Mission

Our mission is to preserve, protect and restore a remnant native Hawaiian dry forest ecosystem through land management, outreach, education and grass roots advocacy.

What We Do

The Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative is a non-profit dedicated to reforesting a lowland dry forest preserve near Waikoloa Village. The preserve is home to several endemic and indigenous plant species including iconic trees such as the wiliwili and the uhiuhi. After many years of degradation due to grazing by non-native animals, competition by invasive plant species, increased frequency of fires and human activities the lowland dry forest is only a remnant of what used to be a thriving, extremely diverse ecosystem. Our goal is to bring the dryland forest of Waikoloa back to life through natural resource conservation, restoration and community education and participation. Our current efforts include invasive species control, fuels management and fire mitigation, native plant propagation and planting as well as monitoring and data collection. Our outreach and education efforts include the Waikoloa Future Foresters educational program for local youth, and our Visitors and Volunteers program which provides interpretive tours through the forest preserve, hosts educational visits from school groups and service days for local and visiting people and organizations.