Skylar Benedict is an enthusiastic student of languages, aquatic plants, and blues music currently in his third year as doctoral student in the University for Arizona School of Anthropology. Pursuing studies in applied environmental anthropology, Skylar currently researches community conceptions of mangrove value and their relationship to estuary management and food cultivation in both Sonora, Mexico and O’ahu, Hawai’i. Skylar’s work blends participant observation and informal interviews to investigate how people in both communities articulate their relationships with mangroves and other forms of estuarine life. The CRFS research award helped to reduce the substantial cost of short-term housing on O’ahu for Skylar during the summer of 2022 to pursue this research.