This Environmental Advocate Is Using Trees to Rebuild West Maui – Sunset Magazine

How This Environmental Advocate Is Using Trees to Rebuild West Maui

An environmental steward is replanting trees and instilling hope in West Maui.

Written by Krista Simmons October 23, 2025

Kenneth Duane Sparkman is the embodiment of an advocate and arborist, focusing his life’s work on landscape management and preserving the watersheds of Maui. So when the 2023 Lahaina fires ravaged the land, Sparkman sprang to action, creating a nonprofit called Treecovery that works in tandem with cultural advisors on mindful replanting and reforestation, providing free trees to residents and businesses in Lahaina and Kula who lost their vegetation. Here, the founder and president of Treecovery and chief engineer at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows shares his vision for the future of West Maui.

Can you talk a bit about exactly what was lost? Why is that relevant to the greater ecosystem? 

21,000 trees were removed from Lahaina by the Army Corps with 400 acres of forest and residential trees burned, resulting in a mudslide that closed South Kihei Road for over a month. Replanting will stabilize Kula’s deforested hillsides, and replanting trees in Lahaina will lower the general heat, bring food availability back, as well as cultural trees for healing, evapotranspiration for more rain, and a general sense of regrowth.

What native species are you prioritizing for replanting and why? 

At least 95% of what was burnt was non-native or invasive … We’re promoting all native trees that will thrive in the habitats of Kula and Lahaina. Wiliwili, Koaia, Aalii, Ohia, Naio, Kamani, Hala, Kokiokeokeo, Milo, Iliahialoe, Pokalakala, Loulu, Ulu, Coconut, Noni—all for water reduction, cultural use, and/or medicine. 

Continue/Read Original Article Here: This Environmental Advocate Is Using Trees to Rebuild West Maui – Sunset Magazine

#2025 #America #Education #EnvionmentalAdvocate #Hawaii #Health #History #KennethDuaneSparkman #Libraries #Library #LibraryOfCongress #Maui #Opinion #Rebuild #Science #SunsetMagazine #Travel #trees #UnitedStates #WestMaui

#LahinaFire #MauiCounty #Maui #MauiFires #MauiWildfires

Via Jen Ratcliff #DAT: 1/2 "After direct discussions with #Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, the #Lāhainā bypass road will open starting this evening, at 6 p.m. to residents, first responders, and employees of #WestMaui.

Tomorrow, August 16, the road will open to all motorists daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Access from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be limited to residents, first responders, and employees of West Maui.

Heads up the water is contaminated in #Lahaina & #Kula.

I forgot to mention this comes from HurricaneWarning
@AchakCetan on twitter.

#MauiFires #lahainafire #lahainafires #lahaina #westmaui #Upcountry

Maui and Big Island ,Hawaii devastation from wildfires. Please donate .
My favorite part of Lahaina Front Street burned to the ground 😭😢

Please pray for the families who have lost loved ones and if you can spare anything please help.
The RedCross https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html has a Maui link
#hawaii #Maui #fires #Lahaina #Kula
#westmaui #wildfires

#RedFlagWarning for Hawaii extended until Thursday morning. For details open the interactive #GIS map, zoom in and click a red area.

Some areas have more than one type of weather warning. So when the popup appears you might need to scroll down to the section with the red flag warning - then follow the link for the details.
#HIfire #HIwx #MauiFire #WestMaui #Lahaina #Wildfire #Geospatial #Maps #Mapping #Leaflet #ArcGIS #WebMap

Open #GISsurfer map:
https://mappingsupport.com/p2/gissurfer.php?center=20.710651,-157.741699&zoom=7&basemap=USA_basemap&overlay=VIIRS_7_day,MODIS_7_day,State_boundary,Red_flag_warning&data=https://mappingsupport.com/p2/special_maps/disaster/USA_wildland_fire.txt