SOUTH MAUI COASTAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR:
The vision for a wider, 6-8 foot trail came about through a meeting at the Kihei Community Center in 2002 where Helen Felsing and Joe Bertram III gave a presentation of a trail that was to connect from Kealia Pond to Makena. The trail had been on the Community Plan for over ten years but other than studies and dreams, it had not materialized. A new boardwalk constructed at Kealia Pond near Ma'alaea, opening sometime in 2007, will mark the start of the South Maui Coastal Heritage Corridor trail.
The presentation made the Richardson’s think that perhaps the trail they were building and maintaining could be a part of this larger picture and so obtained more information and sought to gain permission to widen the trail. It happened that in 2003, a storm hit the South Maui coastline that brought hundreds of yards of coral onto the shore. The small beach area on the south trail was covered in coral. The Richardson’s took this as a fateful event and thought to use the washed up coral as trail liner after first asking the advice of a Hawaiian cultural leader, Kimokeo Kapahulehua. The leader explained that using coral as a trail liner is what the ancient Hawaiians did so they could find their way at night. It would be fitting and appropriate, the leader continued, to use the washed up white coral from the beach for the Hoaloha ‘Āina trail. Today, the entire trail is marked from the Surf Side Resort to Kamaole Beach Park III with coral on both sides of the trail.
What a blessing and wonderful omen, the sea has not taken away nor given up any more coral since that fateful winter when they started to widen the trail that will eventually connect with the entire South Maui Coastal Heritage Corridor Trail.
KIAWE TREES:
Kiawe trees are not indigenous plants to Maui. They were actually introduced by the missionaries. The kiawe thorns encouraged clothing compliance and the pods from the tree provided high protein food for the goats and cattle. When the livestock ate the pods, the seeds would soften and begin to germinate in the belly of the animal. Everywhere the animal would go and leave its waste; there would be the fertile clump from which new trees would propagate. There must have been some active animals in this part of the south Maui shoreline, because there are almost 300 kiawe trees between the start of the Hoaloha ‘Āina south trial and Kamaole Beach Park III!
Volunteers are working to trim and shape some of the larger trees and remove the smaller shrubs—especially the ones with the thorns! In speaking with a local cultural expert, the limbs should be laid into wind rows which would allow the sands to be trapped so that the area will be restored. The ruts will naturally be eliminated and the dunes can be rebuilt through these wind rows. It is a long, arduous job (not to mention dangerous!) to work around kiawe but progress has been excellent. The added bonus to all of this trimming and cutting is that the ocean view all the way to South Kihei Road has been opened up. What used to be blocked by patches of dense kiawe is now a beautiful view of the Boat Ramp and ocean.
Along the trail, native ilima and ilima papa are also being exposed by removing weeds around them in order to give them the greatest chance for survival and repropogation.
During a combined workday with the Rotary Club of Kihei-Wailea and Hoaloha ‘Āina; the land immediately to the side of the boat ramp was cleared of dense brush and rogue trees. See an animated slideshow of a boat ramp clean up day HERE.
AKULIKULI:
Native kou and loulu palms were exposed and trimmed. Now some irrigation puka pipe has been placed in the ditch to capture the boat rinse water to water the ground. Native akulikuli is growing wild in the area, and Hoaloha ‘Āina will be planting and transplanting some of the groundcover so that the hill will have erosion control. The added bonus of using akulikuli is that the roots have toxin-negating properties! The roots actually filter the toxins and neutralize them. Akulikuli has been discovered to clear ponds of scum and algae. This groundcover looks like an ice plant with dainty pink flowers and tolerates salty, dry conditions but will also do well in almost any condition. A drainage basin has been constructed on the beach below the trailer parking lot to collect boat wash runoff and akulikuli is growing nearby. Hoaloha ‘Āina hopes that between the plants growing wild and the ones to be planted will help clean all the boat rinse water before it hits the ocean.
SMALL PART OF THE WHOLE:
The trail Hoaloha ‘Āina has constructed is a small section in what will eventually be almost ten miles of trails and boardwalks. Possibly one key contribution this group has made is to set the example of what a grass roots group can do. It is hoped that others will gain inspiration to build other sections of the trail so that the South Maui Coastal Heritage Corridor Trail dream will be realized. As their literature says “Today our shoreline is as crucial to our survival as it was to Hawaiians of old. South Maui Heritage Corridor is a non-profit community movement to protect our coastal heritage through interpretive signs and publications, public trails, and community stewardship for coastal sites.” Hoaloha ‘Āina is proud to be a part of this much larger picture.
One of our first "big wins" was having barriers placed around the parking lot to keep vehicles off the trail and items from being dumped on this beautiful land.
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