Coral Reef Alliance Invites Volunteers to Help With At-Home Native Planting Kits

PC: file by Wendy Osher.

Maui’s Coral Reef Alliance has launched an at-home native planting opportunity for volunteers in lieu of other watershed restoration work, which was suspended in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have been doing restoration in West Maui for several years, planting native plants to stop sediment from reaching the ocean and also restoring the watershed,” said Larissa Treese, Maui Program Coordinator.

“We have been getting requests on how people can still volunteer so we put together an at-home native planting kit project. We are asking volunteers to help grow some plants from seed for several months then either out-plant as a group or return them to us and we will plant them,” said Treese.

Those who are interested can get their hands dirty, learn about native dry land forest plants, and help grow the keiki plants that will be used to restore degraded lands. When ready, the seedlings will be out-plant at CORAL’s newest West Maui restoration site.

There are several options for participants:

• OPTION 1: CORAL provides seeds only. Volunteers donate the pots, soil and tray.
• OPTION 2: CORAL provides the seeds, pots, and tray. Volunteers donate the soil.
• OPTION 3: CORAL provides the seeds, pots, tray and soil.

Each kit will contain supplies needed to grow approximately 50 native plants. Volunteers who are interested in helping with more than one tray of plants are asked to specify how many trays they would like.

Interested volunteers are asked to email CORAL at [email protected].