[Ekolu] When we look at our Hawaiian creation chant, the Kumulipo... the Kumulipo tells us that life began in the ocean.

The coral polyp is the first living thing.

And the last living thing to come to life is man.

For every living thing in the ocean, there is a protector on land.

So we need to understand the duality of life.

Everything has a direct impact from land to ocean.

[Narrator] Prior to Western colonization, the Hawaiian people embraced this duality, stewarding their island home through the creation of ahupua a.

These pie-shaped districts traced fresh water from summit to surf or from mauka to makai.

[Cody] In the Ahupua a system, it's all one body, you know?

And when you live like an islander, whatever happens up mauka is impacting everything down makai, and same thing with makai up mauka from the ocean to the mountain and mountain to the ocean.

[Narrator] Today, this Hawaiian tradition of sustainable resource management endures through aloha ina, or love of the land.

[Scott] Wherever you go in Hawai i, you always find people talking about how much they love the land, how much they want to care for the land.

"Huli n lima i ka lepo."

Turn your hands into the soil.

That's the kind of the quintessential essence of how you express your love of the land.

That is connected directly to m lama ina, which is caring for the land.

And that's embodied in the concept of kuleana, responsibility.

So we have a responsibility to care for our land.

[Narrator] Across the island of Maui, scientists, land managers, and volunteers draw on the ancient wisdom of the Hawaiian people to revive traditional watersheds.

Even amidst profound loss in the wake of recent wildfires, islanders have strengthened their resolve to bring balance back to their cherished ecosystems.

How are local communities restoring Maui's watersheds and reefs from mauka to makai?

And what lasting impact will these efforts have on the islanders who call these places home?