Windward Kohala native forest fenced and protected

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November 2021—Nearly 600 acres of native cloud forest on the upper slopes of windward Kohala Mountain are now completely fenced, protecting this high-yield watershed from one of its greatest threats: feral pigs. Over the past several years, in collaboration with Kohala Watershed Partnership partner and private landowner Laupāhoehoe Nui LLC, we built a perimeter fence to protect this vital and vulnerable ecosystem. Over the next year, we will focus on removing pigs and Himalayan ginger, another invasive species to further enable this forest to regenerate and its waters to recharge. Contact Mahina Patterson, ʻāina-based education specialist and ʻEke project manager, for more information.

Befriending the sources of our fresh water

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August 2021—We hope you’ll join us on our next Hoa‘āina Stewardship Day on Saturday, September 4! On our most recent visit to Kohala Mountain’s Koai‘a Tree Sanctuary, 15 island residents and visitors joined members of our Cloud Forest Ecosystem team to engage in meaningful hana (work) to help our native plants through this extra dry, hot season of kau wela. We weeded and watered some of the younger keiki previously planted, worked on maintaining trails through the Sanctuary, and collected ʻaʻaliʻi seeds to propagate in our new native tree nursery nearby. Together, we strengthened appreciation for our mesic forest ʻohana and their extreme resilience in such difficult conditions.