DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

DAVID Y. IGE

GOVERNOR

SUZANNE D. CASE

CHAIRPERSON

JOINT NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 13, 2020

Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death Found at Limahuli and Waipā on Kaua‘i’s North Side

-Enhanced bio-sanitation efforts are strongly encouraged-

(Līhu‘e) – The Kaua‘i Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death Working Group announced today two new detection sites where the fungal disease has killed ‘ōhi‘a, the most prevalent tree in Hawai‘i’s native forests and a tree critical for the preservation of Hawai‘i’s watersheds. 

Upon seeing ‘ōhi‘a consistent with the external symptoms of Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death (ROD) at Limahuli Garden and Preserve, director Lei Wann had the tree sampled. Wood from the tree’s sapwood, where the fungus grows, is necessary to test for the presence of the disease. USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARC) in Hilo ran their molecular testing protocol and confirmed the presence of Ceratocystis huliohia.

Two different species of fungal pathogens result in the rapid killing of ‘ōhi‘a trees. Both enter trees through a wound, be it a broken limb, twig or perhaps, a scuffed up exposed root. Whereas C. huliohia may take months to years to kill ʻōhiʻa, C. lukuohia can kill a tree within weeks.

“We suspected it was only a matter of time before we might see ROD in our valley, so we were watching for it,” Wann said. “We also knew that recent catastrophic weather events likely wounded ‘ōhi‘a in the valley, making them vulnerable to infection.” 

A day after the Limahuli results, two other ‘ōhi‘a tested positive—one tree for C. huliohia and the other for C. lukuohia. These trees were targeted for sampling after they were spotted during recent island-wide helicopter surveys by the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee (KISC). Both are located between 446-feet and 870-feet elevation in a remote region of Waipā valley.

Limahuli Garden is part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), a network of five botanical gardens, preserves and research facilities encompassing nearly 2,000 acres in Hawai‘i and Florida. The infected tree was located ten feet off the garden’s forest walk pathway. Within a day of learning the test results, a crew from DOFAW felled and tarped the tree to contain the spread of the disease. . Wann is working with KISC to implement a site-specific management plan that includes monitoring trees via drone imagery, installing bio-sanitation stations, increased messaging and education with guests, among other activities.

“Bio-security has always been an important process of all parts of operations at Limahuli, whether you are coming to visit the garden or a scientist flying on a helicopter into our upper preserve,” Wann said. “Yet since this detection, we have increased our efforts. We aim to be a leading example of bio-security best practices for the state. This will help to protect not only our ‘ōhi‘a but all species in Limahuli valley.”

Also on the north shore, Waipā is a 1,600-acre ahupua‘a owned by Kamehameha Schools. “Our mission is to restore Waipā’s vibrant natural systems and resources and inspire healthy, thriving communities connected to their resources,” said Stacy Sproat-Beck, executive director for Waipā Foundation, the nonprofit organization and living learning center that manages the ahupua‘a. “While we are all saddened that ROD has come to Waipā, the diseased trees are in areas that we never access, so we know that it was brought by vectors beyond our control, and we’re increasing our bio-sanitation and education efforts to help raise awareness and save ‘ōhi‘a in all its locations.”

The microscopic fungal spores that infect ‘ōhi‘a are released into the environment in the frass (sawdust-like refuse) of boring beetles and can be blown in wind and move around the island in mud. “Theoretically, all it takes is one spore to infect an ‘ōhi‘a tree,” said Tiffani Keanini, project manager of KISC. Increased bio-sanitation measures will help prevent the spread of Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death, as well as other invasive species.

“‘Ōhi‘a play an important part of our native ecosystems and are equally important culturally to Native Hawaiians and support our foundation as a lāhui,” said Coty “Buffy” Trugillo, Kamehameha Schools Regional Director for Kaua‘i & Ni‘ihau. “ʻĀina Pauahi is ʻāina Kauaʻi and we will work fervently alongside our neighbors and partners to address Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death while respecting the needs and concerns of our entire Kauaʻi community.”

