Sanctuary encourages love, awareness of forests

"I … thanked the Author of my being for the gift of that wild forest, those green mansions where I had found so great a happiness!"

—William Henry Hudson, author, naturalist and ornithologist

Horticulturist Norman Bezona might have written those words, so grateful is he for the joy and serenity that fills his soul whenever he spends time among plants, flowers and trees.

Bezona likes to say his interest began "before I was born! When I watched Tarzan movies and read ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Swiss Family Robinson,’ they were so familiar to me. I love being immersed in tropical forest. It feels like home to me; it’s as close to our creator as I can get."

Over 50 years, Bezona, a professor emeritus with the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, has enjoyed an impressive career that has taken him around the world to work on proj­ects related to conservation, landscape management and sustainable forestry and agriculture.

Dearest to his heart is Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary, his lush home 3,000 feet up the slopes of Mount Hualalai, a 15-minute drive from Kailua-Kona. Bezona started acquiring land for the sanctuary in 1982; today it’s a 70-acre living classroom offering tours and events that support the protection of Hawaii’s rain forests and cloud forests.

The two are distinct: Rain forests receive most of their water from rain; cloud forests draw about 40 percent from passing mists and clouds that leave condensation on the leaves of trees.

"Trees, shrubs, grasses and other greenery are the lungs of our planet," Bezona said. "They absorb carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen that people and animals need to live. If we didn’t have forests — a major source of greenery — carbon dioxide would be the primary gas on Earth, and all animals, including humans, would have a difficult time surviving."

In Hawaii, cloud forests are generally found between 3,000- and 4,000-foot elevations where conditions are moist and cool year-round. Water continually drips from trees’ leaves, creating excellent habitats for epiphytes, or plants that grow on other plants.

Many trees at Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary, including centuries-old koa and ohia, are covered with native and non-native epiphytes such as ferns, mosses, orchids, gingers and bromeliads. Also nourished by the ever-pres­ent supply of above-ground water are tree ferns that grow as tall as three stories, and more than 100 varieties of bamboo.

Native plants in the sanctuary are abundant, among them 10 endangered species of loulu (Pritchardia) palms, whose leaves were woven by the Hawaiians into fans and thatch long ago. The palms’ fruit is green, red, brown or nearly black and ranges from the size of a pea to a half-dollar. Their crunchy seeds taste like fresh coconut.

Another plant of note is the ieie, which can climb more than 100 feet to the tops of trees by wrapping its long aerial roots around the trunks. The Hawaiians used the roots of this clinging vine to make durable nets, baskets, fish traps and frames for mahi­ole (chiefs’ feather helmets).

Bezona says there is no such thing as a "bad" plant; he regards weeds as plants growing in the wrong place or for which no use has been found. "My philosophy is that we can find value in everything," he said.

"For example, the kahili ginger propagates rapidly in the sanctuary and can be classified as a weed because it is invasive and can overpower other plants if we didn’t control it. That said, it’s being studied as a treatment for nausea, asthma, inflammation, diabetes and cancer. In fact, more than 100 weeds are edible or have medicinal qualities."

During his travels, Bezona has come to accept a harsh reality: Forests everywhere are in danger. He has seen once-lush forests transformed into desert because of global climate changes. In addition, millions of square miles of forests worldwide have been destroyed over the past 50 years due to logging, fires, mining and the creation of open land for pasture, crops and development. Much of the forest surrounding Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary is being subdivided into small lots and cleared for houses.

Bezona invites visitors to experience his Eden so they can see how tropical forests benefit the ecosystem and why preserving the ones that remain is so important.

"From knowledge comes respect and appreciation for forests, which are among Earth’s most threatened natural communities," Bezona said. "From that respect and appreciation hopefully comes a desire to get involved with organizations that champion environmental conservation, because healthy forests mean healthy people. That is the crux of our mission and vision."

Visitors can learn valuable lessons by observing the beauty, harmony and tranquility of nature, he said. Living at the sanctuary puts him in "a calm, loving, reflective state — a peaceful centeredness" akin to what many people feel when they meditate or do yoga.

"We hope visitors will want to create this healing environment where they live, whether it winds up being a big garden or a quiet corner of their backyard or the lanai of their apartment," Bezona said. "I tell them no one person can change the world, but each of us can do a little bit to make it a better place even if it’s nothing more than planting a tree."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.