David Okita has flown helicopters on Hawaiʻi Island for many decades, first for emergency responders assisting with fire department search and rescues and then later for conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Land and Natural Resources. David reflects on how flying for him has been a family affair, growing up on Hawaiʻi Island beginning with his dad in the 1970s, and now with his son as his assistant. He speaks to the unique relationship between helicopter pilots and the forestry and biology field crews he supports–one of mutual respect and admiration for the skills and hard work required to build fences, monitor ecosystems and conserve endangered species in the remote wilderness.
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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
EP 74 Biologist Jim Jacobi on mapping and surveying Hawaii’s unique ecosystems across time and space
EP 72 Wildlife biologists Colleen and Ian Cole on making lasting alliances across diverse communities and geographies
EP 71 Hawaiian storyteller and conservationist Hannah Kihalani Springer on how land care begins with aloha for one another
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