The disease is now found in pockets across the island with the lone exception being the northwest, one of the richest sites of biodiversity in the state. “For the sake of so many of our island’s rare and endemic species, it’s absolutely vital we do everything we can to keep Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death from Koke‘e State Park and the Alaka‘i Plateau,” said Sheri S. Mann, Kaua‘i District Manager for DOFAW. 

ʻŌhi‘a die for many reasons, although symptoms consistent with Rapid ʻŌhi‘a Death include the sudden browning of leaves on limbs or the entire crowns of trees. The fungus is not visible on the leaves or the bark but grows in the sapwood just below the bark and impacts the flow of water in the tree. 

Since the first case of Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death was detected on Kaua‘i in 2018, the Kaua‘i ROD Working Group , a rapid response team including scientists and managers from DLNR/DOFAW, KISC, The Nature Conservancy, National Tropical Botanical Garden, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, and the University of Hawai‘i, has been working together to conduct sampling island-wide and implement management strategies.. Since the disease was first detected on Kaua‘i , 248 trees have been sampled. 67 have tested positive for C. lukuohia and 50 for C. huliohia. One tree has tested positive for both. The ROD Working Group has collected nearly nine million ‘ōhi‘a seeds and more than 300 ‘ōhi‘a seedlings have been given away to people. The group continues to reach people through various educational events that include presentations, documentary screenings, workshops on collecting and sowing ‘ōhi‘a seeds, and more.

As there is no known cure, experts encourage these practices:

1) Avoid injuring ʻōhiʻa. Wounds serve as entry points for the fungus and increase the odds that the tree will become infected and die. Avoid pruning and contact with heavy equipment wherever possible. Avoid cutting new trails in ‘ōhi‘a forests and stepping on their roots.

2) Clean gear and tools, including shoes and clothes, before and after entering the forest and areas where ʻōhiʻa may be present. Brush all soil off tools and gear, then spray with 70% rubbing alcohol. Wash clothes with hot water and soap and, if possible, dry on the high heat setting in the dryer.

3) Wash your vehicle with a high-pressure hose or washer if you’ve been off-roading or have picked up mud from driving. Clean all soil off tires—including mountain bikes and motorcycles—and vehicle undercarriage, preferably with soap and water.

4) Don’t move ʻōhiʻa wood or ʻōhiʻa parts, including adjacent soil. The disease can be spread to new areas by moving plants, plant parts, and wood from infected areas to non-infected areas. 

5) Keep your eyes open. If you see ʻōhiʻa with a limb or crown turning brown, take a picture and send it to KISC via email (saveohia@hawaii.edu) or phone (808-821-1490) and describe exactly where you saw the tree. Samples of the wood must be taken by trained technicians and tested in a laboratory to confirm the presence of the ROD fungi.

To learn more about Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death, visit www.rapidohiadeath.org and sign up for the Kaua‘i quarterly newsletter—‘Ōhi‘a: Tree of Life—at www.kauaiisc.org.

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RESOURCES

Video and Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hhUw_KoML6EmT0SUWfTIWW6z7CzNn66_?usp=sharing

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Last Updated June 2, 2020

National Tropical Botanical Garden, including our network of five gardens (Allerton, McBryde, Limahuli, and Kahanu in Hawaii, and The Kampong in Florida), is diligently monitoring the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. We are following the protocols and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Hawaii State Department of Health, and the Florida State Department of Health. We have taken all recommended sanitation, hygiene, and social distancing precautions and, in compliance with government directions, have suspended all tour operations until further notice. 

Please check below for the latest news on visitor programs at each of our five garden locations. When tours resume, we hope that our open-air, outdoor spaces and warm climate will provide some tranquility, rejuvenation, and respite during what may be a time of stress. Please know that your safety and enjoyment when visiting National Tropical Botanical Garden are paramount to all of us who work here. If you have any questions or concerns please contact our headquarters at (808) 332-7324. 

Please see below for the status of Tours and Events for each of our Gardens.

Please continue to check this site for further updates as they are available.

