Volunteers, including residents and visitors, plant native plants at the beach by the Paia Youth and Cultural Center. Photo courtesy Maui County

Volunteers gathered Oct. 20 on the shoreline near the Paia Youth and Cultural Center at Lower Paia Park for a community planting day, part of an ongoing effort to strengthen Maui’s coastline against rising sea levels.

According to the Maui County Department of Parks and Recreation, 40 volunteers helped plant 900 native plants in about two hours Oct. 20. The plants were grown at the county’s native plant nursery and included pōhuehue, ʻakiʻaki and ʻākulikuli, with supplements of nanea and Pāʻū o Hiʻiaka.

County officials say the native plantings help form sand dunes that act as natural buffers between the ocean and the land, thus strengthening the island’s defenses against rising sea levels.

The work is part of a long-term shoreline restoration project led by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department. The two-hour event began with a brief educational session and included tourists and residents, including people from the county’s Department of Corporation Counsel.

“Hosting a volunteer day increases community engagement, nourishes the relationship between people and the land, and reflects the county’s strong commitment to sustainability,” said Patrick McCall, the director of the Parks and Recreation Department. “Together, we’re doing more than shoreline restoration work — we’re growing a healthier, more connected community.”

According to the county, the native plant nursery is cultivating more than 30 native species and has propagated more than 4,000 plants, with about 2,000 already used for Maui’s dune restoration.

The dune restoration work is being done in partnership with the University of Hawaii Sea Grant Program and the Surfrider Foundation Maui Chapter.