Milos in Haleiwa

by Vera Stone Williams, President of the NSOC

Do you remember the large kiawe tree at Haleiwa Beach Park by the canoe site? It was right on the beach and provided shade for beachgoers and paddlers, although the thorns could be sharp and uncomfortable. It was even featured on a poster for the 2002 Haleiwa Arts Festival by Mark Brown. Sadly, last summer, the massive, iconic tree fell. Thankfully it happened in the early morning hours, so nobody was hurt. It was a huge loss to the community who had enjoyed it for many years.

The North Shore Outdoor Circle is known for caring for the trees in our area, so many community members contacted us to see what could be done about this situation. Our Tree Committee Chair, Kerry “Gidget” Germain fielded many calls from concerned residents hoping to keep the fallen tree at the park, salvage the tree, or use the wood. Germain reached out to long time NSOC member and arborist Doug DeMoss for help. Once they learned that the city had assessed the tree, concluding that age and a lack of deep roots had caused the demise, they were informed that it would be hauled away with no immediate plans for replanting. At that point DeMoss reached out to Brandon Au at the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Division of Urban Forestry. After much discussion, Mr. Au offered five milo trees (Thespesia populnea) to be planted at the park if DeMoss and the NSOC promised to care for, prune, and water the trees. We were happy to agree!

Thankfully, Mr. Au picked out great trees for us. We had been expecting chest height trees, but were delighted to see eight feet tall, fairly mature specimens. Milos are endemic trees, well-suited to coastal environments, and with such a great head start these trees should do well. That is, if we “Don’t have any more howling, on-shore winds!” said DeMoss. If you saw them in February you know what we are talking about. They were completely denuded and many of our members asked if they were dead! However, they are tough trees. In some parts of the world, especially Hawaii, milo is so hardy that it is considered an important species in habitat restoration projects for coastal dry forests.

What we’d like the community to know is that however tough these trees are, they still need care and consideration for their first few years. Orange construction fencing has been placed around the plants to protect them from high traffic. Our Beautification Chair and avid paddler, Dawn Peerson has taken it upon herself to refill their green watering bags four times a week! Over the next few weeks, we hope to acquire some mulch to put around their roots to help retain moisture in the soil, block weeds, and keep the soil and plant roots cool. We are coming into the summer months so we hope these steps will help our milo trees thrive.

Many volunteers will be coming by to water these trees, and we ask for your kokua – please don’t disturb the fencing around these young trees. We hope that you’ll take a moment to notice these five milo trees and envision the wonderful cooling shade that they will provide for the community in the years to come. This is part of the North Shore Outdoor Circle mission; helping where we can to keep the North Shore clean, green and beautiful.

Please consider joining us at www.outdoorcircle.org