UHMC SLIM Program to Offer ‘Native Plant Road Show’

By Maui Now Staff

A unique series on Native Hawaiian plants will give participants the opportunity to visit a variety of settings, see diverse plants and learn from six experts who want to share their knowledge and experience.

The Sustainable Living Institute of Maui at UH Maui College will offer the “Native Plant Roadshow” beginning on Sept. 22, and running four Tuesday afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m.

“Native plants know how to survive on Maui,” said SLIM Education Coordinator/Specialist Melanie Stephens. “Over centuries, they have adapted to wet, dry, hot, cool, windy, salty and every type of soil. And they can be extraordinarily beautiful.”

In the first class of the series, Ethan Romanchak and Jonathan Keyser, owners of Native Nursery in Kula, will introduce how natives can be used and the best strategies for success. The class will be held at UHMC.

The second class will take place at the Westin Kā‘anapali Ocean Resort with Duane Sparkman, landscape manager and engineer. He will focus on shoreline natives and present a tour of native plantings at the resort.

The third class will visit the Native Nursery in Kula and the Ho‘olawa Nursery in Ha‘ikū—two well-known Maui native nurseries. The guided tours of these two nurseries will introduce students to native stock and how best to use it.

The last class will journey to Olinda to the native landscapes of Kim and Forest Starr. These naturalists are famous for their photos of Hawaiian vegetation generously shared online. Both manicured house landscape and reforested gulch display a wide array of Upcountry natives.

To register for this series, go online or call 984-3231.

A 10% discount is available until Sept. 17. The class costs $199.

For more information, contact Stephens via email or call 984-3502.