Kāwika Winter joined the NTBG in 2005 as the Director of Limahuli Garden and Preserve. Born and raised in the ahupua‘a of Wai‘alae, Kona, O‘ahu, Kāwika grew up in the islands with the mountains and the ocean as his playground. He went to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) where he received a B.A. and an M.S. in botany. He is currently working on the completion of his Ph.D. from UHM which focuses on the reciprocal influences that cultures and plants have on each other’s evolutionary paths.