Boosting coastal resilience, 40 community-minded individuals, including both locals and tourists, gathered to plant 900 native species along the shoreline at Lower Pāʻia Park, as reported by Maui County's official website. The initiative, orchestrated by the County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) in concert with the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program, aimed not just to green the landscape but to combat environmental threats like erosion and rising sea levels.
In a statement made by Maui County, DPR Director Patrick McCall expressed his thanks: “Mahalo to all the volunteers whose hands and hearts made this work possible. Hosting a volunteer day increases community engagement, nourishes the relationship between people and the land, and reflects the county’s strong commitment to sustainability.” The plants, including pōhuehue, ʻakiʻaki, and ʻākulikuli, were all reared at the County DPR Maintenance Division Beautification Section's very own native plant nursery.
The event kicked off on October 20 with a traditional Hawaiian prayer, pule, followed by an educational session on the importance of dune restoration. The native flora plays a crucial role in sand accumulation which effectively leads to dune formation. Dunes serve as a natural defense against the encroachment of the ocean, fortifying the shoreline against environmental hazards.
DPR’s native plant nursery has become quite the eco-hub, cultivating over 30 native plant species and has propagated more than 4,000 native plants to date. Approximately 2,000 of those have been committed to dune restoration efforts on Maui, in a collective push with the Surfrider Foundation Maui Chapter and other partners.
