UA HUA KA ‘ĀHUI HALA // After months of waiting, the ʻāhui hala is finally fruiting! As we shift into kauwela, the seasonal changes are beginning to reveal themselves. Vibrant shades of red, orange, and green fill the hala grove, and the sweet-earthy fragrance of ripened ʻāhui hala drifts on the light but steady winds. Beneath the gentle swaying pūhala, even more hala are revealed as we seek refuge from the midday sun. Summer has arrived and we are definitely feeling the wela in kauwela. #kauwela #ʻāhuihala #lauhala #kohala #kilo (fb)

Planting Piko: Experimenting with Agroforestry as a Community What does it take to grow forests together as a community? In February, farmers and community members from Waimea, Puʻukapu, Kawaihae, and Kohala, joined us at Keawewai as we planted phase two of our Native Forest Starter Kit trials, focused on establishing an agroforestry (growing food and forest plants together) experiment site. Six circular “piko” were created as sites for experimental planting where native forest trees and shrubs could be interspersed with Hawaiian kō (sugarcane) varieties. Diverse perspectives from the farmers, foresters, and community members planting together helped to inform decisions around the unique arrangement of the plants at each piko while strengthening the bonds between the kānaka planting them. “Kō is strong against the wind, but only in the direction they’re used to having the wind blow,” shared one Puʻukapu farmer. “When the wind blows the other way, all the kō break; that’s what guided where we put the kō in our piko.” Another planter reflected: “I felt like the kō could act like a backboard, bouncing the moisture from the mist and fog that runs through here back onto the other plants.” Will one placement of kō lead to healthier forest plants? Will the relative placement of trees and shrubs to create the conditions for some piko to grow faster than others? Our team will continue to care for these piko and kilo to see what the different planting styles can teach us. “Today makes me excited to go home and experiment with how I plant on my own ʻāina!” said one farmer. This excitement for planting native forests is exactly what we hope our Native Forest Starter Kits will continue to inspire across North Hawaiʻi. #nativeforest #pikoplanting #kohala #agroforestry #mahiʻai (fb)