Land and People

In Season 5 of Land and People, hosted by Melissa Chimera and Clay Trauernicht, and produced by Kaheāwai Media, we turn our attention to Oʻahu and the water issues that have been top of mind for so many after 2026’s extreme weather, beginning with the Kona lows.

In this episode, we’re joined by Waialua residents Maka and Nāpua Casson-Fisher. Nāpua is the Director of Community Initiatives at Papa Ola Lōkahi, and Maka previously served as a community equity liaison with the City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization. They share their experiences around the Kona low floods, from evacuating and returning to a damaged home, to helping organize supplies, community assistance hubs, and support for neighbors. The conversation explores the connections between ʻāina, health, and community, and how local knowledge and relationships can strengthen both disaster response and long-term preparedness.

Key takeaways:

Even their extensive emergency preparedness training didn’t fully prepare Maka and Nāpua for the uncertainty and danger of flooding their home.

Community response worked through trust, local relationships, practical help, and care-centered assistance.

Assistance hubs and navigators helped residents connect with resources without having to repeatedly retell their stories.

Stronger disaster readiness depends on coordination across community, nonprofit, and government networks, guided by local knowledge.

Caring for ʻāina and maintaining cultural connections can support community health, resilience, and self-advocacy.

Chapters:
00:00 ~ Welcome to Land and People

01:05 ~ Meet Maka and Nāpua Casson-Fisher

03:45 ~ Growing Up in Waialua and Finding Cultural Connections

08:08 ~ Maka’s Connection to ʻĀina and Family

13:00 ~ Mentors, Education, and Giving Back

19:08 ~ Hawaiian and Indigenous Approaches to Public Health

20:36 ~ Fishpond Work, ʻĀina, and Community Health

23:16 ~ How Maka and Nāpua Met

28:07 ~ The Kona Low Floods and Community Response

29:35 ~ Waterways, Flooding, and Supporting Local Farmers

32:29 ~ Emergency Preparedness Meets Lived Experience

35:22 ~ Rising Water and Difficult Evacuation Decisions

38:19 ~ Blocked Roads and Finding Shelter

42:02 ~ Dam Fears and Rescue Efforts

44:22 ~ Organizing Supplies and Community Assistance Hubs

47:43 ~ A Care-Centered Navigator Program

49:10 ~ Applying Lessons from Lahaina

52:04 ~ Data, Survey Fatigue, and Community Trust

53:04 ~ Building a More Coordinated Response

58:41 ~ Planning for Waialua’s Future

1:02:02 ~ Displacement, Recovery, and Healing

1:07:16 ~ ʻĀina, Community Health, and Self-Advocacy

1:08:13 ~ Looking Ahead and Closing Reflections

Topics:
Kona low floods; Waialua; flood preparedness and evacuation; community response; emergency assistance hubs; public health; Hawaiian and Indigenous health; ʻāina and community wellbeing; farmer support; language access; resource navigation; survey fatigue; local knowledge; disaster planning; cultural connection and resilience.

Credits:
Guests: Maka & Nāpua Casson-Fisher

Hosts: Melissa Chimera & Clay Trauernicht

Producers: Kaheāwai Media (Tyler Sonnemaker & Landon Tom)

In Season 5 of Land and People, hosted by Melissa Chimera and Clay Trauernicht, and produced by Kaheāwai Media, we turn our attention to Oʻahu and the water issues that have been top of mind for so many after 2026's extreme weather, beginning with the Kona lows. Along the way, we'll also hear from experts across Hawaiʻi whose knowledge spans everything from rapid response after climate events to long-term stewardship of wai, ʻāina, and communities.

Following our season opener with Barry Usagawa, we're joined by Marigold Zoll, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Administrator at the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Marigold traces her connection to the land back to her childhood on Kauaʻi, where she grew up in Moloaʻa while her parents built an off-grid home. She also shares how an early job as a lab tech doing stream research led to a career in resource management. As a longtime Waialua resident, she describes living through the 2026 Kona low floods firsthand. The conversation explores crisis fatigue, the fear around the Wahiawā Dam, mutual aid and community response, plantation-era water infrastructure left in disrepair, and why investing in community-led conservation can help us build a more resilient future.

Key takeaways:

Floods in Waialua are becoming less frequent but higher, and the Kona lows showed how unprepared our emergency information systems were.

Community mutual aid was the first and most effective response, from heavy equipment to aid stations to neighbors digging out mud.

The plantation-era ditches, waterways, and drainages are now in disrepair, with no clear owner and flood plans that go unfunded.

Conservation succeeds when people are invited to participate, because DLNR gets less than 1% of the state budget and can't do it alone.

