Page 4 - MidWeek Windward - March 17, 2021

4 MARCH 17, 2021
Exceptional Monkeypod Trees In Kailua Receive Trimming
The latest tree trimming of some truly exceptional monkeypod trees at Women’s Community Correc- tional Center in Kailua took place earlier this month.
Undan has been the arborist that LKOC uses to prune the trees ev- ery two to three years since 2002, and he has been maintaining the Moanalua monkeypod tree.
Baumgartner notes that these trees are not readily accessible for close-up viewing by the pub- lic since they are on the facility grounds.
Arborist Abner Undan from Trees of Hawaiʻi Inc. and his crew did the work, which was funded by Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle.
Monkeypod trees were brought into Hawaiʻi during the 1850s.
However, those who are trav- eling toward Kailua on Kalani- anaʻole Highway from Waimānalo can look over to the right and ob- serve two of the trees near the edge of the highway.
Exceptional status gives trees protection from being cut down or harmed, but it also mandates that they be correctly maintained to re- main on the register.
The trees at the correctional center in Kailua, meanwhile, are more than 100 years old and de- scribed by LKOC as “exceptional in size and beauty.”
The Outdoor Circle is an envi- ronmental organization that was founded in Honolulu in 1912.
So, LKOC made the commit- ment 20 years ago to do mainte- nance of the trees to make sure they would be protected.
They vary in height from 50 to 60 feet, have trunk diameters of about 90 inches, and have canopies that are more than 100 feet in width.
The Lani-Kailua branch was founded in 1948 and has been ded- icated to beautifying Kailua by planting and maintaining trees and landscaping in public spaces, per- forming community cleanup activ- ities, advocating for environmental causes, and educating the next gen- eration to be good environmental stewards.
This is the big trunk of an exceptional monkeypod located at Women’s Community Correctional Center in Kailua. PHOTOS COURTESY LANI-KAILUA OUTDOOR CIRCLE
In 2000, LKOC began the pro- cess of trying to designate the mon- keypod trees at the center as excep- tional.
LKOC director of communica- tions Teddi Baumgartner states that all the trees have been rated in ex- cellent condition.
Then, in November 2001, three trees were accepted for inclusion on the state Exceptional Tree Reg- ister by the Honolulu Arborist Ad- visory Committee.
Baumgartner adds that the trees are also doing a part to store and sequester carbon, produce oxygen, and intercept stormwater.
At that time, Undan said the girth of one of the trees at WCCC was bigger than “the granddaddy mon- keypod” at Moanalua Gardens.
Their leaves open out by day to screen the sun’s rays and then close at dusk, shedding dew.
LKOC emphasizes that all of these efforts that it has focused on have had a positive impact on the livability and sustainability of the community.
They have pink leaves at the top in spring and flower from late spring to summer, according to LKOC.
For additional information about the organization, visit lkoc.org.
Members of the Trees of Hawai’i Inc. crew, led by arborist Abner Undan, arrive for pruning work on the monkeypods in Kailua earlier this month.
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