"Finding David Douglas" film now on YouTube

I'm happy to share the link to "Finding David Douglas," now available on YouTube. I wrote the script for this documentary film, which was initially released in 2012.

My friend from childhood (we met at Girl Scout Camp and then were high school classmates), Lois Leonard, invited me to be the writer for her film. She said she had always enjoyed my writing but also, we had so many interests in common. We both loved history, the outdoors and all things Hawaiian.

Lois Leonard, facing camera, at the David Douglas Memorial

The last part of the 55-minute film takes place in the Hawaiian Islands, on 'Oahu and Hawai'i. David Douglas, a botanist-explorer from Scotland, spent time on both islands before his untimely death on Mauna Kea on July 12, 1834. He was just 35 years old.

Douglas was, in fact, the first non-native to climb both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, the snow-topped volcanoes on Hawai'i Island. He did so for the purpose of collecting plants, most of which were unknown to European naturalists.

As he was walking across the lower elevations of Mauna Kea on his way to the town of Hilo, he had a fateful encounter with a wild cattle trapper named Ned Gurney. Most versions of the story blame Douglas's death on a bull trapped by Gurney; most of us on the film crew believed that Douglas was murdered by Gurney.

Some beautiful scenes were filmed in the peaceful grove of Douglas fir trees (imported from the Pacific Northwest) growing at the site of Douglas's death. A stone memorial has been standing there since 1934 and was dedicated on the centennial of Douglas's demise. Douglas is buried at Kawaiaha'o Church Cemetery in Honolulu.

A grove of Douglas firs among the koa trees

I hope you'll take the time to view the "Finding David Douglas" video so you can appreciate Douglas's accomplishments as a 19th-century plant collector. For one thing, the seeds from Douglas fir and spruce trees that Douglas sent back to London resulted in the re-growth of depleted forests in the UK and Europe.

My advice for anyone who wishes to visit the David Douglas Memorial on Mauna Kea: make the trip in a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. The road is pretty rough. Keep in mind that the hardy Douglas was making the entire trek on foot.