THANK YOU Dear friend, Thanks to your support, a total of 40,463 trees were planted to restore 107 hectares of land across the region of Mauna Kea in the Island of Hawaii. By planting trees in areas that have been degraded or deforested, reforestation helps the environment by guaranteeing, or accelerating the reestablishment of healthy forest structure by regrowing the forest canopy and preserving biodiversity within the ecosystem. None of this would be possible without you. On behalf of everyone at One Tree Planted, thank you! What follows is a report outlining the project you supported in Hawaii. I hope you enjoy reading it and truly feel the impact you have made.
Matt Hill Chief Environmental Evangelist 1
WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED 40,463 TREES AND SHRUBS PLANTED
107
HECTARES RESTORED
71
WOMEN INVOLVED
36
YOUTH INVOLVED
160
VOLUNTEERS
Māmane, Koa, `ili`ahi, and others
SITE FACTS: Hawaiian dry and mesic forests are vulnerable to a number of threats and have been severely degraded by fire and invasive species, leading to declines of native species and more frequent and intense wildfires. In the absence of protection and management, these habitats remain vulnerable and unsuitable for many threatened and endangered native species.
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Fortunately, some remnant forests on State lands have cost-effective restoration potential. Given adequate protection and restoration efforts, these remaining dry and mesic forest habitats will benefit and support diverse native ecosystems. This project contributes to the management and restoration of a key forest area of the Island.
BIODIVERSITY BENEFITS Restoration of the forests will increase ecosystem diversity in these areas, providing habitat for numerous native species, including several endangered and threatened plants and animals like the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat. Fire risks will likely diminish as the forest canopy closes and grass densities decline due to increased shading. Changes in soil moisture and wind velocity due to increases in tree size and density should also help reduce fire threats.
COMMUNITY IMPACTS This project brings together diverse land stewards to restore the storied lei māmane and the abundance of life it will support. It invests in the biocultural training of young professionals that will integrate the best information, practices and techniques from both Western and Native Hawaiian Knowledge Systems, and through this integration, build social, economic, cultural and ecological resilience to environmental change. This project will also serve as a model for landscape-level habitat restoration efforts statewide, and provide more educational benefits through extensive community involvement.
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"The purpose of this project is to facilitate and accelerate forest recovery. This will effectively mitigate threats of wildfire and alien weeds to secure suitable recovery habitat for endangered birds, the endangered Hawaiian Hoary Bat, and dozens of plants and invertebrates listed as candidates or species of concern."
Kyleigh Hughes Project Manager USA (West Coast)