Koa reforestation project plants seeds of legacies

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 05, 2012

~~<p>High above the Hamakua Coast, beneath the windy slopes of Mauna Kea, is a young koa wood forest. Koa, revered in the Hawaiian tradition, once blanketed our islands. Stands of koa are rare nowadays, but efforts are under way to reverse that trend.</p>
<p>A Honolulu company called Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods (www.legacytrees.org) is repopulating the aina with koa that will serve to both reinvigorate the local ecosystem and provide a precious, sustainable product.</p>
~~

High above the Hamakua Coast, beneath the windy slopes of Mauna Kea, is a young koa wood forest. Koa, revered in the Hawaiian tradition, once blanketed our islands. Stands of koa are rare nowadays, but efforts are under way to reverse that trend.

A Honolulu company called Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods (www.legacytrees.org) is repopulating the aina with koa that will serve to both reinvigorate the local ecosystem and provide a precious, sustainable product. Login for more...