The Kukui Leaf Volume XLII No
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Harold L. Lyon Arboretum University of Hawai´i The Kukui Leaf Volume XLII No. 3 Fall 2018 From the Director’s Desk Dear all, It once again seems like I sat down to write the Kukui note yesterday and here I am again! It has been a whirlwind of events and activity at Lyon this year and that is especially the case for the last few months! Our Centennial activities really kicked into high gear this summer and after much anticipation we held our Hoʻolauleʻa on August 4th! A big mahalo to all those who came (more than 2,000 visitors – setting a new visitation record for Lyon) and helped make this a really memorable event. Aside from the event itself, we got fantastic media coverage in the buildup to the event and staff were on the radio, in newsprint and even on television – indeed Hawaii News Now ran their program directly out of Lyon Arboretum on the weekend before our Hoʻolauleʻa! There is a full article on this event in this edition of the Kukui newsletter so I will let you read that for all the details. Once we finished with that event, we barely had time to catch our breath before the next activity was upon us! This time the Centennial Symposium – and more than 40 speakers gave heartfelt presentations about their research and experiences at Lyon. Some of those present harked back to work they had done at Lyon 30-40 years ago! It was a really fantastic Arborist Hua Kalahiki with Dan event and an eye opener for everyone present to really see and appreciate the extent of work Cooke and Billy V from Hawaii that has been done at Lyon over the years. A more detailed article is also present in this Kukui News Now so I won’t give away the plot here! So, we have completed two major Centennial events and both were a big successes! We also received honorary certificates in recognition for our Centennial from both the city council and the legislature! We now have two more Centennial activities– a Pau Hana for our sponsors and benefactors who over the years have helped to make Lyon Arboretum what it is today, and a 100-tree giveaway in honor of Arbor Day (November 2nd in Hawaii) that is underway as I write! The latter event will be coordinated through our social media accounts and participants will have a chance to win a tree by answering trivia questions that will be posted online weekly between now and arbor day. Finally, we will also have a plant sale on November 17th and once we cross that finish line we will have our own staff Pau Hana to celebrate our Centennial and a successful and busy 2018 year! Come next year, will be back to a more usual rhythm but there are nonetheless many goals Receiving an honorary certificate from the that we will be working on so we will continue to be busy, which is a good thing! Honolulu City Council in recognition of Thank you all for your support this year – it has been an exciting year for Lyon and we Lyon Arboretum’s Centennial hope it sets the stage for good things to come in the upcoming few years. Mahalo, The Party of a Lifetime: 2018 Lyon Arboretum Centennial Ho‘olaule‘a How often do you get the chance to celebrate a 100th year anniversary? For most of us probably never, but for us here at Lyon Arboretum we had that opportunity and we did not let it pass us by! Our plan was to host a free, family friendly, event open to the public with great entertainment and ‘ono food! In the early planning stages, we had to decide whether to keep it simple like an “open house” or go big and throw all our weight behind it. We went with the latter and the outcome was nothing less than spectacular! The date was set for Saturday, August 4th here at the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum. Because the weather in the back of Mānoa can be tricky, we were adamant about hosting this event rain or shine…or wind! Of course a few days before our Ho‘olaule‘a, Kahaukani (name of the Mānoa wind) didn’t disappoint and showed up in full force along with his twin sister Kauakuahine (name of the Mānoa rain). The morning of the event, the rain and wind were relentless which made it difficult for the food trucks and crafters to set up. Despite the conditions, however, we were determined to make this event a great experience for all attendees. After the opening pule by Ka‘ilihiwa Vaughan-Darval her hālau, Hālau Hula Ka Lehua Tuahine, did a number of hula kahiko specific to Mānoa. The entertainment continued with hula performances by Hālau Nā Pualei o Likolehua, Halau Ka Waikahe Lani Malie and Halau Kahulaliwai. We also had our very own Dr. Marian Chau along with