Environment

Taro grower and Native Hawaiian practitioner Jerry Konanui works to propagate and save from extinction the numerous varieties of kalo (taro), a staple of the Hawaiian diet. Jerry’s mission is also to protect kalo, revered as the elder sibling (Hāloa) of the Hawaiian people, from the risks of genetic engineering.

Beginning with an overview of how to document taro varieties, Jerry Konanui documents plant descriptors for nine varieties of taro, harvested at the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Kona, Hawai‘i island. Along with the documentation, Jerry shares a wealth of cultural knowledge of these varieties passed down to him through family. His goal is to scientifically document as many of the Hawaiian taro varieties as possible for reference by future generations of taro growers.

The Hawaiian system of land use allowed access to all resources in the ahupua‘a, a land division that stretched from mountain to sea. Within the ahupua‘a, highly specialized technologies such as fishponds and lo‘i kalo (taro gardens) ensured an abundance of food.

featuring Henry Auwae

From the age of five, Henry Auwae learned the art of lā‘au lapaʻau (herbal medicine) from his grandmother, a woman whose knowledge extended back to nineteenth century Hawai‘i. In this two-disk documentary series, “Papa” Auwae shares this traditional knowledge.

This video documents the battle over the water in Waiāhole Ditch on the island of O‘ahu, where taro farmers and long-time residents seek to reclaim the natural stream waters that were taken in the early 1900's by sugar plantations.

Sol Kahoohalahala takes a group of Hawaiian Studies teachers on a tour of his beloved island of Lāna‘i. From the ancient archaeological sites at Kaunolū to the Garden of the Gods and Lāna‘i Hale, the highest elevation on the island, Sol gives a living history of the island and its people.

Hawai‘i farmers, teachers, legal and medical experts and community activists share their perspectives on GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), the genetic engineering of crops and the patenting of life forms.

This program explores the issues surrounding the allocation of water that flows in the Waiāhole Ditch on the island of O‘ahu. The title comes from an old saying referring to the stubbornness of the people of Waiāhole valley. This program documents their determination to regain the water that was taken from windward streams in the early 1900's to irrigate sugar plantations on the drier leeward side.

Kūpuna (elders) and residents relate cherished traditions regarding fishing, agriculture, place names and the ahupua‘a system of land management in the Kona district of Hawai‘i island.

Rare and endangered plants and their habitats are presented and discussed by horticulturist Heidi Bornhorst and botanist Charles Lamoureux.

An island-by-island survey of Hawaiian native species of birds, snails, fish and insects, all identified by their Hawaiian names and described through ‘ōlelo no‘eau (wise sayings) in Hawaiian and English.

Miloli‘i style ‘ōpelu fishing

Set to the songs of the Kahumoku Brothers, this music video demonstrates a traditional Hawaiian method of catching ‘ōpelu (Pacific mackerel) off the Wai‘anae coast of O‘ahu.

at Ka Papa Lo‘i ‘o Kānewai

Charles Kupa escorts Marion Kelly on a tour of Ka Papa Lo‘i ‘o Kānewai, the kalo (taro) gardens on the grounds of the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Carol Araki Wyban, who since 1981 has worked to revitalize the fishponds of Hawai‘i, uses her artwork to present the various types of ponds, their elegant technologies, and the stories and legends associated with fishponds.

Intermediate school students explore various aspects of the 1982 incident when unlawful levels of the pesticide heptachlor were found in Hawai‘i commercial milk supplies.

An audio/video meditation featuring nature scenes from the uplands to the shore.

This program is a one-hour video loop in which a 20-minute segment is repeated three times. Each segment presents the sights and sounds of four native birds, identified on-screen by name: ‘apapane, ‘i‘iwi, ‘amakihi and ‘elepaio, all members of the honeycreeper family.

March 25, 1990

March and rally to protest geothermal energy development in one of the last lowland rainforests in Hawai‘i. One of the biggest such demonstrations held on the issue, led by the Pele Defense Fund and supported by the Rainforest Action Alliance.