Best Melissa Chimera Podcasts (2024)

1
EP 38 Ethnic studies professor Davianna McGregor on how caring for land is all of our kuleana 1:10:35

7h ago1:10:35

1:10:35

Scholar and historian Dr. Davianna Pōmaika`i McGregor is a founding member of the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa's Ethnic Studies Department and a pivotal force in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement beginning in the 1970s. She taught oral history, environmental and cultural review and assessment to many students for 45 years. She speaks to the impor…

1
EP 37 Botanist Gerry Carr on the evolution and wonder of the Hawaiian silversword alliance 1:03:58

2M ago1:03:58

1:03:58

Dr. Gerry Carr, Emeritus Professor of Botany at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa has studied and taught the evolution of plants in the silversword alliance, a unique group of Hawaiian plants encompassing an extraordinary diversity of forms and habitats. In this episode, we talk about the importance of plant taxonomy in understanding the interrela…

1
EP 36 Entomologist Ken Kaneshiro on the courtship, beauty and fragility of Hawaiian picture-wing flies 1:00:58

3M ago1:00:58

1:00:58

Entomologist Dr. Ken Kaneshiro at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa has studied and taught Hawaiian evolution and biology to countless generations of students through the story of the 1,000+ species of Hawaiian drosophila, picture-wing fruit flies descended from a single ancestor. His passion for conservation biology began as a dishwasher on the d…

1
EP 35 Geologist Scott Rowland on understanding Hawaiian volcanoes, archipelagos and geologic time 54:19

3M ago54:19

54:19

Dr. Scott Rowland has studied and taught geology at the University of Hawai‘i volcanologist for 41 years, having earned teaching distinctions including the Board of Regents and President’s awards. He shares with us his research into remote-sensing volcanology to help determine the ages of different lava flows across the Hawaiian Islands. We also re…

1
EP 34 Land steward Scott Fisher on restoring and understanding the deep history of Hawaiian coastlines 1:01:31

4M ago1:01:31

1:01:31

As the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust's Director of ‘Āina Stewardship, Dr. Scott Fisher has worked for two decades to restore the coastal sand dunes and wetlands of Waihe‘e on Maui. His unusual background is that of an infantryman in Kuwait during the Gulf War where he witnessed unparalleled ecological devastation. In war torn Papua New Guinea he purs…

1
EP 33 Native Nursery’s Ethan Romanchak on making Maui productive in agriculture once again 1:25:19

5M ago1:25:19

1:25:19

Native Nursery on Maui is one of the largest Hawaiian native plant growers in Hawai`i founded by lifelong friends and partners Ethan Romanchak and Jonathan Keyser. With twenty years of experience in native species horticulture, rare plant propagation and ecosystem restoration, their business now includes growing citrus to help re-claim and make pro…

1
EP 32 Hawaiian scholar and educator Kalehua Krug on language and thought as worldview 1:01:46

6M ago1:01:46

1:01:46

Dr. Kalehua Krug is a mea kākau (traditional tattooist), musician, activist and school principal at the Hawaiian immersion school Ka Waihona o ka Na`auao in Nānākuli, West O`ahu. His advocacy for land and indigenous philosophy not only stems from his personal journey into Hawaiian identity, but his desire to improve kānaka (Hawaiian) health and edu…

1
EP 31 Landscape designer and naturalist Leland Miyano on loving a place through science and art 1:05:25

6M ago1:05:25

1:05:25

For over five decades landscape designer, sculptor and naturalist Leland Miyano has connected people to Hawaiian native ecosystems through his gardens in Kahulu`u, at the Bishop Museum and at The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu. In 2019, he created an award winning double hulled canoe installation comprised of invasive guava branches which reflects…

1
EP 30 Hawaiian storyteller and conservationist Hannah Kihalani Springer on how land care begins with aloha for one another 1:19:41

6M ago1:19:41

1:19:41

Hannah Kihalani Springer of Hawai`i Island is a storyteller, environmental activist, and scholar of Hawaiian history for many decades. As a former trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and advocate for land and sea conservation, she has headed up the nonprofit `Ahahui o Pu`u Wa`awa`a which advocates for the conservation and management of fores…

1
EP 29 Marine experts Emily and Ann Fielding on how the beauty, spirit and nourishment of the sea sustains us 1:02:47

7M ago1:02:47

1:02:47

Emily and Ann Fielding, the mother-daughter marine duo of Maui have both lived and worked in Hawai`i to help educate and conserve the ocean, its creatures, coral reefs across the Pacific. Ann's experience is as an underwater naturalist where she introduced visitors, kama`aina and students to the abundance of Maui's coral reefs and their creatures. …

1
EP 28 Aquatic biologist Skippy Hau on the secret lives of creatures in Hawaiian streams 1:04:04

7M ago1:04:04

1:04:04

For nearly four decades, Department of Land and Natural Resources aquatic biologist Skippy Hau has been in and out of Maui's oceans, estuaries and streams surveying for Hawaiian fish, shrimp, snails, corals, limu (seeweed) and nearly every living thing he could observe underwater. Growing up as a fisherman's son in Kaneohe, O`ahu, Skippy's love of …