Chapters:

00:00 ~ Welcome to Land and People
03:13 ~ Meet Marigold Zoll: Growing Up on Kauaʻi
09:25 ~ From Lab Tech to Resource Management
11:38 ~ Lessons from Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki
12:52 ~ Living in the Waialua Floodplain
15:44 ~ Crisis Fatigue and the First Kona Low
17:40 ~ The Second Kona Low and Returning Home
19:30 ~ Dam Fears and a False Alarm
22:42 ~ Community Response and Mutual Aid
24:34 ~ Government, Trust, and Community Hubs
27:49 ~ Plantation Legacy and Abandoned Waterways
30:40 ~ Kaukonahua and Poamoho Streams
33:35 ~ Land-Use Change and Stream Stewardship
38:13 ~ Neighbors on Haona Street
42:04 ~ Paying It Forward
43:29 ~ Leadership Lessons from COVID and Hakalau
46:19 ~ Empowering Community-Led Conservation
49:31 ~ Closing Reflections on Resilience

Topics:

Kona low floods; Waialua floodplain; Wahiawā Dam and spillway concerns; flood preparedness and evacuation; crisis fatigue; mutual aid and community response; plantation-era ditches and waterways; Kaukonahua and Poamoho streams; impaired watersheds; land-use change; stream maintenance and the commons; community-led conservation; forestry and wildlife management; resilience and recovery.

Credits:

Guest: Marigold Zoll
Hosts: Melissa Chimera & Clay Trauernicht
Producers: Kaheāwai Media (Tyler Sonnemaker & Landon Tom)

In Season 5 of Land and People, hosted by Melissa Chimera and Clay Trauernicht, and produced by Kaheāwai Media, we turn our attention to Oʻahu and the water issues that have been top of mind for so many after 2026’s extreme weather, beginning with the Kona lows. Along the way, we’ll also hear from experts across Hawaiʻi whose knowledge spans everything from rapid response after climate events to long-term stewardship of wai, ʻāina, and communities.

In our Season 5 premiere, we’re joined by Barry Usagawa, Water Resources Program Administrator at the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

Barry traces his connection to land and water back to his upbringing in Hilo, his father’s work as a forester, and more than four decades in public service. The conversation explores watershed stewardship, extreme rainfall and flood response, climate adaptation, and the value of community-led, mauka-to-makai management of water systems on Oʻahu.

Key takeaways:

Healthy forests are essential infrastructure for reliable water.
Extreme rainfall calls for long-term, integrated preparation — not just emergency response.
Cultural knowledge and community leadership are central to sustainable resource management.
Traditional practices based on Hawaiian ahupuaʻa management now guide the Board of Water Supply’s own approach
Chapters:

00:00 ~ Welcome to Season Five
04:12 ~ Meet Barry Usagawa
11:37 ~ A Career in Water Service
20:57 ~ Land Use, Water, and Watersheds
29:29 ~ From Water Supply to Watershed Stewardship
34:29 ~ Responding to Flooding and Emergencies
45:22 ~ Climate Adaptation Through One Water
57:14 ~ Community-Led Water Planning

Topics:

Watershed protection; public water systems; the Waiāhole Ditch case; flood preparedness; reservoirs and emergency response; climate adaptation; recycled water; seawater desalination; stream restoration; ahupuaʻa-based planning; community stewardship.

Credits:

Guest: Barry Usagawa
Hosts: Melissa Chimera & Clay Trauernicht
Producers: Kaheāwai Media (Tyler Sonnemaker & Landon Tom)

Sierra McDaniel is the resources management program manager at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, having worked at the park for 25 years. She first came to Hawaiʻi as a biology undergraduate and then entered the University of Hawaiʻi at Hiloʻs Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science masters program. She speaks to the challenges of working to conserve ecosystems, endangered species, and cultural values across the 354,461 acres, a place that hosts over 1.5 million visitors annually. We get into the challenges of changing ecosystems in response to fire on the landscape, the value of grounding the biological conservation work in Hawaiian lifeways and what it means to be in a place where volcanic eruptions are a constant presence.

In this episode, Melissa and Clay talk to Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative executive director Jen Lawson and preserve manager Rob Yagi about their work to promote and restore one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. Formed in 2011 to protect, promote, and restore a native Hawaiian dry forest after years of grassroots advocacy, the Waikōloa Dry Forest Preserve was established to protect many of the remaining native trees in the region. We get into Jen and Robʻs respective backgrounds in biology, how they came to Hawaiʻi through their stewardship of Pōhakuloa Training Area, and the unexpected rewards and challenges in helping to enhance the wiliwili forest that is so public facing, in the midst of fires, browsing goats and weeds.