SOS Club Co-Chair ʻAleʻa Kimokeo harvests kalo at Kauluwehi Biocultural Garden for community food donations. UH Maui College

An annual event to demonstrate support for environmental protection first held in 1970, Earth Day on April 22 won’t go unnoticed on Maui.

The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea and Maui United Way will host the inaugural Earth Day Expo on April 22, bringing together environmental organizations, residents and visitors for a community-focused celebration of sustainability.

The free public event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the resort and will feature educational booths, interactive activities and short presentations from more than a dozen local groups working to protect Maui’s natural and cultural resources.

Additionally, UH Maui College’s Student ‘Ohana for Sustainability, or SOS, club will host a volunteer event on April 22 to celebrate Earth Day and the campus’s recent designation as a Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation.

The Mālama ʻĀina volunteer activities will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Kauluwehi Biocultural Garden and WaiPono Farm on the college’s Kahului campus. Participants will help prep a new composting site, maintain aquaponics systems, and assist with seeding and repotting native plants.

Agroecology tech Robert Tada propagates native plants at Kauluwehi Biocultural Garden nursery for fire-wise landscaping donations. Photo courtesy UH Maui College

For the Earth Day Expo at the Four Seasons Resort, participating organizations include the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, Pacific Whale Foundation, Hawai’i Nature Center, Mauna Kahālāwai Watershed Partnership, and the Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission, among others.

“The Earth Day Expo brings together local organizations, residents and visitors to celebrate and learn from the environmental efforts shaping the future of Maui,” said Taylor Fujimoto, sustainability manager at Four Seasons Resort Maui. “We look forward to fostering these important conversations and inspiring collective action.”

Activities at the expo will include a watershed-themed Plinko board, eco-writing workshops, seed giveaways, keiki games and presentations about native species and island ecosystems. Attendees will also be eligible for raffle prizes, including a $200 dining gift card, a spa treatment and a one-night stay at the resort.

The event is part of the resort’s wider sustainability efforts, which include a composting program, the Keālia Pond Restoration Project and an educational bee tour. Four Seasons Resort Maui is a recipient of the 2024 Green Business Award.

The Tree Campus designation recognizes UH Maui College’s commitment to sustainability, community engagement, and environmental stewardship. The announcement comes as April is celebrated as Native Hawaiian Plant Month and 2025 has been proclaimed the Year of Community Forests in Hawai’i.

According to Nicolette van der Lee, program manager at UHMC, the college is engaging its students and community to grow native plants and trees in support of regreening Lahaina through a collaboration with Treecovery.

“Earth Day isn’t just a day to connect with the land but a day to connect with people,” said Daniel Reyes, SOS Club president. “SOS wants to encourage students and our community to build relationships in a fun and impactful way.”

The Earth Day event is open to the public and supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Volunteers can sign up at SOSohanamaui.com/about-3.

High school students in UHMC’s ʻĀina Data Stewards map native trees at UHMC campus. UH Maui College