her Tahitian dance troupe Te Vevo Tahiti No Mānoa give the crowd a very energetic and upbeat performance. We were also treated to live Hawaiian music from the Kumuola Serenaders (mahalo Kuki & Kali Navales!) and had a rocking good time with the band H20 whose bassist, Derek Higashi, works as an administrative assistant here at Lyon. The entertainment culminated with local reggae heavy weights Ooklah the Moc who got the crowd up and skanking including our own gardener extraordinaire Brother Rob! The food was phenomenal with vendors selling out by the end of the day. The ‘ono dining options including vegan, Thai, Mexican, and local regional cuisine! We had bouncy castles, a photo booth for the keiki and a tree climbing exposition in the Great Lawn for the brave. We hosted over 20 craft vendors, lei-making, educational booths and a mini-plant sale. This was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime event. We had more people (estimated attendance was over 2,000 people) attend the Ho‘olaule‘a than any other single event in our history! Although parking was crazy and there was a mini traffic jam, at the end of the day the event was a great success. We would like to thank our Mānoa ‘ohana and attendees for braving the elements and enjoying what became a beautiful day in the valley. Also special thanks to the Lyon staff for planning and executing of this major event. Finally, a big mahalo to our sponsors, without their financial support this event would not have been possible: The Hawaiian Electric Companies, Alexander & Baldwin, Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), Friends of Lyon Arboretum, Matson Shipping, Halekulani, Andy’s Sandwiches & Smoothies, Territorial Savings, Waikiki Aquarium and TreeStuff.com. - Liloa Dunn 1 2 3 4 2018 Ho’olaulea Photos 11 12 1. Rainy start to the day 2. Turned out to be a nice day after all 3. Clancy Ako on cooking duties 4. Nice crowd enjoying the music and food 5. Marian Chau with Te Vevo Tahiti No Manoa 6. Derek Higashi on bass with H2O 7. Ooklah the Moc 8. Tree climbing 9. Bouncy house activity 10. Rob Santiago 11. Liz Huppman and David Shepard selling plants 12. Beautiful rainbow to end the day. PC: Liloa Dunn, Raedelle Van Fossen, Sam Levin Lyon Education Department: New Beginnings There are many changes for this new school year for the Education Department. The Education Department recently welcomed the newest staff member, Jenna Watling, for the Education Associate position. Jenna is taking over for Rebecca Beralas, who has moved on to work at the Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership. Jenna comes to the department with much experience. Jenna was the Education Department’s Friends of Lyon Arboretum intern this past summer. She was an immense help with the summer nature camp and developed a new field trip focusing on Lyon’s Micropropagation Lab, which will be exciting to offer to the schools. She brings much energy and ideas to our program and the Education Department is lucky to have her as part of the team. The department just began hosting school field trips in October. One of the most popular field trips is for second graders, called Plants and Friends. The focus of the field trip is on seed dispersal and pollination. This year, the activities were revised using seeds generously donated by Lyon’s Seed Conservation Lab. Marian Chau and Tim Kroessig from the lab also provided information about the seeds and plants. The Grounds Department also helped as well. Jesse Adams provided information about the original pollination methods of certain plants that we have in our collections at Lyon. Did you know that the Blue Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys), which you can find at Lyon, is pollinated by bats in the Philippines? Jessica Adinolfi, Lyon’s GIS Lab Manager, picked up a few fruits from the Dipterocarpus retusus tree to show the children an example of big helicopter fruits. Thank you Marian and Tim of the A Dipterocarpus retusus fruit Seed Lab and the two Jesses from Grounds for helping to make the field trip really place-based and relevant to Lyon Arboretum. As the field trip program and activities expand, the Education Department is still looking for folks who would be interested in becoming school tour docents. Docents will lead activities for the visiting school groups. Most of the schools groups are kindergarten, first, and second graders. It is a great feeling to see children who are excited about visiting Lyon and introducing them to the world of plants! Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested in helping the Education program.