storyteller and conservationist Hannah Kihalani Springer on how land care begins with aloha for one another
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Jan 30, 2026 |
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EP 70 Kekuhi Keali’ikanaka’ole on how we find family in `āina
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Jan 16, 2026 |
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EP 69 Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh on how seeking knowledge of the land is a mind and heart endeavor
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Dec 23, 2025 |
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EP 68 Restoring the land is a family affair: researchers Pat Hart, Susan Cordell and Colin Hart on the secret world of plants, birds and cacao
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Dec 05, 2025 |
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EP 67 Land stewards Cheyenne Hiapo Perry and Lisa Hadway Spain on the leadership challenges of forest protection on Hawai’i Island
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Nov 21, 2025 |
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EP 66 Land manager Bill Stormont on bringing aloha to the hardships and controversies in stewardship
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Nov 07, 2025 |
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EP 65 DLNR forester Ed Pettys and Na Ala Hele program manager Debbie Chang on the value of connecting people to places through trails and land stewardship
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Oct 24, 2025 |
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EP 64 Contemporary art professor Jaimey Faris and fire scientist Clay Trauernicht on how story telling and land care can help us envision a world beyond capitalism
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Oct 10, 2025 |
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EP 63 Museum studies director Noelle Kahanu on repairing the human connection between land and people through the arts
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Sep 26, 2025 |
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EP 62 Ethnic studies professor Ty Tengan on re-membering Hawaiian identity in place and cultural practice
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Sep 12, 2025 |
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EP 61 Part II: Archaeologist and ethnohistorian Ross Cordy on the rise of Hawaiian kingdoms in ancient Hawai‘i
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Aug 29, 2025 |
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EP 60 Part I: Archaeologist and ethnohistorian Ross Cordy on Polynesian voyaging and ancient Hawaiian settlements
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Aug 15, 2025 |
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EP 59 Pacific Islands anthropologist Patrick Kirch on the millennia of human adaptation and environmental change across island archipelagos
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Jul 03, 2025 |
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EP 58 Co-hosts Melissa and Clay reflect on Season 3 and lessons learned after the 2023 wildfires
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May 31, 2025 |
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EP 57 Kauaʻi land steward and advocate Billy Kinney on how the land is our first teacher
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May 15, 2025 |
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EP 56 Bird biologist Justin Hite on the joys and sorrows of working with Kaua‘i’s rarest forest birds
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May 01, 2025 |
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EP 55 Special Edition: Professor of Art Jaimey Faris interviews co-host Melissa Chimera on the intersection of art and activism
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Apr 15, 2025 |
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EP 54 Expert hunter and Nature Conservancy field coordinator Nic Barca on fencing and hunting in Kauai`i’s most rugged and remote terrain
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Apr 10, 2025 |
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EP 53 Former Nature Conservancy Kaua`i program director Trae Menard on protecting the heart of the watershed through landscape-level fence building
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Mar 27, 2025 |
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EP 52 Former Hawai`i Division of Forestry and Wildlife administrator Lisa Hadway Spain on paving new paths as a woman in conservation leadership
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Mar 13, 2025 |
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EP 51 Keith Robinson on the complexities of the Robinson family and going at it alone
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Feb 28, 2025 |
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EP 50 Kaua`i kupuna Sabra Kauka on beauty and importance of Nu`alolo Kai
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Feb 14, 2025 |
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EP 49 Kaua`i firefighter and land steward Jeremie Makepa on restoring and nurturing once abandoned places
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Jan 31, 2025 |
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EP 48 Pacific island botanist Steve Perlman talks about putting your life on the line for the love of nature
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Jan 17, 2025 |
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EP 47 Willy Kostka on preserving and protecting the land and sea of Pohnpei and across Micronesia
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Jan 03, 2025 |
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EP 46 Palauan stewardship educator Ann Singeo on connecting generations of islanders across space and time
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Dec 20, 2024 |
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EP 45 Poet Craig Santos Perez on reclaiming and suturing Micronesian language, place and storytelling
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Dec 06, 2024 |
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EP 44 Part II Jermy Uowolo of Fais, Micronesia on how preserving the past is they key to thriving into the future
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Nov 22, 2024 |
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EP 43 Part I Jermy Uowolo of Fais, Micronesia on the history, struggle and heritage of the Western Pacific atols and islands
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Nov 08, 2024 |
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EP 42 Legendary waterman and Lahaina leader Archie Kalepa on steering the canoe towards the right path
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Oct 25, 2024 |
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EP 41 Artist Abigail Romanchak on uncovering the unseen Hawaiian environment through the visual language of printmaking
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Oct 11, 2024 |
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EP 40 Special Edition HI Conservation Conference: Water and land advocates Kapua`ala Sproat and Kekai Keahi on water as life
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Sep 27, 2024 |
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EP 39 'Ōlelo Hawai`i translator, artist and conservationist Hina Kneubuhl on unlocking the past as the key to the future
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Sep 13, 2024 |
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Here comes Season 3!
