Land and People

In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Clay Trauernicht and Melissa Chimera go on-location to the Hamākua coast of Hawai`i Island. They interview Jayson and Alberta Mock Chew and their daughter Kahealani about the history of kalo (taro) farming and the family transition into poi production with their business Mokuwai Piko Poi. Their kalo farming roots go back six generations in Waipi`o Valley, a sacred and highly productive valley that stil...

Mike Demotta, curator of living collections for the Hawai‘i National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) on Kaua'i has lived many lives: from being the garden's horticulturalist, a hula kane (male hula dancer), and speaker of `ōlelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian language) to NTBG's curator of both native and introduced plants at the Limahuli Garden and Preserve. Mike speaks to his knowledge of Hawaiian native ecosystems by way of ancient chant an...

Native Hawaiian paniolo Lani Cran Petrie manages Kapāpala Ranch founded in 1860 in Ka'u on Hawai'i Island, one of the island's largest remaining ranches where her great-grandfather was a foreman. Having studied animal nutrition at Washington State University, she has also served as the president of the Hawaiʻi Cattlemen’s Association. Lani sheds light on the ecosystem benefits and economic challenges of managing 24,000+ acres of st...

Ted Rodrigues, retired National Park Service animal control and fencing manager built some of Hawai`i's first ungulate (hoofed mammal) exclusion fences in the mid 1980s in Haleakalā National Park. He helped pioneer non-native animal removal through fencing and organized hunting aimed at limiting the damage of goats, pigs and deer in native ecosystems—programs now widely adopted throughout the state. He is the living example of an o...

Raised on Hawai`i Island, Suzanne Case has worked for forty years in public and private law and conservation as the executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Hawai`i and Palmyra, and most recently as Chair for the Department of Land & Natural Resources. Listen to her unique perspective as one raised in the wilds of Hawai`i Island and how her deep love of place has helped her navigate the legal conflicts, commonalities and mor...

Ed Misaki, retired director of Molokai conservation programs for The Nature Conservancy worked since 1982 on the island where he was born and raised. He faced personal and professional challenges most of us can't imagine. His controversial non-native animal removal programs--aimed at removing deer, pigs, and goats--protects the most fragile upland forests. His story is one of resilience through difficult times, inspired by his love...

Brian Naeole, former Field Coordinator with The Nature Conservancy Molokai speaks to growing up homesteading on Hawaiian homelands, hunting, farming, raising pigs, and surfing while restoring native ecosystems on his home island. He describes the hard work that goes into fencing watersheds and removing the non-native animals like pigs, goats and deer that do so much damage to Hawaiian ecosystems within those fences, while at the sa...

Penny Rawlins Martin is one of the first two kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) women to sail as a crew member on the first 1976 voyage of the Hōkūle‘a Hawaiian sailing canoe between Tahiti and Hawai‘i, a 2,500 mile journey of her ancestors. She takes us back to the energy of the 1970s during the Hawaiian renaissance where the language, music, dance, voyages and land-back initiatives were being fought for, revived and uplifted. Penny s...

Beginning with his arrival in Hawai`I in 1968, entomologist and University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa professor emeritus of genetics and molecular biology Steven Montgomery has discovered insects and plants new to science. While his expertise includes an extraordinary array of Hawaiian insects--from picture wing flies to the carnivorous caterpillar found no where else in the world--his passion includes everything from keiki education to H...

University of Hawai`i at Mānoa professor emerita of biology and zoology Sheila Conant speaks to working with rare Hawaiian birds at a time when few women did so. While her publications, awards and distinctions are many, her lasting gift is painting the picture for all who will listen of both the beauty and fragility of Hawaiian creatures and plants. In this episode, she conveys the gravity of the situation with straight talk, but a...