Virtual Tree Planting Launched!
By Wayne Tanaka | Reading time: 2 minutes
On November 13, the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i launched its first ever Virtual Tree Planting! Over 50 Sierra Club members and supporters signed up to first attend a special masterclass session with tree experts and Sierra Club champions Ed Mersino and Randy Ching, who shared stories, tips, and insights from their many decades of tree planting. Ed and Randy also answered audience questions regarding subjects ranging from tree selection, to soil preparation, to everyone’s favorite topic, pest control! Then, the next week, participants picked up their own free keiki Hawaiian trees, grown by Hui Kū Maoli Ola and custom-selected for them based on various considerations such as yard size, sun exposure, desired tree height, and room for roots. Hui Kū provided a great selection, including alahe‘e, ‘ohi‘a and ‘a‘ali‘i. As a bonus, participants were also given tree “care packages” of fertilizer and soil, put together by Randy and Sierra Club staff Tanya Dreizin.
To give our tree planters the best chances of success, Ed and longtime Sierra Club volunteer Brooke Jones also produced a demonstration video on tree planting best practices. Even if you didnʻt get a chance to participate in our virtual tree planting, we highly recommend that you check this video out, if planting a tree is something you would like to do!
Trees truly are a gift that keeps on giving: they absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants, and produce oxygen for us to breathe; they create shade and cool the surrounding air; they provide flowers, pollen and fruits enjoyed by insects, birds, and people alike; they provide habitat for birds and other wildlife; and they help capture rainwater and recharge our aquifers, among many, many other services. And while we donʻt think of them as often as we should, so many of us have a tree (or two!) that hold a special place in our personal lives.
So thank you, to all of you who participated in our first ever Virtual Tree Planting, and to all of you who plant and take care of the trees that give so much to all of us! A special mahalo to the Atherton Family Foundation, whose grant helped make this event possible, and many kudos to Randy, Ed, Tanya, Brooke, Kirsten Kagimoto, and Chris Wong, for all of their planning, expertise, and behind-the-scenes preparation to make the Virtual Tree Planting a success!