What are you reading?

I just finished "Volcano" by Garrett Hongo, which I enjoyed personally because his family ran Hongo Store in Volcano Village after World War II, and we used to ride our bikes to Hongo Store when I was a kid on the Big Island. ... Now I'm reading "Seeking the Sacred Raven" by Mark Jerome Walters, which is about the 'alala, the native Hawaiian crow or raven. My brother Ed picked it up for himself but gave it to me first because it's all about the Kona forest, where we do conservation work. ... Also, in my quiet time, I like to read some of the Chinese Taoist masters. ...

How did you discover Hongo's book?

I think it must have been when I was in Volcano. It's a very fun book to read because it's his memories from when he was little and also his adult experience of being in the rainforest around Volcano. And I have the same — I have memories from when I was little and things that I enjoy now as an adult, experiencing the rainforest.

Just as his book connects memories, are your efforts meant to perpetuate both Hawai'i's past and future?

Yeah, there's a continuity to it, and kind of a connection with the past and hope for the future that you get experiencing a place in Hawai'i over time. You experience it over decades and accumulate your own experiences so they become your memories and your evolution of your relationship with those special places. ...