courtesy Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative

WAIKOLOA VILLAGE, Hawaii – The caretakers of the Waikoloa Dry Forest opened the preserve this weekend. Volunteers also planned to plant trees in the Ānuenue and Ho’ōla hou areas of Waikoloa Village and tackle some nursery work.

The Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative is a non-profit organization that manages a 275 acre dry forest preserve and restoration project near Waikoloa Village.

From a recent newsletter:

Some of our work in the Waikoloa Dry Forest is supported by grants while other programs are only possible because of contributions made by individuals and businesses in our community that believe in what we are doing and can see our vision and the value of our work. This year we are working toward replacing fifteen acres of invasive grassland with native trees and shrubs and reducing the threat of fire to hundreds of acres within Waikoloa. We are expanding our educational programs and opening up the preserve to the public for weekly visiting hours. We will continue to educate our local youth about our native ecosystems and stewardship, promote Hawaiian culture through educational workshops, train our young people though internships, plant thousands of native seedlings, introduce hundreds of people to our native trees for the first time and share what the forest has to offer and teach us with our community (and maybe share with a few of you that the flower up top is called ʻŪlei and is one of five native Hawaiian plants in the Rose family). Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative

LINK: Waikoloa Dryforest Initiative