At the National Tropical Botanical Garden, we are committed to the biosecurity of Hawaiʻi to protect our home’s irreplaceable biodiversity and support the wellbeing of our communities. We vigilantly safeguard against and monitor for invasive species at our gardens on Kauaʻi and Maui, working in partnership with many organizations to implement best practices and support…
Offered on Kauai, May 12-18, 2024 The Hawaii-based National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) is accepting applications for its Environmental Journalism Program offered May 12–18, 2024. Designed for professional journalists (staff or freelance) working in broadcast, print, online, and other media, the immersive program provides a background in tropical botany, ecology, and biocultural conservation with a progressive…
By Jon Letman, Bulletin Editor The Hawaiian flora is comprised of a remarkable variety of rare flowering plants, many of which grow nowhere else. But the islands are also home to one of the most prolific plant families, Asteraceae, which includes chrysanthemums, daisies, and sunflowers. Among the approximately 25,000 Asteraceae species worldwide is the genus…
Tropical Botany student Jenny Morris taking field notes in Costa Rica. Photo by Danielle Ward. By Jon Letman, Bulletin Editor Among the many shortages the world faces today, one often overlooked is a lack of botanists. At a time of unprecedented crises, including a dramatic loss of biodiversity, highly trained botanists are in short supply.…
Weaving hala leaves for a pāpale (hat). Photo by Shandelle Nakanelua Defining our approach to restoring relationships between plants, people, and places. At its heart, biocultural conservation recognizes the inseparable bonds between humanity and nature. Many Indigenous cultures share concepts of kinship across species, elements, and places. In Hawaiʻi, the idea of ʻohana (family) transcends…
Noah Kaʻaumoana, mālama ʻāina specialist, harvesting kalo in Limahuli Garden. Photo by Joshua Diem. By Joshua Diem, Mālama ʻĀina Tech II Here, in Limahuli Valley, the mountains rise above the clouds, as though tethered to earth by the roots and vines of a changing landscape, their black volcanic faces gazing out across the vast Pacific.…