New Trees Take Root in Lahaina, Hawaii, Two Years After Devastating Wildfires

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New Trees Take Root in Lahaina, Hawaii, Two Years After Devastating Wildfires

2025-08-12 03:24 Last Updated At：03:41

LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 11, 2025--

On the two-year anniversary of the deadly wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, the Arbor Day Foundation launched its effort to help replant lost tree canopy. The Foundation distributed more than 580 trees alongside its local planting partner The Outdoor Circle, in collaboration with Treecovery Hawaii and The Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows.

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“Recovery from a wildfire of this scale can take years, but the Arbor Day Foundation is committed to being here for the long haul. We’re proud to work alongside the passionate advocates at The Outdoor Circle to help regrow a flourishing community canopy,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “We know trees won’t replace all of what’s been lost in Lahaina, but they can help grow new roots of resilience and nurture hope for the future.”

“The Outdoor Circle is honored to help re-tree Lahaina after the tragic fires of 2023. The support from United Airlines and the Arbor Day Foundation has allowed our organization, in conjunction with Treecovery and the Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows, to be able to provide hundreds of free trees to the Lahaina community as part of the ongoing recovery. Partnerships like these are essential to keep Hawaii green and beautiful and we look forward to seeing the positive impact these trees will have throughout the local community for years to come,” said Dr. Myles Ritchie, Programs Director, The Outdoor Circle.

"To have a chance to work with The Outdoor Circle and The Arbor Day Foundation on replenishing the loss of fruit trees in Lahaina is amazing. Partnerships like this make long term recovery efforts possible," said Duane Sparkman, Founder and President of Treecovery Hawaii, Chief Engineer at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows.

Trees were distributed to community members and families affected by the wildfire that struck on August 8, 2023. The disaster remains one of the deadliest in Hawaii’s history, claiming more than 100 lives. The wildfire also caused approximately $5.5 billion in damage and destroyed more than 2,200 structures on the island of Maui.

Friday’s event at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows was also designed to help address local food insecurity. According to the Hawaii Foodbank, 30% of households in the state are food insecure — approximately twice the national average. As part of the effort to increase the availability of fresh, healthy food, 94% of the trees distributed Friday were fruit or food producing trees.

The Arbor Day Foundation has been heavily invested in assisting disaster-affected communities and forestlands since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005 and has planted and distributed millions of trees as a result. The work has aided recovery efforts following wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.

Restoring tree cover after a wildfire isn’t quick or easy. Fire damages the land so severely it can take years before trees are ready to be planted. Visit arborday.org to learn more about the long road to recovery after a wildfire and what it takes to replant a forest.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners.

And this is only the beginning.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.

About The Outdoor Circle

The Outdoor Circle is Hawaii's oldest environmental nonprofit, having advocated for the planting and protection of trees across the state since 1912. Since then, The Outdoor Circle has planted and given away hundreds of thousands of trees across Hawaii and works closely with the community to ensure that trees continue to be a major feature throughout the state. To learn more, please visit outdoorcircle.org.

About Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows

Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows is one of Maui’s first resorts, unfolding across 27 acres of sun-kissed, tropical gardens on the world-renowned Ka’anapali Beach. The intimate property, once the preferred retreat for Hawaiian royalty, remains independently owned and curated by locals who share the values of the islands. With stunning panoramic views of neighboring islands, Lanai and Molokai, and premier access to over a mile of secluded Ka’anapali Beach, the intimate oasis offers 333 guest rooms and 127 private bungalows, exquisite open-air dining, the dazzling Myths of Maui Luau, The Spa at Royal Lahaina, two serene pools, recreational and tennis/pickleball courts, an adjacent golf course, and above all, its hallmark warmth of personalized hospitality with aloha. The resort invites guests to immerse themselves in the natural beauty and rich culture of Maui, offering a restoring and re-energizing blend of relaxation and adventure. For more information, please visit www.royallahaina.com | @royallahainaresort or call 808-661-3611.

Bazball revolution falters for England in the Ashes, but it's not the end of the system

The architects of the Bazball revolution that England aimed to use to summit test cricket have conceded the preparation wasn't quite right for the Ashes. That's not to say the strategy will be shelved.

After arriving on Australian shores with great expectations, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes were intent on imposing the attack-at-all-costs strategy on the contest for the oldest trophy in cricket.

After just one warmup game — an internal trial against the second-string England lineup — it quickly backfired.

Relying on a pragmatic, conventional approach to the game and long experience of the conditions, Australia retained the Ashes on Sunday with two matches remaining.

“Retrospectively, we lost 3-0 so you would probably say there was room for change there," McCullum told British broadcaster TNT Sport in terms of the preparations. “You put your hand up as a coach and say you might not have got that right.”

After England lost the first two tests by eight wickets, McCullum decided the squad had overdone it in training between the outings in Perth and Brisbane and decided to give the players a break at Noosa, one of Australia's premier beach resort villages.

The rest and relaxation did improve one statistic — in Adelaide England made it to Day 5 of a test for the first time on tour.

McCullum had been building for the Ashes series for years but hasn't yet been able to break the long drought in Australia extending back to 2011.

“We came here with high hopes, high ambitions and lofty goals,” he said. “And we’ve been outplayed across three test matches.”

The Bazball strategy was suspended late in Brisbane when Stokes played a conservative hand in trying to save the day-night test. In the last two days in Adelaide, with some glaring expectations, the batters at least tried to grit it out at the crease rather than hit the ball out of the ground every over.

“The last two days have been our best cricket, and that's because we've just played,” McCullum said. “The previous nine days, we were so caught up and so driven to achieve something and succeed that we've almost got in our own way and we've stymied our talent and our skill and our ability.”

McCullum said there were lessons to be taken from the differences in the contest in the third test.

“There's a lesson not just for the players. There's a lesson for the coach and the coaching staff,” he said. "Preparation, that'll be something that's questioned.

“But we do have a great opportunity in the next two tests. We need to find something out of this tour. We need to play for pride.”

England's bowling attack hasn't so far got its line and length right consistently on the hard, bouncy Australian wickets. Top-order batters have given away their wickets with poor shot selection — often attacking when conditions called for defense. There were too many catches put down, whereas Australia's catching has at times been exceptional.

Under Stokes and McCullum, whose nickname is “Baz,” England played an entertaining brand of cricket that earned the label “Bazball” that turned around the fortunes of England’s test team. But it has divided critics.

McCullum said some players had gone off script in the heat of the moment.

“I did think we were rock hard in our belief of the style we were going to play when we came down here, knowing that we were going to be challenged,” he said, “but I do think we got a little bit stuck.”

Stokes said there'd be no “restricting people’s mindset” in terms of how they believe they can succeed for the team.

“You never want to take away their ability to go out and score their runs in the way they feel is best going to suit them,” the England skipper said. "But then, marrying the skills and the ability that they have with the mentality that it takes to be successful as an international sportsman.

“You put those two together and I know that we’ve got a very, very exciting test team."

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket