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 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! 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. If interested, please contact Raedelle Van Fossen at [email protected] or call the Education Department at (808) 988-0461. - Raedelle Van Fossen Upcoming Classes Our winter/spring class schedule will be available soon, and will ONLY be sent by email or via our website. If you would like the most current class schedule, please go to our website https://manoa.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum and sign up to be on our email list. Look under the “get involved” section, and go to “subscribe to our email list”. Fill in the fields, and you’re done!

Volunteer at Lyon!! Wish List Interested in volunteering at Lyon? Check out our web site at:  Fruits for Jams & Jellies https://manoa.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum  Gardening Gloves (Various Sizes) Once there, look under the “get involved” section, and go to  Nitrile Gloves (Various Sizes) “Become a Volunteer” . There are many volunteer opportuni- ties listed and you can fill out an application.  Thermo Scientific Nalgene Low Density Polypropylene Drop Dispenser Bottles  Disposable Hearing Protection

UPCOMING EVENTS

Arbor Day Tree Giveaway—Saturday, November 3rd Winter 2018 Plant Sale—Saturday, November 17th HOʻOLAULIMA Hoʻolaulima would be the best way to describe this year (2018) at the Lyon Arboretum. Hoʻolaulima is a Hawaiian word that means working together. Hoʻolaulima started out the year (2018) having work days outside of the Arboretum to show our support for other organizations that have similar struggles that we go through on a daily basis. Papa Kipuka located on the Windward side of is a non profit organization that teaches the values of the past and applying it to the future. They do planting of kalo, ʻuala, awa, ulu and ko on a 3 acre parcel which sits on kuleana lands. They have school tours and classes that incorporates traditional practices to today’s society. The Arboretum staff were invited on March 2018 to help weed whack, trim trees, pull weeds and clear brush at their 3 acre parcel and also at a Heiau called Leleahina. It was a stormy and rainy day but seeing the staff working in the mud, rain and accomplishing a lot on that day was well worth it. Papa Kipuka’s staff were very appreciative of the work that the Lyon staff had accomplished and were already planning the next year’s outing. In addtition to the Papa Kipuka trip, the Lyon staff also went on another excursion to Kaʻala Mountains in late August to kokua their time with the Natural Area Reserves Systems (NARS) team. They hiked around the Kaʻala range and did invasive eradication and boardwalk building on some of the trails. Thanks goes to Jesse Adams (Grounds Department) who set up this field excursion. Nellie Sugii, Cindy Yamamoto and Finally, our centennial year that actually started in the beginning of May (2018) with our Raedelle Van Fossen at Leleahina spring plant sale, followed by our Hoʻolauleʻa in August, a Symposium in September, a mahalo party, free tree give away and our fall plant sale in November. Hoʻolaulima best describes the staff at the Arboretum for giving of their time and labor to make sure that we, the staff, represent the Arboretum in the most useful way to help communities and build relationships that will last a lifetime. Mahalo a nui.

- Clancy Ako

Mahalo for your support! Napua & Warren Wong— Facilities Use for Lyon Volunteer Party and Parking for Ho’olaulea Tuline Nonomura—Snacks for Arboretum staff and volunteers and Umbrellas Mandy Bowers—Guava for Jams & Jellies

Please send donations to: Lyon Arboretum / UHF 3860 Mānoa Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822 You can also donate online: www.uhf.hawaii.edu/LyonArboretum

Name:______Phone: ( )______— ______

Address: ______City:______Zip: ______Email: ______

Payment method: ______check (payable to Lyon Arboretum/UHF, Attn account #12043404)

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FLA Annual Meeting- - New Board Members The Friends of Lyon Arboretum held its Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, September 29, in the upstairs classroom of the Visitors’ Center. Along with some minor updates to the organization’s bylaws, the membership elected 2 new Board members – Claire Wong Black & Erin Higa.