1
EP 27 A tribute to the father of invasive species management in Hawai`i: Dr. Lloyd Loope 57:42

8M ago57:42

57:42

We bring together the family and colleagues of Dr. Lloyd Loope, Maui research biologist and ecologist based at Haleakalā National Park who passed away in 2017. We reflect on his legacy as the cornerstone for Hawaiian invasive species management as we know it today and mentor for so many in island ecosystem conservation. Pat Bily of The Nature Conse…

1
EP 26 Rare Hawaiian snail expert Keahi Bustamente on how caring for the smallest of creatures makes your heart strong 59:33

8M ago59:33

59:33

Keahi Bustamente is the field coordinator for the Maui Nui Snail Extinction Prevention Program. He works across three islands--Maui, Moloka`i and Lāna`i--searching sometimes all day in the steepest, most remote mountains for a single individual. He speaks candidly about the logistical, physical and knowledge challenges in this work as well as the g…

1
EP 25 Wahine noho mauna: Maui land steward Kerri Fay and Moloka`i rare plant coordinator Ane Bakutis on women in the field 1:06:50

9M ago1:06:50

1:06:50

In this episode, co-host Melissa Chimera brings together stories of women in the field from Kerri Fay, terrestrial program manager with The Nature Conservancy and Ane Bakutis, Moloka`i coordinator for the Plant Extinction Prevention Program. Together they share their perspectives as women working in physically demanding jobs across remote locations…

1
EP 24 Ke`eaumoku Kapu of West Maui on leading people by caring for land, water and each other 1:18:20

9M ago1:18:20

1:18:20

Hawaiian land and water activist Ke`eaumoku Kapu of West Maui is descended from a long line of kalo (taro) farmers and care takers of his ancestral home in Kauaula. He and his family's hard won land-back struggles and stream water repatriation in the face of powerful corporate interests serve as the backdrop of his current efforts to help his commu…

1
EP 23 Maui Nui botanist Hank Oppenheimer on the after fire road to recovery for plants, people and place 56:06

10M ago56:06

56:06

Hank Oppenheimer is a field botanist in Hawai`i for more than 30 years, re-discovering plants thought to be extinct and finding species new to science. He is the Maui Nui coordinator for the Plant Extinction Prevention Program which aims to find, stabilize and help recover the rarest of the rarest Hawaiian plants. Hank has also been witness to sign…

1
EP 22 Hydrologist Chris Schuler on how how we impact fresh water especially after wildfires 55:22

10M ago55:22

55:22

Dr. Chris Schuler, a researcher with the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa’s Water Research Resources Center is a hydrologist and ground water modeler who experienced first hand the impacts of wildfire on Maui in 2023 where he and his family live. In his work which spans from American Samoa to Hawai`i, he speaks to the importance of applied environmen…

1
Ep 21 Water expert Jonathan Scheuer on how the history of land use in Hawai`i is the story of water 1:17:02

11M ago1:17:02

1:17:02

Since 1991, Hawai`i water and environmental policy and planning expert Dr. Jonathan Likeke Scheuer has helped people seek a shared, sustainable prosperity for the communities and `āina involved, including the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Hawai`i State Land Use Commission, the Hawai`i Land Trust Board, and the O`ahu Island Burial Council. …

1
EP 20 Climatologist Tom Giambelluca on how the changing Hawaiian weather and climate affects fire and water 1:06:41

11M ago1:06:41

1:06:41

Dr. Tom Giambelluca, University of Hawai`i (UH) at Mānoa geography and environment professor has been studying and teaching Hawaiian weather and climate in relation to the land and water across the archipelago for 46 years. In the aftermath of the devastating fires on Maui, we ask him to unpack the local atmospheric trends of the past and future, s…

1
EP 19 Hawai`i ethnoecologist Katie Kamelamela on how restoring a place is reciprocity for the giver and the receiver 1:10:12

12M ago1:10:12

1:10:12

Dr. Katie Kamelamela, is a Hilo-based Assistant Professor in the Global Discovery and Conservation Science Center at Arizona State University and studies ethnoecology, ecological restoration, Indigenous conceptions of wealth, and Indigenous economies. She shares with us her on-going research into modern and Hawaiian contemporary uses of various pla…

1
EP 18 Mark Merlin on how native Pacific Island plants, people and environments can sustain us 1:12:27

12M ago1:12:27

1:12:27

Dr. Mark Merlin, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa professor in the School of Life Sciences, Botany program has taught Pacific island biocultural history across many disciplines: geography, ethnobotany and biology. His fifty years of teaching human relationships to island environments past and present as well as his field research has taken him from H…

