"Approximately 90 percent of the 1,400 plant species native to the Hawaiian Islands are found nowhere else in the world. Consequently, Hawaiʻi has the dubious distinction of being the "Endangered Species Capital of the World," with more than 300 plant species listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."
Nelli Sugii, Director,
Hawaiian Rare Plant Program, Lyon Arboretum
HONOLULU — The Chamberlin Family Foundation has pledged $100,000 to support the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum's Micropropagation Lab capital improvement project. This project will develop significantly greater lab capacity and enhance the critical rescue and recovery work the Arboretum undertakes to protect and save the most rare of Hawaiʻi's native plants.
" The Arboretum's Hawaiian Rare Plant Program is the primary living plant and seed storage facility for the government and private conservation programs in the State of Hawaiʻi. If we are to meet the pressing conservation needs a larger, efficient and updated laboratory is imperative," said Dr. Christopher Dunn, director, Harold L. Lyon Arboretum. "We greatly appreciate the Chamberlin Family Foundation's support which will have a tremendous impact on the efforts to rescue, recover and rehabilitate threatened plant species in the State of Hawaiʻi and around the tropical world."
The Arboretum's Lab, the only one of its kind in Hawaiʻi, is vital in preventing the extinction of native Hawaiian plant species by maintaining plant and seed bank collection, and propagating plants for use in restoration and reintroduction projects. Currently this lab houses more than 16,000 individual plants and 160 native plant species, which is less than 50% of the species requiring protection.
The new laboratory facilities will nearly double the size of the lab, will include the development of a visitor viewing and interpretive component and greater storage capacity for endangered plants, and provide an efficient working environment more conducive to the Arboretum's critical rescue and recovery research being conducted. The new facility will also include an area where visitors (including the 6,000 children engaged in education programs) can view scientists at work and learn from interpretative materials.
Please contact Emily Fay at (808) 956-5665 or [email protected] for information on how you can support the Lyon Arboretum.
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The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. Our mission is to unite our donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi's aspirations to benefit the people of Hawaiʻi and beyond. We do this by raising private philanthropic support, managing private investments and nurturing donor and alumni relationships. www.uhfoundation.org.
Mission of the Lyon Arboretum
To increase the appreciation of the unique flora of Hawaiʻi and the tropics, by conserving, curating, and studying plants and their habitats; providing inclusive educational opportunities; encouraging use by the broader community; and supporting the educational, scientific, and service activities of the University of Hawaiʻi. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/lyon/
