Photo: Matthew Thayer | Maui News
When a deadly wildfire tore through Lahaina on Maui last August, the flames scorched the 151-year-old banyan tree along Front Street. But it survived the blaze, and thanks to arborists and volunteers, parts are growing back. India shipped the tree as a gift for the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Protestant missionaries to live in Lahaina. The intense heat dried out much of the tree, says Duane Sparkman, chair of the Maui County Arborist Committee. Sparkman, who estimates that Lahaina lost some 25,000 trees in all, founded a nonprofit called Treecovery that is growing some 3,500 trees in “micro-nurseries” across the island until people can move back into their homes.
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