Headquarters, South Shore Visitors Center, McBryde Garden and Allerton Garden, Kauai:

TOURS

We are excited that Kauai Mayor Kawakami’s Emergency Rule #10 has been approved by Hawaii Governor Ige, and as of May 22, 2020, outdoor based tours are authorized to resume on Kauai. We are preparing resumptions of our operations to abide by all CDC industry guidelines, enhancing our sanitation protocols, and training our staff, hoping to open at least McBryde Garden by early June. Please check back here for updates and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or sign up for periodic garden updates at https://ntbg.org/gobotanical/. Once we have a date confirmed for reopening, reservations will be available through online booking at https://ntbg.org/gardens/tours/.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the Garden!

SOCIAL MEDIA

During this period, more than ever, our presence on social media offers a great way to learn about NTBG’s critical, mission-driven work in the areas of plant conservation, science, and education. We invite you to visit us regularly on our Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. There you’ll find Garden news, updated information, photos, videos, links to important articles and other publications, and more. If you don’t already follow us there, please join us.

EVENTS POSTPONED

• No event postponements to report

When it is safe to resume group events, the status of weddings and other private events at McBryde Garden and the South Shore Visitors Center will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Gwen Silva at gsilva@ntbg.org.

Limahuli Garden and Preserve, Kauai:

TOURS

At the request of the Governor of Hawaii, Limahuli Garden tours are suspended. In recognition of the importance of “flattening the curve,” our staff are following CDC guidelines and largely working from home. Garden tours are expected to resume after the CDC and government authorities have announced it is safe to do so. Please check this page for announcements and news updates. When tour operations do resume, reservations can be made at https://ntbg.org/gardens/tours/.

EVENTS POSTPONED

No event postponements to report

Kahanu Garden and Preserve, Hana, Maui:

TOURS

At the request of the Governor of Hawaii, Kahanu Garden tours are suspended. In recognition of the importance of “flattening the curve,” our staff are following CDC guidelines and largely working from home. Garden tours are expected to resume after the CDC and government authorities have announced it is safe to do so. Please check this page for announcements and news updates. When tour operations do resume, reservations can be made at https://ntbg.org/gardens/tours/.

EVENTS POSTPONED

No event postponements to report

The Kampong, Coconut Grove Florida:

TOURS

At the request of local officials, all Kampong guided and self-guided tours are suspended. In recognition of the importance of “flattening the curve,” our staff are following CDC guidelines and largely working from home. Garden tours are expected to resume after the CDC and government authorities have announced it is safe to do so. Please check this page for announcements and news updates. When tour operations do resume, reservations can be made at https://ntbg.org/gardens/tours/.

EVENTS POSTPONED

• No event postponements to report

By Nina Rønsted and Kenneth R. Wood

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1 INTRODUCTION

Oceanic island systems are generally characterized by high endemicity due to their isolation, but at the same time the unique biodiversity of many islands is currently experiencing high extinction rates, primarily due to habitat reduction and pressure from invasive weeds and predators (Barnosky et al., 2011; Bruegman, Caraway, & Maunder, 2002). With 90% of its nearly 1,400 native plants classified as endemic, Hawai’i has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region of the world (Wagner, Herbst, & Lorence, 2005; Wagner, Herbst, & Sohmer, 1999).

In 1991, a team of botanists from Hawai’i’s National Tropical Botanical Garden helicoptered into the headwaters of a remote towering waterfall more than 500 m above sea level in Limahuli valley on northern Kaua’i (Figure 1a,b). During their botanical exploration one of the botanists, Ken Wood, made an extraordinary discovery: 12 plants of a new species of Cyanea with unusually narrow linear leaves (Wichman, 1992) (Figure 1c–e).

Cyanea kuhihewa Lammers. (a) Habitat North shore Kaua’i. (b) Map of Kaua’i showing Limahuli Valley. (c–e) Habit and flowers. Photographs and map (a,b) by Ken Wood; (c‐e) by David Lorence

Cyanea Gaudich. (Campanulaceae) is a genus comprised of branched and unbranched shrubs or palm‐like trees, which are endemic to Hawai’i. Seventy‐nine of the 85 known taxa are single island endemics. Cyanea species occur in mesic and wet‐forest habitat and are known for their colorfully arching flowers, and for their mutualistic relationship with several genera of nectarivorous Hawaiian honeycreepers (Fringillidae, Passeriformes) that provide pollination and dispersal of the fleshy fruits (Givnish et al., 2009; Lammers & Freeman, 1986).

