Monday, Sept. 23, 2019

Nathan Serota: (808) 768-3046

Three North Shore parks greener through tree planting project

HALE‘IWA – An iconic stretch of O‘ahu’s North Shore has become greener as 72 trees have been planted within three city beach parks throughout this month.

The Department of Parks and Recreation Division of Urban Forestry planted a wide variety of trees within Kai‘aka Bay, Hale‘iwa Ali‘i, and Hale‘iwa beach parks. The variety of trees range from milo to monkeypods, hau to heliotrope.

In December 2017, Mayor Kirk Caldwell committed the city to two long-term goals designed to increase the amount and quality of trees being planted on our island. These goals specifically called for the planting of 100,000 trees by 2025, and increasing the urban tree canopy cover to 35% by 2035.

“One of the best things we can do as a community to ensure our continued health and prosperity is to plant trees,” said Mayor Caldwell. “It is estimated that for every $1 we put into investing in our trees we receive $3 back in benefit, whether environmental, social, or economic in nature. While it is important to continue planting and managing our trees, it must be done in a thoughtful and planned way to ensure that the trees can be a part of our natural environment for generations to come.”

The nearly $165,500 contract for the tree plantings was awarded to Island Landscaping and Maintenance Inc.

Other recent tree planting projects include:

Halekoa Drive (46 trees)

Hanauma Bay (11 trees)

Ala Moana Regional Park (96 trees)

Honolulu Hale (28 trees)

Anania Drive (56 trees)

Unfortunately, three of the new milo trees planted at Hale‘iwa Ali‘i Beach Park were stolen on Saturday, Sept. 14 or Sunday, Sept. 15. The estimated cost of the stolen milo trees is $3,500. They will be replaced. The Department of Parks and Recreation has filed a police report, and the crime is being investigated as Theft in the Third Degree. Anyone with information about the stolen trees is asked to call 911 or Honolulu CrimeStoppers at (808) 955-8300.

For more information about our urban forest, how you can help us to plant more tree plantings, and other arboriculture resources please visit the “Urban Forest” webpage for the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.

—PAU—

Follow the Department of Parks and Recreation on social media:

Twitter: @honolulu_parks Instagram: @honolulu_parks Facebook: facebook.com/honolulu.parks