Pono Pacific Land Management, LLC (Pono Pacific), Hawaii’s largest private natural resource conservation company, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Pūlama Lāna’i, recently hosted a volunteer event to restore ua’u (Hawaiian petrel) habitat on Lāna’i in celebration of World Conservation Day.

Over a dozen Pono Pacific staff and volunteers spent the day at Pūlama Lāna‘i’s 85-acre Hi‘i Subunit within the Lāna‘i Hale Watershed Protection Unit to work on restoring important upland forests and protecting native wildlife. The team worked to remove invasive vegetation, establish native species, and learn more about the unique ecosystem that supports the largest population of Hawaiian petrels on the island and one-third of the state’s total population.

“It was interesting to learn that in this small area on the island of Lāna’i, we are helping to restore a nesting site for one of the largest populations of Hawaiian petrels in the entire state,” said volunteer Keoki Leong. “We don’t usually think about seabirds nesting this far inland, but it reminds us how interconnected our islands’ ecosystems really are, from mauka to makai.”

Event participants performed sanitation measures to prevent the introduction of weeds and disease, brought over two dozen ‘ōhi’a seedlings, water jars, and tools, and were presented with an oli “Hanohano Lāna’i” upon entering the forest. Clearing and shredding waiwī (strawberry guava) was a large focus, as the invasive trees have tremendous negative impacts on Hawai’i’s watersheds. The highlight of the event for many was being able to plant out ‘ōhi’a that were propagated and grown by Pūlama Lāna’i from seeds taken from parent trees on the island. These plantings were watered and surrounded with mulch made from the shredded strawberry guava to maintain moisture and suppress weeds before the group left the site.

“We hope that through further efforts like this, these seedlings will help rejuvenate the native forest,” said Lei Leong, project manager at Pono Pacific. “Pono Pacific has had the privilege of supporting Pūlama Lāna’i for several years in achieving its conservation goals for the island.”

This Hawaiian petrel habitat restoration project was funded by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and builds on previous work by the Pono Pacific team to construct a predator-proof fence around the entire Hi’i Subunit.

According to Pono Pacific, the predator protection fence’s special design prevents the entry of small predators, which pose the greatest threat to ground-nesting native and migratory bird species. This not only protects the birds, but also the endangered Hawaiian tree snails and serves as a potential reintroduction site for critically endangered plant species whose seeds are often eaten by mice.

Stay tuned to ponopacific.com for the next volunteer day.