Although Cyanea is one of the most species‐rich flowering plant genera in Hawai’i, nearly half of the known species are considered Endangered or Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species and about 22 taxa are considered extinct in the wild (Wood, Oppenheimer, & Keir, 2019).

Only one Cyanea species with very narrow linear leaves was known at the time of the new Cyanea population discovery, namely Cyanea linearifolia Rock. That species was known only from the holotype collected on Kaua’i, along with a few additional specimens (Lammers, 1996), and was seen last in 1957. Consequently, C. linearifolia was presumed extinct probably due to the impacts of alien invasive species (Clark, 2016) and it was enthusiastically concluded that the 1991 collection represented a rediscovery of an extant population of a species presumed extinct (Wichman, 1992).

However, on subsequent comparison of Wood’s specimen of the newly discovered population, with the type and other specimens of Cyanea linearifolia, Thomas Lammers (1996) concluded that the new finding was actually a discovery of a new species of Cyanea. Wood´s collection differed from C. linearifolia in having flat or slightly revolute leaf margins, fewer‐flowered pubescent inflorescences with shorter peduncles and bracts that were longer than wide, and larger pubescent flowers (Lammers, 1996) (Figure 1c–e). The new species was named Cyanea kuhihewa Lammers—kuhihewa meaning “to suppose wrongly” in Hawaiian language—a reference to the confusion with C. linearifolia (Lammers, 1996). Based on its extremely small population size and habitat, C. kuhihewa was assessed and considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN red list of threatened species (Lorence, 2016).

In 1992, shortly after the discovery of C. kuhihewa, the devastating hurricane Iniki severely impacted all of Kaua’i and destroyed portions of the forest canopy around Limahuli. The storm was followed by an influx of alien invasive plants and animals, including rats, slugs, and plant diseases, and the single population of C. kuhihewa declined until the last known individual died in 2003 (Lorence, 2016; Wood, 2007).

In 2017, another team of botanists from The Nature Conservancy of Hawai’i and the National Tropical Botanic Garden, discovered a hitherto unknown population of three C. kuhihewa individuals in a nearby valley, uncovering a new opportunity to protect and re‐establish this unique Kaua’i species. As of September 2019, this new population includes two mature and two juvenile C. kuhihewa, along with around 11 tiny seedlings (Wood, unpublished). Kamehameha Schools, The Nature Conservancy and the National Tropical Botanical Garden are working together to monitor and protect C. kuhihewa with multi‐annual visits to the area. Goodnature rat traps have been set up in the area to minimize the possibility of rat predation. More than 1,000 seeds have been collected since 2017 which are stored in seed banks or are under propagation at Lyon Arboretum (O’ahu island, Hawai’i) and the National Tropical Botanical Garden. As the propagated plants mature they will be out‐planted in the Upper Limahuli Preserve in the Limahuli valley on the north coast of Kaua’i, which is managed by the National Tropical Botanical Garden. Continued surveys are also being conducted in the hope of discovering additional unknown populations.

2 THE UNIQUE HAWAIIAN FLORA

Cyanea is one of six genera of Hawaiian lobeliads, which are a group of circa 126 species in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, all of which are endemic to Hawai’i, and considered to be one of the most spectacular examples of adaptive radiation in plants (Givnish et al., 2009). The origin of this group has been debated because morphological data indicate multiple independent colonization events. However, based on molecular phylogenetic data, the Hawaiian lobeliads likely arrived at the Hawaiian islands by a single‐dispersal event about 13 million years ago (Givnish et al., 2009). Accelerated speciation and adaptive radiation in habitat, followed by changes in elevation and flower‐tube length in Cyanea, resulted in Hawaiian lobeliads being the most species‐rich single‐origin radiation of plants resolved on any single oceanic island or archipelago, making them a model case for understanding island speciation (Givnish et al., 2009; Lammers, 2007).

