History of the Division of Urban Forestry
Parks and Recreation, City and County of Honolulu
Introduction
The Division of Urban Forestry is hosted within the Department of Parks and Recreation and has changed and experienced a lot of transition over the last 100 years. The goals of the division have grown from trees for beautification to providing Oʻahu with shade and managing our urban forest as vital environmental, economic, and social resource for the city.
History
Trees in our neighborhoods and communities have been long valued. This 1905 Hawaiian Gazette article discussed the value of trees in urban areas and along streets.
The history of the Division of Urban Forestry can be traced back to November 23, 1922. This was when Ordinance No. 227 was passed and the Shade Tree Commission was established within the City and County of Honolulu.
The Shade Tree Commission was composed of the president of The Outdoor Circle, the City and County of Honolulu Engineer, the Superintendent of the City and County of Honolulu Parks and Playgrounds, the Superintendent of Forestry of the Territory of Hawaiʻi, and one other person nominated by the public utility corporation.
The Shade Tree Commission was able to purchase trucks and equipment thanks to monthly support provided by The Outdoor Circle, Hawaiian Electric, Mutual Telephone, and Honolulu Rapid Transit.
A plant nursery was developed in 1918 by The Outdoor Circle within Kapiʻolani Park, which was turned over to the City in 1946 and is still in use to this day.
In 1931, the Shade Tree Commission merged with the Parks and Playground Department of Honolulu to form the Parks Board of the City and County of Honolulu.
In 1946, the unification of the former Recreation Commission with the Parks Board formed the Board of Public Parks and Recreation which eventually became the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Excerpt about the shade tree crew from the 1947 Annual Report of the Board of Public Parks and Recreation
Mayor Frank F. Fasi established a policy of preserving the beauty of Hawaiʻi wherever possible.
In 1977, the Beautification Division was created under the Department of Parks and Recreation with Robert Miyashita as the division administrator.
In 1993, Stanley Oka became the division administrator. The Beautification Division merged with Honolulu Botanical Gardens in 1998, forming the Horticultural and Botanical Services Division. It was renamed the Division of Urban Forestry a few years later. Around this time, more attention was put towards incorporating native plants and trees in urban areas.
The Division of Urban Forestry (DUF) became more technical over time. In the 1990s, green industry certification became incorporated into the operation. This improved tree installation, tree care, and pruning practices.
We appreciate our staff that have worked for the division over the years have contributed to making DUF into what it is today.
Today
DUF is comprised of three branches; Administration, Horticulture Services, and the Honolulu Botanical Gardens. DUF prides itself on its skilled and experienced staff. Almost all DUF employees hold at least one credential in nationally and internationally recognized arboriculture, horticulture, or other plant or trade-related fields. These include the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborists and Certified Tree Workers, the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) Registered Consulting Arborists, Commercial Driver’s Licenses, and many others.
DUF Administration includes various roles that are vital to DUF, with a focus on guiding and managing the work that is conducted for our urban forest. This includes budgeting, purchasing, personnel, logistics, pubic communications, and correspondence to manage and maintain City trees around Oʻahu. Our administration also manages the Exceptional Tree Program as defined in the City and County of Honolulu Chapter 41 Article 13 Protective Regulations for Exceptional Trees (PDF) .
Horticulture Services is comprised of two Sections; the Nursery and Landscape Section and the Arboriculture Section.
The Nursery and Landscape Section operates plant nurseries and tree farms to be used for City projects and DUF's tree planting program. They are also responsible for tree installations and early tree care for newly planted street and park trees. The native plant demonstration at Queen Kapiʻolani Garden in Waikīkī (previously known as the Queen Kapiʻolani Rose Garden) has been one of the Nursery's long-standing projects. The Garden is now used as reference for native plants in urban landscaping settings.
The Arborculture Section trims, prunes, and maintains palms and shade trees along public roads and in City parks. They are trained to perform specialized aboriculture work such as structural and corrective pruning, tree removals, and pest management. Additionally, they are tasked with emergency responses to fallen trees or branches for the safety and health of communities.
Community Forestry Program
Over the last 20 years, the division has worked to help people understand the value of trees as an important part of our green infrastructure.
In December 2017, Mayor Caldwell committed, via the Chicago Climate Charter, to planting 100,000 trees across the island of O‘ahu by 2025. Then, in early March 2018, Mayor Caldwell committed to increasing the urban canopy coverage across O‘ahu to 35% by 2035. By late March 2018, City Council passed Resolution 18-055 (PDF) , in support of the effort to increase the city’s urban tree canopy to at least 35% by 2035.
In 2019, the Community Forestry Program was created to promote environmental sustainability, community stewardship, and tree education for the public through collaboration amongst various sectors. With goals to increase the canopy cover on Oʻahu, the Community Forestry Program plays an important role in increasing the number of trees we are able to plant.
For more information on the Community Forestry Program, go to https://bit.ly/oahutrees .
Various Community Forestry partnered events!
Honolulu Botanical Gardens
The Honolulu Botanical Gardens include five diverse and beautiful locations across O‘ahu:
- Foster Botanical Garden (Downtown Honolulu)
- Liliʻuokalani Botanical Garden (Downtown Honolulu)
- Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden (Kāneʻohe)
- Koko Crater Botanical Garden (East Honolulu)
- Wahiawā Botanical Garden (Wahiawā).
Each garden is home to its unique set of flora, and all together, they create a vast and bountiful collection of plants for anyone to visit and explore. The botanical gardens also host a variety of different programming and classes for all-around family engagement.
For more information, go to the Honolulu Botanical Garden wesbite!
The Community Recreational Gardening Program was started in 1975 and is hosted by Honolulu Botanical Gardens. This was to provide people living in Honolulu's densely populated communities access to garden plots. To date, there are a total of 11 Community Gardens, totaling over 1,200 plots! For more information click here .
Notable Planting Projects
DUF Projects over the years
Lunalilo Home Road, Hawaii Kai
In 2013, 116 street trees were planted along Lunalilo Home Road and nearby streets. Tulipwood, variegated hau, silver trumpet, silver buttonwood, and white tecoma were among the species planted.
Magic Island/ʻĀina Moana, Ala Moana Regional Park
A total of 123 trees/palms were planted at Magic Island in 2019. This included 56 coconuts, 22 milo, 16 geometry, 9 rainbow shower, 6 pink tecoma, 5 kukui, 5 narra, and 4 beach heliotrope trees.
Honolulu Hale
DUF Landscape Architect, David Kumasaka, designed various projects during his 30+ years with the division. This included two projects at Honolulu Hale:
1. A Hawaiian plant garden was completed in 2020 at Honolulu Hale in memory of those who passed from COVID-19. Kukui trees and loulu palms were planted along with other landscaping plants.
2. In 2019, a Japanese garden was designed and planted for to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gannemono, the first Japanese immigrants who immigrated to Hawaiʻi.
Downtown/Chinatown
In 2021, there were 44 trees were planted in Downtown/Chinatown as part of the continued effort to revitalize the area. For more information, check out the press release here .
Kīpapa Neighborhood Park
In celebration of Arbor Day in 2013, 2 pak lan trees were planted at Kīpapa Park.
Haleiwa Aliʻi Beach Park
As part of a north shore beautification project in 2019, 41 trees were planted at Haleiwa Aliʻi Beach Park. This included 1 monkeypod, 6 beach heliotrpoe, 6 autograph, 20 varigated hau, and 8 milo trees.
For more information check out the press release here .
