HANAPEPE — Dr. David Burney will be speaking on “Digging into the Past to Find the Future,” his 20-year work at the Makauwahi Cave Reserve in Po‘ipu. Prior to his presentation, Burney will be available to sell and autograph his book
HANAPEPE — Dr. David Burney will be speaking on “Digging into the Past to Find the Future,” his 20-year work at the Makauwahi Cave Reserve in Po‘ipu.
Prior to his presentation, Burney will be available to sell and autograph his book “Back to the Future in the Caves of Kaua‘i: A Scientist’s Adventures in the Dark” from 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hanapepe Public Library, states a release from the Friends of the Hanapepe Public Library. He will also be available following the presentation.
Burney will begin his presentation at 6 p.m. as part of the Friends of the Hanapepe Public Library’s “Hawaiian Marine Environment” series. The presentation is free and open to the public in the Hanapepe Library’s meeting room.
Burney and his wife, Lida Pigott Burney, have been uncovering a fossil record of Kaua‘i’s past and applying it to a restoration program on the Grove Farm lease they call the Makauwahi Cave Reserve.
The unique sinkhole and cave system in Maha‘ulepu is widely acknowledged, due to their work and that of their collaborators, as the richest fossil and archaeological site in the Hawaiian Islands and possibly the Pacific region.
As chronicled in the book for general readers, the Burneys’ detailed understanding of prehistoric Kaua‘i has turned into a futuristic conservation initiative, which seeks to apply the lessons of the past to reforestation efforts on the property, which have led to the creation of a unique public park that blends studies of the past with native plant restoration, wildlife habitat creation, education programs for students at all levels, a jobs program for unemployed Hawaiians, ecotourism programs for visitors to the island and very successful experiments in restoration, which include using giant tortoises to control invasive weeds.
Dr. Burney’s research has focused on endangered species, paleoenvironmental studies and causes of extinction.
He has researched human impacts on islands in all three tropical oceans, as well as Africa, Asia and the Americas, giving him more than 40 years of practical experience in conservation, including serving as a technical consultant for many conservation organizations and government agencies.
Prior to moving to Kaua‘i in 2004 to become Director of Conservation at the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Dr. Burney was a professor at Fordham University in New York.
His research has been featured on National Geographic Television, Discovery Channel, Hawai‘i Public Television, NOVA and NPR.
Burney’s presentation is sponsored by the Friends of the Hanapepe Public Library.
Call the Hanapepe Public Library at 335-8418 for more information.