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Sep 05, 2024 |
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EP 38 Ethnic studies professor Davianna McGregor on how caring for land is all of our kuleana
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Aug 24, 2024 |
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EP 37 Botanist Gerry Carr on the evolution and wonder of the Hawaiian silversword alliance
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Jul 12, 2024 |
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EP 36 Entomologist Ken Kaneshiro on the courtship, beauty and fragility of Hawaiian picture-wing flies
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Jun 14, 2024 |
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EP 35 Geologist Scott Rowland on understanding Hawaiian volcanoes, archipelagos and geologic time
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May 17, 2024 |
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EP 34 Land steward Scott Fisher on restoring and understanding the deep history of Hawaiian coastlines
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Apr 26, 2024 |
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EP 33 Native Nursery’s Ethan Romanchak on making Maui productive in agriculture once again
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Mar 29, 2024 |
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EP 32 Hawaiian scholar and educator Kalehua Krug on language and thought as worldview
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Mar 15, 2024 |
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EP 31 Landscape designer and naturalist Leland Miyano on loving a place through science and art
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Mar 01, 2024 |
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EP 30 Hawaiian storyteller and conservationist Hannah Kihalani Springer on how land care begins with aloha for one another
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Feb 16, 2024 |
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EP 29 Marine experts Emily and Ann Fielding on how the beauty, spirit and nourishment of the sea sustains us
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Feb 02, 2024 |
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EP 28 Aquatic biologist Skippy Hau on the secret lives of creatures in Hawaiian streams
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Jan 19, 2024 |
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EP 27 A tribute to the father of invasive species management in Hawai`i: Dr. Lloyd Loope
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Jan 05, 2024 |
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EP 26 Rare Hawaiian snail expert Keahi Bustamente on how caring for the smallest of creatures makes your heart strong
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Dec 22, 2023 |
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EP 25 Wahine noho mauna: Maui land steward Kerri Fay and Moloka`i rare plant coordinator Ane Bakutis on women in the field
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Dec 08, 2023 |
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EP 24 Ke`eaumoku Kapu of West Maui on leading people by caring for land, water and each other
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Nov 24, 2023 |
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EP 23 Maui Nui botanist Hank Oppenheimer on the after fire road to recovery for plants, people and place
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Nov 10, 2023 |
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EP 22 Hydrologist Chris Schuler on how how we impact fresh water especially after wildfires
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Oct 27, 2023 |
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Ep 21 Water expert Jonathan Scheuer on how the history of land use in Hawai`i is the story of water
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Oct 13, 2023 |
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EP 20 Climatologist Tom Giambelluca on how the changing Hawaiian weather and climate affects fire and water
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Sep 29, 2023 |
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EP 19 Hawai`i ethnoecologist Katie Kamelamela on how restoring a place is reciprocity for the giver and the receiver
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Sep 15, 2023 |
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EP 18 Mark Merlin on how native Pacific Island plants, people and environments can sustain us
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Sep 01, 2023 |
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EP 17 Season 1 Bonus: Kekuhi Keali`ikanaka`ole on how we find family in `āina
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Jun 09, 2023 |
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EP 16 Season 1 recap: Melissa & Clay on what they learned, surprises & what’s next
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May 26, 2023 |
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EP 15 Waipi`o Valley’s Mock Chew family on how multi-generational kalo farming is love for the land & each other
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May 19, 2023 |
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EP 14 Botanical curator Mike Demotta on how native ecosystems perpetuate Hawaiian culture
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May 05, 2023 |
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EP 13 Lani Cran Petrie on the role of ranching in Hawai’i for holistic land management
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Apr 21, 2023 |
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EP 12 Ted Rodrigues retired Haleakalā ranger on community hunting & love of place through deep observation
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Apr 07, 2023 |
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EP 11 Suzanne Case former Chair of the Dept. of Land & Natural Resources on the complexities of water, land and tenure
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Mar 24, 2023 |
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EP 10 Former Molokai Nature Conservancy director Ed Misaki on seeing watershed protection through hard times
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Mar 10, 2023 |
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EP 9 Brian Naeole on the value of hunting while keeping the native forest free from introduced animals
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Feb 25, 2023 |
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EP 8 Penny Rawlins Martin on the stewardship lessons that voyaging on the 1976 Hōkūle‘a sailing canoe can teach us
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Feb 11, 2023 |
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EP 7 Insect biologist and ecosystems advocate Steven Montgomery brings us the beauty & fragility of Hawai`i’s smallest creatures
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Jan 28, 2023 |
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EP 6 Hawai`i educator Pauline Sato talks about creating a better world by learning about and loving where you live
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Jan 14, 2023 |
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EP 5 Nan Ku`ulei Akau Cabatbat on honoring the land of her ancestors by caring for people
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Dec 24, 2022 |
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EP 4 Hawaiian bird biologist Sheila Conant speaks to the joys and heartache of working with the rarest of the rare
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Dec 10, 2022 |
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EP 3 Pacific island botanist Steve Perlman talks about putting your life on the line for the love of nature
|
Nov 06, 2022 |
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EP 2 Bob Hobdy, retired Maui Island District forester talks about the early days of plant discovery
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Oct 16, 2022 |
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EP 1 Hosts Dr. Clay Trauernicht and Melissa Chimera talk about the critical need for understanding ourselves in relation to the land
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Oct 01, 2022 |