Hawaiian Legacy Forest
Planting a Legacy Tree is the perfect way to cherish a loved one and create a living legacy that will give back for a lifetime.
LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY.
We each have a reason to plant a tree. Some of us plant because we want to see the forest grow; some of us plant to remember those who pass; and some of us plant to commemorate new life we’ve brought into our Ohana. Whatever your reason is to plant, please let us know what we can do to support your positive intentions.
Hawaii has a long history of environmental stewardship dating back to the ancient Hawaiians. They lived in harmony with the land and the sea and had a complex social structure that managed resources.
Unfortunately, modern day agriculture and development have decimated much of Hawaii’s native habitat and have put many of Hawaii’s rarest species of plants and birds at risk of extinction.
Watanabe Floral has partnered with the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative and caring individuals like you to restore these vital ecosystems through the hand-planting of more than 500,000 rare and endangered Hawaiian species in the world’s first Hawaiian Legacy Forest.
Give the gift of a living legacy by sponsoring an endemic Legacy Tree. Legacy Trees can be given to honor an individual, commemorate an event, or memorialize a loved one. Every tree dedication is a living legacy, and a gift which will grow grander year after year.
You will receive a beautiful personalized certificate and the knowledge that you contributed to making our planet a better place. Your donation will funds collecting seeds by hand, raising your seedling in our nursery, planting your tree to create a forest, fencing out pests, clearing invasive species, and of course, the RFID tagging so you can track your tree via TreeTracker.
Using TreeTracker
King Koa (Acacia koa) is a native Hawaiian tree of exceptional beauty. The Hawaiian Islands were once blanketed in koa forests with the largest trees being sought out for dugout canoes. The wood was so prized that it was used for virtually everything in contact with the Ali'i (Hawaiian royalty). The trees reach heights of 100 feet and diameters of 4 feet. It has been all but eliminated from the lower elevations on all of the Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian translation of the word “Koa” is “strong, brave, fearless,” and Koa trees, known as “the warrior tree,” are revered in Hawaiian culture.
Koa is so variable in its appearance as to defy classification. It can be everything from red to brown to golden and even ivory. The grain can be straight, but the most valuable of koa exhibits a curly figure that creates the illusion that you are looking right through the surface. It finishes to a rich luster and depth that has made it a treasured resource for Hawaiian heirloom furniture.
Monarch Milo (Thespesia populnea) is a beautiful and spiritually important Hawaiian tree. It is a perfect representation of Aloha in so many ways. The word “aloha” means hello, love, and, also goodbye. Both “hello” and “goodbye” represent the bookends of all relationships, while “love” represents everything in between.
Even the tree itself is the embodiment of love, as every single leaf is in the perfect shape of a heart. The milo flowers also represent how short our time together is, as each flower blooms only once and, in a matter of hours, is gone forever.
At daybreak, the blossom opens and is the color of the soft yellow morning sun. Throughout the day it changes hue from peach to orange and, by the end of the day, is the color of a deep ruby red sunset. Its entire life is lived in a single day, never to return; but the memory of its beauty is etched in the souls of those blessed enough to have experienced it.
Your Personalized Certificate
