Hale Piha Living Seed Groves project overview

Hale Piha - Kaʻū Community Kīpuka

The Hale Piha Living Seed Groves Project aims to restore pockets of native forest in former sugar cane land and address the demand in human use for culturally significant plants in the Kaʻū forest: maile, olonā, māmaki, wauke, nuku'i'iwi, and three varieties of Hawaiian bananas. Each of the first four plants need a shaded canopy overhead and seldom reproduce until they've reached the crown of their host tree; the site is in transition from open pasture to a complex forest structure, and the time it takes for the first cohort of native canopy trees to begin providing shade could be a decade or longer. Initial planting of the canopy species have been completed and support for expansion, propagation, and maintenance is still needed. The resulting living seed groves are intended as a place where managed gathering of plants for making lei, spinning cordage, kapa or cloth, and sought-after propagative material can be sourced, with additional benefits including low-elevation habitat for native species, an accessible space for educational programming, and a location for future forest restoration seed collection. No specific request or change is stated in the submission.