This resource is a DLNR documentary video about botanists and conservation staff who rappel down steep cliffs in Waimea Canyon on Kauaʻi to locate and protect rare and endangered native plants. It focuses on the fieldwork of Adam Williams of DOFAW and Scott Heintzman of the Plant Extinction Prevention Program, showing the extreme methods used to study and conserve some of Hawaiʻi’s rarest cliff-dwelling species. NTBG notes that this is a 28-minute DLNR-produced video and that NTBG staff and drone footage are also featured.
Rare Plant Conservation Case Study
Students watch the video and analyze how botanists locate, monitor, and protect endangered native plants in hard-to-reach cliff habitats. The video can support discussion about conservation careers, field methods, biodiversity protection, and why Hawaiʻi’s rare plants sometimes survive only in remote places.