Oceanic island systems are generally characterized by high endemicity due to their isolation. With its wide range of bioclimatic zones, abundance of freshwater and sunlight critical to life, and lack of natural predators, Hawai’i developed into one of the major “hot spots” on Earth for plant endemism (Brooks et al., 2002; Steinbauer et al., 2016). With 90% of the nearly 1,400 native plants classified as endemic, Hawai’i has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region of the world (Wagner et al., 2005, 1999). Just like the Cyanea, many of these species are uniquely adapted to, and dependent on, their natural habitats, and are critical components of the local ecosystem.

3 A HAWAIIAN EXTINCTION CRISIS

In addition to its distinction as a global hotspot of endemism, Hawai’i has also recently been presented as a global extinction capital (Humphreys, Govaerts, Ficinski, Nic Lughadha, & Vorontsova, 2019), with about 134 native Hawaiian plant species reported extinct since the 1840s (Bruegmann et al., 2002; Wood et al., 2019). In comparison to continental sites, these species have an exceptionally slim chance of ever being rediscovered (Humphreys et al., 2019). Nearly 240 Hawaiian plant species, 34 Cyanea species among them, are considered to have fewer than 50 individuals left in the wild, which is a criteria for a plant being considered Critically Endangered according to the IUCN red list of threatened species (IUCN, 2020; Plant Extinction Prevention Program, 2019) highlighting a more general ongoing extinction crisis in Hawai’i. There are several reasons for this endangerment, including habitat destruction, loss of pollinators and seed dispersers, invasive plants and animals, introduced diseases, and climate change (Barnosky et al., 2011; Bruegmann et al., 2002; Lammers & Freeman, 1986).

4 CONSERVING THE UNKNOWN

Hawai’i shares this pattern of decline and extinction with other island groups and many of these threatened species will not survive without extensive management, including habitat protection, restoration, and control of invasive weeds, animals and diseases (Bruegmann et al., 2002). In addition, carefully monitored ex situ conservation in seed banks and through propagation in living collections, as well as out‐planting, can contribute to conserve genetically healthy populations of these species (Fant et al., 2016). Governmental, non‐governmental organizations, and botanical gardens, must work together to address the extinction crisis. In Hawai’i, this is being implemented though the Hawai’i Conservation Alliance, which is a partnership of organizations and agencies working together to provide unified leadership, advocacy, and collaborative action to conserve and restore native ecosystems and the unique biodiversity of the islands of Hawai’i (Hawai’i Conservation Alliance, 2020). Successful conservation schemes are dependent on knowing and understanding the flora, however, several of the world’s most biodiverse countries and island systems are still lacking thorough floristic investigation, prohibiting formal assessment of threatened species, as well as meta‐analyses of changes in floristic patterns (Lack, 2012). When considering the extremely narrow endemicity and rarity of many island species, taxonomic confusion such as that surrounding C. kuhihewa, as alluded to by its name, may indeed be a serious impediment for assessing and improving the conservation status of a species.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The flora of Hawai’i is a hotspot of endemism, but the uniquely adapted native flora is highly vulnerable to disturbance, and losing just a few populations may mean losing one or more species. C. kuhihewa is one of about 85 taxa in this genus of charismatic Hawaiian lobeliads, most of which are uniquely adapted to a single island or are even narrower endemics from a single mountain or valley. About half of the genus is considered threatened, most of them with fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild. Reports of rediscovery of species previously thought to be extinct are always encouraging news, and we may still be able to safeguard C. kuhihewa through the ongoing combination of monitoring, weed and predator control, seed‐banking, propagation, and out‐planting.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Kamehameha schools and The Nature Conservancy of Hawai’i supported the fieldwork that led to the rediscovery of C. kuhihewa in 2017. Fondation Franklinia is thanked for financial support for the conservation of C. kuhihewa under the project Endangered Endemic Trees of Kaua’i project number 2020‐4.

