A project combining forest stewardship and native bird conservation was given an extra boost this week.
The Hawaii Forest Institute received a total of $25,000 in grant funding to help with its ongoing restoration activities at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center Discovery Forest.
The Atherton Family Foundation awarded the project $15,000 and the Cooke Foundation awarded $10,000. Both are Hawaii-based organizations.
The KBCC initiative is in its third year. Volunteers and student groups led by KBCC outreach coordinator Iwikau‘ikaua Joaquin work on weed clearing and seedling propagation at the center’s campus in Volcano. To date, more than 1,300 volunteers have planted 6,500 native seedlings.
“For us, it’s a unique project,” said HFI executive director Heather Simmons. “The rare and native birds — that really brings another component into it.”
“Just around the aviaries (at the KBCC), there’s a native forest with ohia and koa as the pioneer species,” she said. “The KBCC, as part of their task to take care of that facility and land, is working on restoration.” The land itself is owned by Kamehameha Schools.
At the Discovery Forest site, native fruiting trees are planted alongside ohia and koa. These trees are then used as perches in the aviaries. The fruit becomes part of the birds’ diets.
The KBCC works to restore populations of birds that are endangered or extinct in the wild: ‘alala, puaiohi, palila, kiwikiu, ‘akeke‘e and ‘akikiki.
Volunteers spend time at the conservation center itself in addition to the planting site, where they learn more about the breeding programs and the traditional Hawaiian stories of the area.
The project previously received support from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife. The DOFAW plan calls for restoring 4 acres per year for 10 years.
“We’ve cleared and planted about 9.8 acres now,” Simmons said.
HFI also has forest restoration projects at the Panaewa Zoo and the Honolulu Zoo, as well as dryland forest projects in West Hawaii.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
