Indigenous Agricultural Ecosystems on the “Extinction Capital”

Hawaii makes up barely 0.3% of the nation's total land mass yet it is home to 44% of the country's endangered and threatened plant species. Making a name for itself as the “extinction capital.”

Leading with a meditation opened the discussion to wonder: What does a forest mean to you?

Life.

Water.

To Katie, forests in Hawaii serve functional yet spiritual ways in sustaining all of life that it inhabits. Capturing water, hydrating aquifers or giving life to the ocean, forests are the soul of Indigenous agricultural systems.