Originally published by The New Phylogist Trust: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10099

Drone work being done at the National Tropical Botanical Garden has been featured on Vice News in an article entitled
These Botanists Are Searching for Endangered Plants With Drones — Then Scaling Cliffs to Save Them

Adam Williams and Ben Nyberg are like the Indiana Joneses of plant conservation, leading the crusade to preserve Hawaii’s most distinct — and endangered — plants.

Hawaii’s biodiversity is unique, largely because of its isolation: Nearly 90% of native plants don’t grow anywhere else in the world, according to the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources. But that isolation has also left it vulnerable to threats like invasive species and environmental changes. So even though Hawaii makes up less than 1% of U.S. landmass, it’s now home to nearly 45% of all endangered and threatened plants in the U.S.

See the full article on Vice.com
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bvgyea/these-botanists-are-searching-for-endangered-plants-with-drones-then-scaling-cliffs-to-save-them

HANA — A space to learn, appreciate and preserve the Valley Isle’s native history and plants — and everything in between — is “rare and special” to find.

But the Hana community came together to build just that with the new Kahanu Garden Visitor and Education Center, located at the entrance to the Kahanu Garden National Tropical Botanical Garden. It offers a place for visitors and residents to learn about the archaeological, botanical and cultural significance of the area.

“It was the only way we would have done this, to have the community involved,” said Kahanu Garden Director Mike Opgenorth on Thursday morning in Hana. “Especially when it comes to the visitors. Are we just trying to welcome visitors and have a transactional relationship?

“For us, the answer is no. We’re trying to have a deeper relationship where they’re learning about place, culture, the people, the plants, and how all those things are connected.”

Nonprofits Kahanu Garden and student construction apprentice program Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike collaborated with local contractor Kipahulu Construction in building the $400,000 structure, with the help of Hana’s youths. The funds were raised through grants and donations.

Mike Opgenorth, director of Kahanu Garden, shows an example of an educational display, where visitors can read about native plants and the island’s history inside the new Visitor and Education Center.

“To have the kids do it, their character reflects in so many things here in this building, and so without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.” Opgenorth said. “Having those values in the project from the beginning, I think we were really blessed.”

Prior to construction of the center, visitors only were welcomed by a small kiosk. Opgenorth said Kahanu Garden needed something more.

About 50 students, graduate apprentices and teachers of Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike, a program that focuses on helping the Hana community through construction projects and farming at Mahele Farm, took part in the project.

Construction lasted a year and the center was blessed in April 2018, but the doors didn’t open until September.

“One of the reasons why it was important to involve the youth of Hana in this scale of a project was that it provided learning opportunities every step of the way, from forming the foundation blocks to creating the artwork inside,” said Lipoa Kahaleuahi, executive director of Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike. “These students will become the caretakers of our community, and so it is important to align them with opportunities to be a part of that now.”

Surrounded by native Hawaiian landscaping and plants, adorned in Polynesian and Hawaiian architecture and supported by ohia tree posts, the Visitor and Education Center is meant to “educate, showcase and create a vision” of the past and future and just to “enjoy the garden and the space” as a community, Opgenorth said.

Inside, visitors are welcomed by koa, breadfruit, kamani and other Polynesian hardwoods, as well as murals, a mosaic, and stained glass handcrafted by Hana’s students using local hardwoods, some of which are harvested from the garden.

“When we were building at Kahanu Garden, I learned the process of building a structure from start to finish,” said Nakaula Kanaka’ole Park, one of the Hana High School student apprentices. “It felt good doing this because it’s for my community.”

“Also, working with the Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike crew was fun,” said Makana Keaulana.

There are knicknacks, crafts, souvenirs and other items for sale at the Visitor and Education Center, as well as a few historic pieces on display, such as a photograph of Piilanihale Heiau, a registered National Historic Landmark, and early newspaper clippings.

Visitors can view the Piilanihale Heiau in real life, too — a massive lava rock structure believed to be the largest of its kind in Polynesia and located on the garden’s premises.

Since Kahanu Garden is focused on preservation, it’s also home to a collection of native plants from the Pacific Islands, as well as Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.