1
EP 17 Season 1 Bonus: Kekuhi Keali`ikanaka`ole on how we find family in `āina 1:07:21

1y ago1:07:21

1:07:21

Bonus Episode Season 1: Dr. Clay Trauernicht and Melissa Chimera talk with renowned chanter, dancer, songwriter and educator Kekuhi Keali`ikanaka`ole about the intimate connection between humans and the Hawaiian landscape as practiced in Hawaiian lifeways. Her perspective is that of a descendent from the legendary Kanaka`ole family, most notably he…

1
EP 16 Season 1 recap: Melissa & Clay on what they learned, surprises & what’s next 26:05

1+ y ago26:05

26:05

Co-hosts Melissa Chimera and Dr. Clay Trauernicht reflect on Season One of "Land & People"; what they learned, surprising moments, favorite parts of producing the show, and what's next for Season Two.By Melissa Chimera

1
EP 15 Waipi`o Valley’s Mock Chew family on how multi-generational kalo farming is love for the land & each other 1:05:31

1+ y ago1:05:31

1:05:31

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 ba…

1
EP 14 Botanical curator Mike Demotta on how native ecosystems perpetuate Hawaiian culture 1:03:22

1+ y ago1:03:22

1:03:22

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. …

1
EP 13 Lani Cran Petrie on the role of ranching in Hawai’i for holistic land management 1:09:57

1+ y ago1:09:57

1:09:57

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 li…

1
EP 12 Ted Rodrigues retired Haleakalā ranger on community hunting & love of place through deep observation 1:04:30

1+ y ago1:04:30

1:04:30

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 ecosyste…

1
EP 11 Suzanne Case former Chair of the Dept. of Land & Natural Resources on the complexities of water, land and tenure 1:01:21

1+ y ago1:01:21

1:01:21

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 …

1
EP 10 Former Molokai Nature Conservancy director Ed Misaki on seeing watershed protection through hard times 55:47

1+ y ago55:47

55:47

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 …

1
EP 9 Brian Naeole on the value of hunting while keeping the native forest free from introduced animals 57:24

1+ y ago57:24

57:24

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 de…

1
EP 8 Penny Rawlins Martin on the stewardship lessons that voyaging on the 1976 Hōkūle‘a sailing canoe can teach us 1:09:23

1+ y ago1:09:23

1:09:23

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, v…

1
EP 7 Insect biologist and ecosystems advocate Steven Montgomery brings us the beauty & fragility of Hawai`i’s smallest creatures 58:32

1+ y ago58:32

58:32

Beginning with his arrival in Hawai`i in 1968, Dr. Steven Montgomery University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa entomologist has studied genetics and molecular biology while discovering 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 wher…

1
EP 6 Hawai`i educator Pauline Sato talks about creating a better world by learning about and loving where you live 1:07:14

1+ y ago1:07:14

1:07:14

Pauline Sato speaks to the evolution of `āina (land)-based learning across her decades long career in environmental education with Moanalua Gardens Foundation, Bishop Museum, The Nature Conservancy, and now as the Executive Director of Mālama Learning Center. While her broad reach in introducing many generations of students and stewards to the Hawa…

1
EP 5 Nan Ku`ulei Akau Cabatbat on honoring the land of her ancestors by caring for people 57:49

1+ y ago57:49

57:49

Retired Hawai`i Pacific Parks artist, educator and Hawaiian cultural practitioner Nanette ("Nan") Ku`ulei Akau Cabatbat speaks to her decades of chanting sunrise`oli at Hāleakala National Park, connecting both kama`āina and visitors alike to the place of her ancestors. She speaks to the values of caring for the land by sharing and connecting with t…

1
EP 4 Hawaiian bird biologist Sheila Conant speaks to the joys and heartache of working with the rarest of the rare 58:03

1+ y ago58:03

58:03

University of Hawai`i at Mānoa professor emerita of biology and zoology Dr. 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 pl…

1
EP 3 Pacific island botanist Steve Perlman talks about putting your life on the line for the love of nature 1:01:56

2y ago1:01:56

1:01:56

Steve Perlman, a botanist for the Kaua`i Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) talks about his love of Pacific island peoples in remote places, the thrill of discovering new plants, and climbing the highest sea cliffs in the world to save the last of a species.By Melissa Chimera

1
EP 2 Bob Hobdy, retired Maui Island District forester talks about the early days of plant discovery 58:26

2y ago58:26

58:26

Bob Hobdy, former Department of Land and Natural Resources Maui district forester time travels back to the early days of discovering new Hawaiian plant species with renowned botanists Otto Degener and Harold Saint John-- all the way to present day.By Melissa Chimera

1
EP 1 Hosts Dr. Clay Trauernicht and Melissa Chimera talk about the critical need for understanding ourselves in relation to the land 25:44

2y ago25:44

25:44

Hawai`i-based co-hosts Melissa Chimera and Dr. Clay Trauernicht talk about their respective careers in environmental stewardship, art and research and how a more holistic understanding of our place in the natural world is more important than ever before.By Melissa Chimera

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