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Witness the Rebirth of Hawaii's Native Forests
We're planting 1.3 million endemic Hawaiian trees — restoring critical habitat, sequestering carbon, and protecting Hawaii's rarest species for generations to come.
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Witness the Rebirth of Hawaii's Native Forests
We're planting 1.3 million endemic Hawaiian trees — restoring critical habitat, sequestering carbon, and protecting Hawaii's rarest species for generations to come.
Endemic Trees Planted:
609,654
Help us plant 1.3 million Native Hawaiian trees
Who We Are
Planted in 2014. Thriving for Generations.
Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative is a nonprofit founded in 2014 to preserve economically viable, sustainable native Hawaiian forests, protecting endangered species, sequestering carbon & recharging watersheds.
Our forests are located on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi and Oʻahu. What was once considered impossible is now a thriving reality: over 600,000 rare endemic trees, nearly 1,200 acres of pristine native habitat.
What We Do
Restore
We plant native Hawaiian trees on land once stripped by pineapple, sugarcane & cattle, rebuilding what was lost over a century of degradation.
Protect
Our forests provide critical habitat for some of Hawaii's rarest birds and protect Hawaii's reef and ocean life.
Offset
Gold Standard certified carbon sequestration. For a penny a mile, offset your air travel and make a real difference.
Legacy Partnerships
Your organization can represent a sustainable future for Hawaiʻi & beyond.
Reforestation makes a real difference in the way communities participate in protecting the rare natural beauty of our world. Get to know our partners and their stories of why a commitment to sustainability is the right decision, right now.
The ‘Aha ‘ula
Collection
In Hawaii, feathered garments denoted status and as such could be worn only by the elite. The 'ahu'ula (cape) and mahiole (helmets) were worn by the most powerful chiefs, or ali'i, and were sometimes given as gifts.
“The reforestation efforts spearheaded by HLH and HLRI have re-established critical habitat for many endemic Hawaiian species, some of which are endangered,” said Jeff Dunster, HLRI President. “This ongoing featherwork collection provides an important link between Hawaiian history & our efforts to preserve these rare forests for future generations.”
Hawaiian Legacy Projects
From the Field
Insights from the forest and our never-ending exploration of all its wonder.
This fall, more than two dozen Hawaii Island youth trekked up the slopes of Mauna Kea to plant hundreds of koa seedlings. They are the latest in a long line of environmental stewards who are taking part in an ongoing demonstration of social ecological responsibility. In just six years, hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of individuals have helped plant more than 350,000 endemic koa, sandalwood and other native trees in the state’s only Hawaiian Legacy Forest.
Spearheaded by the nonprofit Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, HLRI is using the power of people to help reach their goal of planting 1.3 million trees—one for each man, woman and child in the state of Hawaii.
Several thousand feet above sea level lies a historic site which was once a pristine endemic forest and the personal property of King Kamehameha the Great. Sadly, this land was cleared nearly a century ago to make room for farming and ranching. Working together with environmentally conscious landowners and caring individuals, this special place is once again a thriving ecosystem covering nearly 1,000 acres.
Although she lives nearly 3,700 miles away in Dallas, Christine Johnson is no stranger to Hawaii. Over the years, she has logged more than 45 trips to the islands and has driven nearly every backroad in the state.
Planting it Forward
Green Hawaii
Now a decade into operation, HLH and its family of companies are proving that man and nature can not only coexist peacefully, they can thrive. Generations ago, the natural landscape of the Hamakua Coast on Hawai'i Island began to disappear.
Throughout the 1800s, pineapple, sugarcane and cattle replaced the endemic koa and 'öhi'a forests on Mauna Kea, permanently destroying most of its forestland-or so it seemed.
In 2009, sustainable forestry company HLH planted a single koa tree on the slopes of Mauna Kea, turning the corner on a century of degradation and neglect.
Racing To Save Hawaii's Songbirds / CiVil Beat
Scientists are urgently searching for backup homes to protect the three remaining species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The bird-poop miners and feather collectors are long gone. The rats and rabbits have been eradicated. But not before a few species, found nowhere else in the world, went extinct a century ago in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.