KAILUA-KONA — Leaning against her car late last year in the parking lot of Hawaii Community College – Palamanui, Juanita Thompson looked south across the fountain grass that spread over the lava field.
Thinking of the history she had learned in her classes, the pictures she’d seen, stories she’d heard and books she read, Thompson had a vision of the dry forest that once flourished across this region.
“And I felt that was my mission now,” she said, “to be part of others that have the same vision and create this dry forest again for our future.”
The dry forest expanded from just south of where the Palamanui campus now sits to Kailua-Kona, but when cattle were introduced in the area, they “pretty much destroyed the dry land forest,” especially through over-grazing.
Gradually now, Thompson’s vision is coming into focus with a quarter-acre demonstration garden immediately south of the campus, where native plants are getting an opportunity to lay down their roots and revitalize the land.
Armed with picks and shovels, volunteers on Tuesday continued that effort, spending the morning at the campus clearing the area of fountain grass before making holes and putting down mulch in preparation for pohinahina to be planted.
The pohinahina was selected specifically because the feral goats in the area don’t eat it, said Richard Stevens, a lecturer at the college who has been promoting the preservation of hundreds of acres of state-owned land to protect native plants and historic features near the campus.
Stevens said the demonstration garden is a way to observe which species do well as they return to the land as well as how to bring the dry land forest back to the landscape.
A dozen of Tuesday’s volunteers were from Wyndham Destinations, participating as part of the company’s wish day program.
“This is their aina,” said Linda Kolstad, director of association governance for the company and a champion for the company’s corporate social responsibility, sustainability and environmental efforts. “So for them to be able to work on projects that tie them to the history of their community, it’s particularly special.”
This was their third time working with Stevens, Kolstad said, adding that they have also worked with Stevens on clearing a mauka-to-makai trail as well as restoration efforts at Kuamoo, south of Keauhou. And while there are several volunteer opportunities available through wish days, she said, Stevens’ projects are always popular.
A number of volunteers, she added, often return to those projects on their own time, bringing their children with them to contribute to the effort to preserve native species or restore a historic battlefield.
And from an industry perspective, she said, when it comes to projects like this one, it’s important “to create a sense of place.”
“So when our guests are coming to Hawaii, it’s not just to lay on a beach,” she said, “but to learn about the culture and the history and, especially on this island, the geology of the place that they’re visiting.”
Being able to take part in an effort that gives owners and guests a chance to explore and learn about the history, culture and land falls in line with Wyndham’s own philosophies.
Thompson said seeing so many people come out to take part in the restoration efforts was “like an embrace.”
“You’ve just got to create awareness, and that’s where it starts,” she said. “People don’t know. When they do know and how much they can make a difference, it’s amazing. When a person puts their efforts into something like this, it’s volunteer. It’s caring for the aina. It’s being a team player — all of these things that, in the end, they all feel great at the end of their day.”
During a trip in April to a grove of about 30 wiliwili trees in the area, Thompson previously spoke about how a single word Stevens wrote last year, “rescue,” ignited her passion to care for the trees and native plants when Stevens discussed rescuing the wiliwili trees. And on Tuesday, she walked throughout the demonstration garden, pointing out ukiuki, ilima, aweoweo and mamani among the native species pioneering a comeback in the area.
Stevens said having students come into the classroom already wanting to contribute and eager to restore native landscapes is part of what makes being a teacher so exciting these days.
And inevitably, he said, there’s one student or a handful of students that “just catches fire” with projects like this, and it often becomes a formative experience for those students to restore a landscape or trail. And Thompson, he added, “really led the way” in the last semester.
“And at the end of August, we will have a new group of people here and bring them out here,” he said, “and see who gets lit.”