“What a great day! By partnering with ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest, we turned our little plant sale into a community event!,” said CTAHR’s Junior Extension Agent Laura Rieber, capturing the aloha of a community gathering at the Komohana Research and Extension Center in Hilo earlier this year.

The collaboration between the Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) Extension Program team and the East Hawaiʻi Master Gardeners is part of CTAHR’s commitment to caring for Hawaiʻi’s people and places, such as the endangered ʻōhiʻa.

More than 1,300 people and 25 exhibitors participated in hands-on activities, learning practical ways to protect ʻōhiʻa, planting seeds, and creating ʻōhiʻa-inspired art:

• Community partners showcased local conservation, sustainable gardening, and other environmental initiatives.
• Native garden tours and moʻolelo shared valuable cultural knowledge.
• Workshops covered ʻōhiʻa transplantation, and seed packets were distributed.
• The Master Gardeners offered ʻōhiʻa and other native plants for sale, encouraging future planting efforts.

CTAHR’s Hawaiʻi County Administrator Bruce Mathews appreciated the youth development at the ʻōhiʻa festival. “A special mahalo to all the volunteers who facilitated the logistics with aloha and the many exhibitors and speakers. The 4-H keiki were also so proud to share about their experiences and professionally provided details with confidence beyond their years,” he said.