HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hundreds of community members gathers along the Makiki Stream Saturday to fight invasive species in an annual Earth Day clean-up.
The Division of Land and Natural Resources crews and nearly three dozen volunteers took on the mile-long stretch of waterway for mother nature.
We’re removing various invasive species, putting in native plants and then working on some hillside erosion prevention,” said Kekai Mar with DLNR’s Division of State Parks.
Mar is also accredited with other Earth Day clean-ups around the island such as one at Diamond Head State Monument and at Sand Island State Recreation Area.
“Twenty years ago, we started the work to make the area more native, by bringing in native plants and trees. A recent grant from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply allowed us to hire a service member from Kupu to really start focusing on getting bad plants out and good ones in,” explained Aaron Lowe, of the Nā Ala Hele program.
As of late, DLNR has planted 30-40 koa trees. Plants planted nearly two decades ago have reached full growth and Lowe says the streambank is starting to come back.
“It’s kind of that secret garden story where you open the doors and it’s all overgrown and you pull all the weeds, plants and vines, restore native plants and get it looking good again. We’re getting there,” Lowe added.
Mar said, “Having all these community and school groups, our curators, staff, and volunteers from across the state and the country show up, gives the volunteers a real sense of pride. In many cases they’re giving back to the spaces where they live. They want to be part of something larger than themselves.”
Along with removing and replacing the ecosystem, the debris is being removed out of the stream.
A build up of debris can clog the stream, leading to flooding downstream, which would affect the Ala Wai canal.
DLNR says they are hoping to host more clean-ups of the Maikiki Stream, so if you missed out on this clean-up visit their website to watch for future ones.