Before starting the self-guided or guided tour, people can learn about how Kahanu Garden was established in 1974 after the Kahanu family and Hana Ranch deeded two parcels of land to the Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden.

The Visitor and Education Center is “only chapter one” of ideas planned for the garden, said Opgenorth. Other ideas include installing an artifacts display in the center and organizing more community events on the property.

“Whatever we do, we want to welcome and educate our visitors,” he said. “Allow folks to come in freely, but we also don’t want to be a scene because there are so many cultural sites that have been overrun.”

It’s important to “have our values at the forefront” of projects, he added, especially as Maui continues to host more visitors — reaching an all-time high of more than 3 million visitors last year.

A preemptive cap on the number of tourists who can be admitted each year to the botanical garden was set at 30,000 people, said Opgenorth. Visitor rates are currently about 16,000 per year, which is regulated through a sign-in sheet.

“I can only speak to this as a community member, but I think it is important in any place of significance to the Hawaiian culture that stewardship takes into consideration the impact of visitors and remains rooted to its significance to the people of that place,” Kahaleuahi said. “Placing a cap allows for room to remain for Hana residents, lineal descendants and kamaaina to connect while sharing the space with visitors.”

After driving the long dirt road entering the garden, the new structure comes into view, a symbol of a community effort to honor the land and to connect to the culture.

“Many people come with so much on their agenda — sometimes not every place is meant for visitors — and they don’t allow themselves to really experience or see or learn,” Kahaleuahi said. “As a community member, I hope visitors are enticed to pause just a little bit more after learning some of the history of this place, the families involved, the importance of it’s stewardship, first through the visitor and education center, then the garden itself.”

For more information about the Kahanu Garden National Tropical Botanical Garden, visit ntbg.org/gardens/kahanu.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

KAHANU GARDENS TOUR

Self guided:

• How long. 1.5 hours minimum.

• When. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Cost. Adults (18 and older), $10; teens (18-12), $5; children (12 and younger), free; kamaaina, $7; Hana residents, free.

Guided tour:

• How long. 2 hours.

• When. Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m.

• Cost. Adults (13 and older), $30; children (12 and younger), free.

Article originally published by the Maui News at:
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2020/02/preserving-teaching-cultural-roots-in-hana/

The National Tropical Botanical Garden has proudly received BGCI Conservation Practitioner Accreditation from Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

NTBG received the BGCI Botanic Garden Accreditation in 2019. This new accreditation, as a BGCI Conservation Practitioner, specifically emphasizes and acknowledges NTBG’s outstanding achievements in plant conservation policy, practice, and education.

NTBG continues to command a leading role in implementing targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the Hawaii Strategy for Plant Conservation which seeks to halt the continued loss of plant diversity.

NTBG is proud to be among the first accredited botanic gardens demonstrating excellence, commitment, and global leadership to plant conservation through its programs in Hawaii, Florida, and elsewhere.

ALLERTON GARDEN AND MCBRYDE GARDEN (South Shore of Kauai)
Dec. 18 Closed for staff appreciation party
Dec. 24 Open
Dec. 25 Last Allerton Garden tour departure is 12 noon. The last McBryde Garden tour departure is 12:30 p.m
Dec. 31 Open
Jan. 1 First Allerton Garden tour departure is from 11 a.m. The first McBryde Garden tour departure is from 11:30 a.m. Call (808) 742-2623 For more information.

LIMAHULI GARDEN (North Shore of Kauai)
Dec. 24 Open
Dec. 25 Closed
Dec. 31 Open
Jan. 1 Closed

KAHANU GARDEN (Hana, Maui)
Dec. 20 Open from 9 am with last admission at 10:30am (Closed early for Kahanu Staff Appreciation Party)
Dec. 24 9am-2pm
Dec. 25 Closed
Dec. 31 9am-2pm
Jan. 1 Closed

THE KAMPONG (Coconut Grove, Florida)
Dec. 24 Closed
Dec. 25 Closed
Dec. 31 Closed
Jan. 1 Closed