Another amazing episode of the video series Plants are Cool, Too! is out, and this time Chris Martine goes to Hawaii.

Highlighting one of the coolest and most ambitious projects in the history of rare species conservation, this episode takes us to Kaua’i, Hawai’i, where a group of passionate plant people are working to save some of the rarest plants on the archipelago — and tell us why we need a new generation of biodiversity lovers to help battle the extinction crisis. [Episode shot in 2019, released January 2021.]

Teaching topics include: extinction, biodiversity conservation, rare species, conservation jobs, invasive species, island evolution, Hawaiian biodiversity, species reintroduction

Host/Producer/Writer: Chris Martine

Producer/Videographer/Editor/Graphics: Paul Frederick

Field Producer: Tim Kramer

Drone footage: Tobias Koehler

Scientists featured: Ann Sakai, Stephen Weller, Steve Perlman, Lauren Weisenberger, Alex Loomis, John Powers, Warren Wagner, Mike Moore, Krissa Skogen, Norm Wickett, Ava Adler

With photos by: Ken Wood, Alex Loomis, Stephen Weller, Ann Sakai

Institutional affiliations: University of California, Irvine; Plant Extinction Prevention Program; National Tropical Botanical Garden; US Fish and Wildlife Service; Duke University; Chicago Botanic Garden; Oberlin College; Bucknell University; Smithsonian Institute

Funding: National Science Foundation