Our MHC staffers had some fun in the mud at @uhlyonarboretum today. The morning was spent pulling weeds from the arboretum’s mala kalo to give thanks for the beautiful floral arrangements Lyon Arboretum had given us for our Dancing in the Moonlight evening gala. If you’re around Mānoa—maybe visiting MHC for a tour or a workshop—be sure to check out Lyon Arboretum. Established in 1918, the arboretum and botanical garden is home to an extensive collection of native Hawaiian and Polynesian plants—and great people. Mahalo nui Lyon Arboretum!

Munroidendron (Polyscias racemosa) is an endemic tree that was once thought to be the sole member of the genus Munroidendron. Now reclassified as a member of the genus Polyscias, this beautiful flowering plant is easy enough to grow in cultivation, but remains critically endangered in its natural habitat on Kauaʻi’s coastal and mesic forests. You can gaze upon their rich purple berries and fuzzy green leaves at the corner of Mānoa Heritage Center’s White Garden, the section closest to Kūkaʻōʻō. Here, four different generations of Munroidendron are growing in the same spot their seeds sprouted years ago!

Through rain and, well, more rain, we had 46 dedicated volunteers come to MHC last Saturday to assist local scout Kyle’s Eagle Scout project of clearing an unused and overgrown hill on the side of Kūkaʻōʻō Heiau—right below the White Garden. “It was an implantable area and an overgrown slope,” says MHC Facilities Manager Kevin Prior. “But Kyle and his volunteers came and conquered, and we were able to make four more garden beds.” Working hard—and together—the effort put in by Kyle and those who volunteered their time truly shows what can be done with enough teamwork and dedication. And there will be more to come on what will be planted in these garden beds, so stay tuned!

Open to all ages and running from June 3rd to June 12th (King Kamehameha Day, June 11, will be observed), Mānoa Heritage Center’s Summer Hula Camp returns this summer and looks to build on our previous hula camps. Kumu Kilohana Silve of Hālau Hula o Mānoa will integrate ma ka hana ka ‘ike hands-on activities while sharing mo‘olelo (stories) and teaching a new hula noho (“Auhea O Ka Lani”) to participants at this 7-day hula workshop. Running from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. daily, those interested in a week of learning, dancing and chanting can sign up for our annual Summer Hula Camp by hitting the link in our profile bio. All ages are welcome—last year our class age range spanned from 5 to 92!—and no previous hula experience is needed to attend.

Working to refurbish and restore a water catchment and plant nursery that Hanahauʻoli School students built five years ago, this year’s class of 4th and 5th graders were kept busy working with Uncle Kevin on a variety of tasks. From stabilizing support pillars to building a compost deck, making water catchment gutters, crafting cabinets and more, these wonderful keiki accomplished so much in the months they spent working on property. Mahalo nui loa keiki of Hanahauʻoli School for the hard work and a big thank you to @malama.manoa for funding the project with a generous contribution.

Lei Day at Mānoa Heritage Center was spent making lei with University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa staff and faculty, and our wonderful educators Keʻala and Jenny led a small group in making ti leaf lei. In 1929, Lei Day was officially recognized as a holiday in Hawaiʻi, however the first Lei Day was observed in 1927. A celebration of Hawaiʻi’s culture and the art of making lei, Lei Day stands as a symbol of aloha and is one of our island’s best smelling and most colorful holidays.

To conclude this month of celebrating native plants, we set our sights on the wiliwili, also known as the Erithryina sandwicensis. Wiliwili, named for the way their seed pods twist and turn, is the only endemic Erythrina to Hawaiʻi, with many relatives spanning Africa, Asia and the Americas. Although their gorgeous blooms won’t be present until Oct—Nov, this dryland tree is currently entering the deciduous period of their seasonal cycle, where many of its leaves shed and is a marvel in itself! Dropping many, if not all, leaves helps the tree reduce the amount of water required to sustain itself through our hot, dry summers. The specimen on our campus has yet to flower since being planted in 2018, but the abundance of leaf litter these past few days is starting to get our hopes up—tune in later this year to see if our hunch is right!

Hōʻawa (Pittosporum hosmeri) is an endemic shrub/tree whose fruit was once a primary food source for the ‘alalā, the only remaining endemic corvid (crow) in Hawaiʻi—which is now extinct in the wild. The genus name, Pittosporum, derived from the Greek word for “pitch-seed,” refers to its large sticky seeds, and the specific epithet hosmeri refers to Hawaiʻi’s first territorial forester, Ralph Sheldon Hosmer. Hosmer, acting on behalf of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association and the Territorial Government, guided forth Act 44 on April 25th, 1903, placing a quarter of Hawaiian lands, which consisted of government buildings and private holdings, into Hawaiʻi’s Forest Reserve System. This was to combat both the drought that threatened economic interests of plantation owners, as well as to aid against the timber shortage plaguing the U.S. at the time. Much like the symbiotic relationship between the hō’awa and ʻalalā, Hosmer realized that humans could not survive without a resilient watershed. Mānoa Heritage Center sends our mahalo to Hawaiian foresters of the past, present, and future, for planting trees whose shade they will never sit in. I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope.

Our latest quarterly conservation lecture—Kahaukani Conversations—featured Dr. Patrick Hart, a biologist and avian researcher working for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. In an hour-long Zoom discussion, Dr. Hart gave an insightful explanation about the extensive repertoire of bird song that can be vocalized by Hawaiʻi’s native birds—as well as how that vocabulary is shrinking due to our feathered friends’ dwindling population. You can check out the full recording of Dr. Hart’s talk on our YouTube account by hitting the link in our bio.