This resource combines an informational webpage with the approximately 22-minute animated documentary Ola Ka Honua. The film recounts the decline of Hawaiʻi’s native forests and follows the community-led restoration of Auwahi, a dry forest on the leeward side of Haleakalā. It shows how volunteers, conservation workers, and ʻUlupalakua Ranch helped transform remnant “museum forest” trees in pastureland into a regenerating native forest.
The page also explains the ecological and cultural importance of Hawaiian watershed forests. These forests collect, filter, and store freshwater; provide habitat for native plants, birds, snails, and insects; and are connected to wao akua, Hawaiian cosmology, and ethnobotany.
Animated Forest Restoration Case Study
Learners watch the film and examine how Auwahi changed from a diverse native forest to a degraded landscape and then began recovering through organized community restoration. Students can identify the causes of forest decline, document the restoration strategies shown, and reflect on how volunteerism, land stewardship, and long-term partnerships can restore endangered ecosystems.
