Maui-based nonprofit Treecovery Hawaiʻi first took root in the wake of the wildfires that swept through portions of the Valley Isle nearly 18 months ago.
The organization's goal is to keep surviving trees alive within the burn zones of Lahaina and Kula, as well as provide free trees to families affected by those fires on Aug. 8, 2023, its founder and President Duane Sparkman told Aloha State Daily earlier this month.
Sparkman — who has lived on Maui since 1995 and now chairs the Maui County Arborist Committee — has a background doing large-scale landscaping and maintenance,now works full-time as chief engineer at Royal Lahaina Resort and Bungalows. Treecovery Hawaiʻi is a side project that came about because he saw a gap in future tree availability, “and just making sure that we have these trees ready for these families when it comes time. That’s really what this is about,” he said.
The organization incorporated in November 2023 as a result of the fires and received its nonprofit status the following April, he said.
“From there we’ve raised almost $400,000 and we have all kinds of partnerships, from resorts to airlines to your private homes to different farms and different nurseries,” Sparkman told ASD. “It’s really amazing.”
The nonprofit has 21 active “grow hubs” across the island, from Kīpahulu to Kapalua, located on private land and even on some resort properties.
“We have a resort in Wailea [for example] where we’re growing trees on their property because they have affected families. They want to help. They have space. They have water. They have employees. They have everything there,” Sparkman said. “So why not bestow them some kuleana and say ‘you grow your trees for your affected families?’ Then their own employees can walk up and visit their tree if they want because it’s on property.”
Sparkman says these "grow hubs" are "partial nurseries." Plants aren't sold, but staged for the "tree grow-out duration."
The types of trees being grown at these spots are varied and include mango, avocado, various citrus varieties, mountain apple, cherry, lychee, ʻulu, starfruit fruit trees, as well as plumeria, royal poinciana, shower trees, orchid trees, a variety of palms, monkey pod, koa, koaiʻa, ʻōhiʻa, alaheʻe, wiliwili, hau, naio, kamani, milo and more.
According to Sparkman, some 21,000 trees burned in Lahaina and only about 1,000 survived.
"So the mortality rate was really high with the tree loss," he said. "It's really devastating because there were so many good, different types of fruits and different types of trees there because families put their life into growing these things. [They would] come home and water it and baby it and talk to it and love it, and then youʻd have these trees that should not be growing in Lahaina, thriving in Lahaina — and they burned. So we're trying to figure out how do we get those back to the families."
Treecovery has 4,500 potted trees in its hubs and has identified 175 trees in the burn zone for watering, he noted.
How it works
Sparkman said when people reach out, they’re sent a link to a survey where they explain what they’ve lost and whether that’s what they want replaced or what they’d like instead. Treecovery helps with species selection and counts according to lot size, he said.
When it’s time to deliver the trees, “now we get to discuss proper tree spacing, proper tree planting, fire mitigation programs,” he said. “How do you look around your home and make sure you don’t have ignition points? You make sure that you plant in the prevailing winds, you’re putting really moist, water-loving trees or very clean, shaded areas to put the fires out before it gets to your home. So there’s ways that we can help these people properly plant now, just in case something happens.”
The number of trees that can be requested is based upon the landowner's lot size and proper distribution across the lot, Sparkman said. To date, the nonprofit has given 125 trees to landowners ready to care for them.
Want to support the organization? Sparkman said monetary donations are the easiest way to do so. Treecovery Hawaii also accepts volunteer help and sells merchandise.
Among its collaboration efforts and support from other organizations, the nonprofit also has partnered with Maui-based artists — sculptor Dale Zarrella and luthier Steve Grimes — to raise funds. Half of the sales from sculptures and instruments made from trees salvaged from the burn zones will go to Treecovery Hawaiʻi.
Those interested in donating, volunteering or buying merchandise can find more information or reach out at treecoveryhawaii.org.
Looking ahead to the new year, Treecovery Hawaiʻi is expecting continued growth.
Sparkman said the organization is beginning the process of hiring its first employee — either an operational or project manager — in the first quarter of the year.
“At that point, we’ll have a lot more help, which is very needed,” he said.
What about the banyan?
Lahaina’s famed banyan tree — which is included on the “Exceptional Trees of Maui County” list and its care is overseen by the Maui County Arborist Committee and a county arborist — was severely damaged in the August 2023 wildfire that decimated the surrounding community.
Now, more than 17 months after the deadly blaze, the tree continues its recovery.
Sparkman said the heat load from surrounding buildings destroyed the leaf canopy during the 2023 fire, but the tree itself only caught fire in a small spot.
Treecovery and the Maui County arborist work to maintain the tree and look at it roughly two or three times a month, “just making sure that it’s doing alright," he said.
About 45% of the tree has been removed as of early January, Sparkman said, including about 20 vertical trunks. But a “large” section of the tree recently broke in the wind and fell down, he said Jan. 10, and arborists were set to cut more of the tree as a result.
There will be more maintenance still, he said, noting that a temporary irrigation system means the tree is getting water every day and soil inoculations are reintroducing microbes back into place, he said.
According to Sparkman, nine air layers of the banyan have been collected so far and another 20 are expected to be collected in the coming month. These will be displayed at various resorts that are supporting Treecovery and when the time comes, he said the host resort managers will plant those specimens back in the park.
The banyan tree was planted in 1873, making it 152 years old this year. That’s still “fairly young” in the lifespan of such a tree, which Sparkman says can live up to 1,000 years.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
