LAURA DOUCETTE
conservationist
photographer
storyteller
wildlife
healing
Aloha! I am a photographer, storyteller, and student at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Management. My mission is to tell stories about wildlife and the communities connected to, and affected by, wildlife conflicts/successes, furthering wildlife, environmental and cultural conservation through authentic connections, field research, ethical photography and storytelling. My goal is to spark joy and empathy in people’s hearts by sharing wildlife, nature & human stories, encourage self-healing and restoration through nature, and to be an advocate and inspire others to take real action in their communities. I’d like to be a resource that inspires people to think deeper, engage, and act to restore, revive and protect biodiversity along with our connections to each other.
LAURA WANDERING WILD
A few years ago I left a career in the law field to return to college and learn deeper about things I have a passion for. My enthusiasm for photography, wildlife, and resource protection led me here. To me, photography is memories, introductions, inspiration and knowledge, beauty and conflict; it’s visual immersion and heartfelt. Two of my creative influences come from, first, growing up in Maine, surrounded by nature and wilderness. This is where outdoor adventures and learned skills instilled in me respect for the earth and what it provides to us. And second, my family (my grandfather especially) always had a camera handy. There are old photos going back several generations, and we joke that a photography gene must run in the family. As I continue to learn and grow as a photographer, creating photos has allowed me to feel renewed; to see the world in a new way, through others eyes and my own.
My photography is an opportunity to share my view of the world with you. I hope it leads you to discover your relationship to wildlife and nature. Whether it’s an image of my favorite leopard sitting high in a tree, a mountaintop view, the focus of a research project, or a secluded beach on Maui, I hope you feel the connection to our world present in these moments.
It’s A Secret: A secluded beach, somewhere in Hawai’i, and of which I will not name the location to spoil another local quiet spot. Living in Hawai’i has its perks and downfalls, but when your favorite sandy locale gets overrun after being on the world’s best beach list year after year, and becomes littered with garbage, you learn to keep places like this to yourself.
Growth Requires Dirt, Water, Nutrients and Light…PS, so do you: Seeing the light of needing a change for self-fulfillment and growth. This is a section of my favorite trail on Oahu that I go exploring on with my husband and dog almost weekly. This is where I clear my head and found healing through nature. The air smells of fresh soil and warmth from the sun beams of light shining through the (non-native) cook pine canopy. The short trail curls through a maze of different landscapes from strawberry guava to yellow ginger and over ancient lava rock filled streams with picturesque little bathing pools at every turn.
My Girl: I met this leopard in the middle of the Serengeti just before I went back to college. There are things in life that change you-as if you can literally feel your heart begin to beat differently. I will never forget this moment; we were looking right at each other. At first, she was trying to figure out if I would be a tasty, easy treat. But then she was looking right through me and she changed my world. She saw me, and I saw her. She solidified for me that I made the right choice and told me everything was going to fall into place.
United: This was the first elephant herd I had the privilege to see in the wild. Watching them for almost an hour you could clearly tell they are communicating with sophistication and on a level, we could never understand. Their sympathy was evident when the baby of the herd fell and they created a circular recovery space, surrounding the calf with their bodies for protection.
Fall in Maine: Late autumn in Harpswell, Maine, and the best time of year in New England. Crispy air and the turn of seasons. When you break out the boots, fleece jacket, and finish stacking your cords of wood for to prep for the long winter.
Green Sea Turtle Rescue: Out on an ocean swim with friends one day, I noticed this green sea turtle swimming a little strangely. As it moved through the light patches twinkling from the waves above, I could see a shiny object near its body and right fore-flipper. Able to swim directly over it, I saw the turtle had a hook in its flipper and fishing line coming from its mouth and was struggling to swim while trying to pull the fishing line away from its face. Luckily, this time, we got the turtle ashore, and removed the hook and fishing line as quickly as I noticed the problem, and the turtle swam away without harm.
Manu o kū: Manu o kū are a native Hawaiian seabird, known for their snow-white feathers and an odd nesting habit of incubating eggs on a tree branch depression or fork where the egg will rest until hatching. Culturally significant, when spotted by ancient Polynesian voyagers, these birds would lead them home to land. Known to nest in colonies in most areas, the only place you will find these birds on any of the main Hawaiian Islands is in the city of Honolulu. Not on the Big Island, or Kauai, and not even on Oahu on the North Shore or the Waianae coast, only in the greater Honolulu area. These seabirds were my first focus and experience of research with wildlife. Although, I was never a bird person before this project, manu o kū have grown on me. Through learning about them, I’ve learned a lot about Hawaiian history and culture, bringing me closer to the place where I call home now.
Magogo: This is my South African magogo, meaning grandmother in isiZulu. On an internship in South Africa last June I had the opportunity to spend a day following an all-female anti-poaching group delivering food parcels to the elderly and families in communities surrounding a nature reserve. This woman and I spent some time laughing together. After a while she asked me to stay and live with her, and marry her son. In Hawaii it’s called ‘hanai’ granddaughter, or ‘hanai’ magogo, meaning ‘adopted’. She made me feel at home in an instant and I wished I could have stayed.
My city: Sunrise over the city of Honolulu, my home, and a place I love.
“Reclaim power mentorship has sparked a transformation and confidence in myself that in some ways I didn’t know I needed. The conversations, support, resources and wholeness I’ve felt as a part of this group is something I will treasure forever. The value I’ve found in the friendships I’ve developed is one of the best parts about the shared aspect of the mentorship. That there are people from such different, yet connected backgrounds has opened my eyes to new ideas, partnerships, and solutions that I wouldn’t have been exposed to anywhere else. Dani has been a true friend, a confidant, a person I can trust and lean on when I’m feeling off and someone to belly laugh with. She is kind, generous, powerful and warm; I’m so grateful our paths have crossed <3 I’ve felt challenged to grow and compelled expand my mind and heart through our discussions and workshops. I can’t thank Dani and my friends here enough for the insight and comradery I’ve felt over the past year. Mahalo nui loa, and all my love for your kindness, guidance, listening and love!”
— Laura