Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources

04/18/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/18/2024 14:49

04/18/24 – HAWAIʻI FORESTRY PROJECTS GET GRANT SUPPORT

JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR

DAWN CHANG
CHAIRPERSON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2024

HAWAIʻI FORESTRY PROJECTS GET GRANT SUPPORT

[Link]

(HONOLULU) - Newly awarded grant funding through the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is boosting support for local projects addressing diverse aspects of urban and community forestry. The range of topics includes management plans at the county level, building capacity to expand agroforestry and food access, distributing trees grown by residents, and planting and caring for street and park trees.

The Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program, part of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), will support the following three-year projects with U.S. Forest Service funding from the IRA:

  • ʻElepaio Social Services' Aʻo Pulapula Cultural Agroforestry Nursery Project will establish a community tree nursery and host education and outreach events to serve communities in Waiʻanae, Mākaha, and Nānākuli. The project will build community capacity to care for and propagate indigenous trees.

Dr. Heather McMillen, Hawai'i's Urban Forester and Kaulunani Program Coordinator, celebrates each grant recipient, stating: "These projects demonstrate the depth and range of urban and community forestry work happening in Hawaiʻi, as well as the vital role trees play in promoting public health, connection to place, and restoring land to ʻāina."

Koki Atcheson, Kaulunani IRA Community Partnerships Coordinator, said, "Urban and community forestry projects are unique in their ability to offer simultaneous benefits to ecological, social, and food systems among many others. These awards are evidence of organizations' thorough preparation and effort to deepen relationships with nā kumu lāʻau (trees) and by doing so, shape a more resilient future for Hawaiʻi."

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RESOURCES

(All images/video courtesy: DLNR)

Photographs - Kaulunani Grant Program (Jan.-Sept., 2023)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w50pw7tkctbh6vv/AABJz3Tx_cZ_GaXyJkLL2yfva?dl=0

For more information about the Kaulunani IRA Award Program, contact Koki Atcheson at [email protected].

Media Contact:

Ryan Aguilar

Communications Specialist

Hawai'i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

[email protected]