Landscape Architect Articles

LASN Stewardship February 200802-29-08 | News

Missionary Work: Saving Hawaiian Natives

By Erik Skindrud, editor

Kaneakua family brothers and sisters test their new home?EUR??,,????'???s seashore paspalum that will be kept moist with an irrigation system installed by Green Thumb Inc. and donated by Diamond Head Sprinkler Supply.
Photos courtesy of Kathleen R. Merriam, Rotary Club of Metropolitan Honolulu

The Kaneakua Family of 13 has been homeless?EUR??,,????'??+camping on the beaches of West Oahu for the past 15 years. This fall, a team led by a landscape architect and contractor Dennis S.Q. Kim, with irrigation professionals and volunteers, pitched in to landscape the family?EUR??,,????'???s new home.

Makana Kaneakua gives the Hawaiian equivalent of the thumbs-up sign after planting a native hinahina wea (Achyranthes splendens) selected by Oahu-based nurseryman and landscape architect Dennis Kim.

Rotary, Habitat, Team Up

Habitat for Humanity Leeward Oahu and the Rotary Clubs of Metropolitan Honolulu, Honolulu Sunrise, Pearl Harbor, Downtown Honolulu and Pearlridge showed up to complete the job. Thanks to their efforts, the Kaneakuas are homeless no more.

On Oct. 27th, the volunteers met for a single-day push to install the planting. If completed by paid contractors, the landscaping would have cost as much as $20,000, Dennis Kim said. Kim, who has worked as a landscape architect and contractor for 37 years, selected a native Hawaiian plant for each of the 10 children to plant and nurture at their home.

?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s a symbol of ownership in their new home,?EUR??,,????'?? Kim explained. ?EUR??,,????'??These plants will grow along with the children as they are able to live in a safe, decent home for the first time in their life. It is my hope that these children will remember all of the people who have made their home a reality, and as they grow up they will be able to help others in the future,?EUR??,,????'?? Kim said.

A 10-person crew from Oahu-based Green Thumb, Inc. completed grading and installed the irrigation system. Diamond Head Sprinkler Supply donated an automatic controller and the irrigation hardware. The irrigation system was the one part of the project that non-professional volunteers could not install without help.

Mission is Education

For the past dozen years, Kim has labored to reacquaint Hawaiians with their native flora. Like native Hawaiians, Hawaiian plants were pushed to the brink by Europeans and North Americans. Now Kim?EUR??,,????'???s Native Plant Source nursery is known as a top spot to learn about and buy indigenous plants. He has grown or propagated close to 300 Hawaiian natives. Through trial and error, Kim has also compiled a valuable database on growth requirements and pest-control issues.

?EUR??,,????'??For years, native plants haven?EUR??,,????'???t been available, except for 10 species,?EUR??,,????'?? Kim explained. ?EUR??,,????'??The majority of plants specified in Hawaiian projects were all non-native. If you can grow the natives and show people which ones do well, landscape architects, government officials and the public will learn about them and demand will follow. They are part of the heritage that is Hawaii.?EUR??,,????'??