Claire Wong Black is an attorney; her practice is primarily civil litigation (defending public, private, and -non profit entities, as well as prosecuting class action claims on behalf of underserved and indigent people). She also advises individuals and entities regarding compliance and crisis management, and she currently serves on the board of the Hawai`i Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Erin Higa is the Marketing Manager at HHF Planners, a Honolulu-based planning and landscape architecture firm. She regularly organizes and leads volunteer events for her firm, and in 2017, she was instrumental in managing a team of volunteers that built a 500 foot long pathway at the Lyon Arboretum in honor of HHF founder and landscape architect Larry Helber.

We are excited to welcome both Claire & Erin to the FLA Board! FLA 2018-2019 Board of Directors Scott Ezer, President Leslie Isaki Mary Ann Bell Duane Okamoto Sandra Kunimoto, Vice President Claire Wong Black Bebe Richardson Phillips Sheila Conant Holly Marchant, Secretary Elizabeth Riegels Erin Higa Alice Tucker Pamela Hinsdale, Treasurer Marie Imanaka Ann Kadowaki, Past President Susan Ing

A Special Mahalo to these Generous Donors Koa Ohia Lehua ($500 and Above) ($250—$500)

Eve Anderson Int’l Folk Dancers Aloha Gateway Media Abney Parekh Edward Bennett S. Liu Tanya Alston Leslie & Delle Swindale Richard & Eleanor Burson Susan O’Connor Joyce Baker Julie K. Tomomitsu Mary M. Cooke Phyllis Pepiot

Alice Guild Douglas & Jocelyn Wong Foodland Give Aloha Henry Takara

Paul Lum Alvin Yoshinaga Stephen Haus Fund

Loren Miller Judith Inouye

Ilima

Helene Arata Layla Derick Leslie Isaki Magdakine Designs Kay Shoji Thomas Balzer Roseyn Devlin Eunice Itoga Paul Malaspina Andrew Spies Peter & Sydney Benson Leila Ekimoto Edna Kano Anne Maples Sonia Stephens Virginia Brown Jan Elliott Linda Katsuki Mary Metcalf Beverley Tasato Juliet Carlson Grace Furukawa Amy Katsumoto Janice Nishiki Pamela Valdes Lori Chun Gay Hanawahine Elizabeth & Howard Keller Betty Nobriga Brett Walley Saunders John & Chintana Connor Margaret Harada James Kwon Bebe Richardson Philips Alice Tucker James & Irene Connors Harold & Lea Heide Marlene Lemke David & Sarah Roe Watermark LLC Joanne Corey Hawaii Kappa Chapter– Marian Leong Grace Rose Martha Vetter George Crabb Alpha Delta Kappa Amy Loo Peter Schwarz Susan Webster Schultz Richard Criley Susan Ing Ursula Magaard April Sham Joan Yanagi LYON ARBORETUM’S CENTENNIAL RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

