The Lahaina banyan tree is decked out in Christmas lights in December 2019. Maui News archive photo

Duane Sparkman, Maui County Arborist Committee chairman and founder of Treecovery, said this time of year brings back memories of Lahaina’s beloved banyan tree.

When asked what memories he had of the tree that will celebrate 152 years at the Lahaina Banyan Court Park this coming April, he responded: “Gathering with friends and ʻohana to walk Front Street for crafts and gifts for family, and checking out the lights the Lahaina Restoration Foundation would put up in the banyan tree.”

Since the devastating Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire that displaced thousands of residents and took the lives of more than 100 individuals, Sparkman and other tree advocates have been working to see the trees survive along the island’s west side. To many, its survival has been described as a symbol of hope and resiliency.

The banyan tree, which was a popular attraction for visitors and a source of many memories for local residents, suffered extensive heat damage in the fire, Sparkman said.

“Only one small section had caught fire on the south west corner of the tree, and 100% of the tree was affected by the fire and heat load,” he said.

Sparkman and other volunteers have been working to help the banyan tree and other trees impacted by both the Lahaina and Kula fires. He said that, thus far, they have removed 45% to 50% of the sections that had no life left. With the addition of compost tea and watering on a regular basis, there’s been vigorous growth from the sections that survived.

“It is thriving now,” he said.

Sparkman said the sections that were cut out of the banyan tree need to be replanted with its own keiki. Once the keiki are planted, the real recovery of the park can begin.

“What is alive is recovering,” he said.

Currently, Sparkman and others participating in the recovery efforts are adding compost tea applications to the tree, watering it regularly with a temporary irrigation system and helping to fight off borer beetles. He hopes to see the tree one day adorned with holiday lights on its branches again.

“Yes, we will see lights back in the banyan tree once things are cleared up and some normalcy has been established,” he said.

According to an Associated Press report, the banyan tree is the oldest living one on Maui. Although it is not indigenous to Hawai’i, it was a gift shipped from India to symbolize the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant missionaries coming to West Maui and was planted in 1873.

To learn more about Treecovery Hawai’i, visit treecoveryhawaii.org.