Our Mission

In 2019, Hawai’i Environmental Restoration (HER) was established as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation in order to become more effective with our growing goals. Our intensive native rainforest restoration project began in 2014 under the umbrella of Malama O Puna, Pahoa’s environmental resource center. Please view Article in Ke Ola magazine from 2015. 

The mission of Hawaii Environmental Restoration (hereinafter referred to as HER) is to help restore the natural integrity of Hawai’i’s environment. As the Hawaiian island ecosystems continue to be lost to development, agriculture and invasive species, there is an urgent need for conservation planning and implementation. Protecting the few remaining native forests is crucial to preserving Hawaii’s unique cultural and biological resources. In being part of a worldwide movement toward the protection of all remaining forest lands, HER is dedicated to nurturing environmental awareness for students and stewards who wish to contribute to Hawaii’s historical heritage and environmental betterment.

That is why environmental education is an equally important part of HER mission. Though the prioritization of forests is invaluable in preserving an endless network of organisms, it secures our livelihood as humans, who rely upon healthy ecosystem services and a stable climate. We seek to help people make that connection between the earth’s forests, and our very sustenance as humans. HER teaches people essential knowledge for the improvement and protection of Hawaii’s particularly fragile environment by helping to develop awareness of plant dynamics people impose through unexamined every day choices. It is critical for us as a community to learn how we could help support the lowland environment at large, by making wise plant choices for sustainable living in their own lives.

The spiritual mission of our organization is to inspire people in developing a deeper connection to the earth, and specifically to enter a sacred rapport with the land here in Hawai’i; one that honors its native people,  perpetuates the Hawaiian culture, and protects the original plant communities of this land. HER occasionally offers ceremonial opportunity for those wishing to show appropriate sensitivities as they endeavor to create a harmonious and sustainable existence with the land’s inherent ancestors, natural spirits and elementals.