Just a month after the lively festivities of the Ho‘olaule‘a, Lyon Arboretum staff pulled off another spectacular event - the first ever Lyon Arboretum Research Symposium. Hosted at the East-West Center on UH-Mānoa campus, the symposium was a free, 2-day long lecture series showcasing speakers from across various disciplines. The Harold L. Lyon Arboretum has been a place of diverse research and place-based learning in Mānoa Valley since its beginning 100 years ago. To honor this legacy and the many people who contributed their dedication over the years, we thought it only appropriate to share some of these stories with the public. Short talks were given on an eclectic assortment of topics ranging from pivotal forensics discoveries to potential weed risk assessment protocols. Although sometimes distantly related in theme, every presentation was based on strong connection to Lyon Arboretum and highlighted the critical role that arboreta play in all academic fields. The first day of the symposium was focused on the history and cultural aspects that have defined Lyon over the years. After a brief historical overview from our newest director, former Lyon staff member Emmalani Makepa-Foley kicked off the morning by sharing her manaʻo about la‘aulapa‘au plants in Lyon’s living collec- tion and their usage in her early childhood education curriculum. From there, the day was filled with presentations on topics such as building wa‘a with felled Albizia wood, the archaeological findings made on the property by the UH Field School, and even tributes to the charismatic (and sometimes eccentric) characters that shaped Lyon’s development. To wrap up the day, a panel featured current staff members from all departments who shared insight about their positions at Lyon and their visions for the future. Even staff members who have worked at Lyon for years learned many new informative and fun facts about the arboretum’s history. Overall, the day was a great success, with audience members asking engaging questions, checking out the Lyon info booth, and snacking on tasty treats. Day two focused on scientific research conducted at Lyon, highlighting academic work broadly across the natural sciences. When you think of botanical gardens and associated research, botany and horticulture immediately come to mind. While Lyon has hosted many great scientists in these fields, like Richard Criley and his rhododendrons, research at Lyon reaches far beyond the obvious disciplines. Presentations on day two ran the gamut of topics from conservation of Hawai‘i’s most endangered plants, to thermal soil experiments, and hydrological flow studies all conducted on the grounds of Lyon Arboretum. If that wasn’t enough excitement, the event ended with a grand finale panel of speakers: Andrew Rossiter, Director of Waikiki Aquarium, Rakan Zahawi, Director of Lyon Arboretum, Melanie Ide, new Director of Bishop Museum and our District State House Representative, Dale Kobayashi. Gaining novel perspectives from administrators and politicians alike, this panel was full of passion and insight about museums and living collections, our role in increasing public appreciation of science, and what that role might look like over the next 100 years and beyond. All in all, the Lyon Centennial Research Symposium was a hit!... but what if you missed it? No worries, this is only the beginning. Based on the level of interest from this event, we are planning to host a similar event each year. We hope our annual symposium continues to inspire researchers from diverse fields to speak about work they have done in collaboration with Lyon (and there is always so much to share!). We also see future symposia as a unique opportunity to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to conduct experiments at Lyon and present their findings to the community. So stay posted, and get excited for the next Lyon Arboretum Research Symposium in 2019.

- Pia Ruisi-Besares & Marian Chau Non-profit Organization University of Hawai´i - M ā n o a U.S. POSTAGE Harold L. Lyon Arboretum PAID Honolulu, Hawai´i 3860 Mānoa Rd. Permit No. 278 Honolulu, HI 96822 Phone: 808-988-0456 manoa.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum

Return Service Requested

Arboretum Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm Saturday, 9am-3pm Closed on Sundays & Holidays $10 Docent led tours available at 10am, Monday- Saturday. Please call 988-0461 for reservations.

Arboretum Staff

Director: Dr. Rakan Zahawi Holiday Plant & Craft Sale at Lyon Arboretum Administration:

Destin Shigano, Derek Higashi Saturday, November 17, 2018 Education & Volunteer Programs: Raedelle Van Fossen, Richard Sears, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jenna Watling 3860 Manoa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822 Plant Collections & Grounds: Free Admission Liloa Dunn, Nathan Kamaka, Robert Santiago, Pia Ruisi-Besares, Isaiah Kalahiki, Jesse Adams Colorful Ti, Hawaiian Plants, Hawaiian Sugar Cane, Hawaiian Ferns, Taro, Heliconias, Gingers, Anthuriums, Micropropagation Lab: Carnivorous Plants, Orchids, Cactus, Succulents, Nellie Sugii, Cindy Yamamoto, Tillandsias, Bromeliads, Vegetable & Herb plants, Fruit Doug Okamoto, Sam Champine-Tocher, Trees, & Poinsettias. Fresh and Dried Holiday Wreaths, Libby Dingeldein, Leland Werden Oshibana Cards, & Hawaiian Honey

Seed Lab: Marian Chau, Tim Kroessig Free shuttle service to the Arboretum. Pick up points on Manoa Road where it intersects with Po’elua Street and Nipo Street. Horticulture: Liz Huppman, David Shepard

GIS Lab Manager: Jessica Adinolfi Please call 988-0456 for more information Facilities / Maintenance: Clancy Ako, Kim Zane The Kukui Leaf is published three times a year by the Lyon Arboretum, 3860 Mānoa Road, Honolulu, Hawai´i 96822. This newsletter is available in an alternate format upon request. Editor: Derek Higashi