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A person in a Reforest the Future shirt looking out over the ocean toward a Hawaiian island ridgeline

Grow a Forest in Hawaiʻi.

Give back to the islands. Sponsor native Hawaiian trees every month. Fund the seed collection, the nursery, the planting, and years of care — before your trip, after your trip, or just because.

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$25/tree · Native forest restoration

Join the monthly tree subscription.

Our monthly plans help grow a native Hawaiian forest. Cancel anytime.

  • Native trees grown, planted and cared for 
  • Funds the full lifecycle: seed, nursery, planting, years of care
  • Planted at ʻIole in North Kohala, Hawaiʻi Island
  • Receive monthly updates and photos of your forest

Nurture native ecosystems

The most endangered place you will ever fall in love with.

Most of Hawaiʻi's dry and lowland forests are already gone. What's left catches the clouds that fill the aquifers, holds the soil off the reefs, and shelters birds found nowhere else on Earth.

  • Water

    Native forest recharges the islands’ drinking water

  • Reefs

    Rooted hillsides keep runoff off the coral

  • Habitat

    Honeycreepers survive only in native canopy

An old native tree with a broad canopy standing in a Hawaiʻi Island pasture
A mature native tree holding ground in a Hawaiʻi Island pasture

90%+

of native plants found only in Hawaiʻi

~50%

of native forest cover already lost

100%

of trees planted are native species

Young native trees regrowing on a misty Kohala pasture below forested ridges
Young native trees regrowing below the misty Kohala ridgeline

Travel that gives back

Before your trip. After your trip. Either way, leave it better.

Ten million visitors arrive each year, and every trip leaves a footprint. Start a subscription before you fly and arrive knowing trees are already growing or start it on the plane home, while the islands are still in your head.

Mālama ʻāina — care for the land, and the land cares for you.

Plant a tree

What it takes

A tree is just the beginning.

Native forest grows slowly. Every subscription funds the full journey: seed collection, nursery care, careful planting, and years of tending, so each tree has a real chance at becoming part of the canopy.

A crew member kneeling to plant a native seedling in Hawaiʻi Island soil
Forestry technician planting a Milo (Thespesia populnea) sapling
  1. 01

    Seed

    Genetically diverse seed collected from surviving native stands.

  2. 02

    Nursery

    Grown under shade cloth until strong enough for a first dry season.

  3. 03

    Planting

    Sites cleared of invasive grass and fenced against grazing animals.

  4. 04

    Care

    Watering, weeding, and monitoring for years, when most loss happens.

What you are planting

Native species only.

Some species options include the list below. Our team selects the right mix for each site, because a healthy blend of native species is better for the forest in the long run.

A young koa seedling sprouting in a nursery tray
Koa (Acacia heterophylla subsp. koa) seedling in the nursery

  • Koa

    Acacia heterophylla subsp. koa

    Fixes nitrogen, rebuilds depleted soil, and shelters native honeycreepers under its canopy.

  • ʻŌhiʻa lehua

    Metrosideros polymorpha

    The backbone of Hawaiian wet forest and the first tree to colonize raw lava flows.

  • Kamani

    Calophyllum inophyllum

    Glossy coastal canopy tree with fragrant blossoms, long planted near shoreline settlements.

  • Milo

    Thespesia populnea

    Salt-tolerant coastal tree with hibiscus-like flowers, prized for carving bowls.

  • Kou

    Cordia subcordata

    Orange blossoms and soft, workable wood used for utensils and calabashes.

  • Kukui

    Aleurites moluccanus

    Hawaiʻi’s state tree, a symbol of enlightenment and a fast-growing shade pioneer.

Where your trees are planted

ʻIole, North Kohala, Hawaiʻi Island

Your trees go into the ground at ʻIole, a nonprofit research center on the northern tip of Hawaiʻi Island. The same hillside teaches ʻāina-based science to Kohala students.

A community gathering at ʻIole in North Kohala before a native tree planting
A community gathering at ʻIole in North Kohala, Hawaiʻi Island
Map of Hawaiʻi Island showing ʻIole in Kapaʻau, North Kohala
ʻIole sits on the northern tip of Hawaiʻi Island, in Kapaʻau, North Kohala

Cleaner water

Forests recharge the aquifers the islands drink from

Richer soils

Roots and leaf litter rebuild ground stripped by grazing

Biodiversity

Habitat for birds and insects found nowhere else

Resilience

Carbon drawdown and reefs protected from runoff

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Get the information you need

The impact of your monthly support

Why does one tree cost $25? Isn’t it usually $1?

Dollar-a-tree programs skip the hard parts: site prep, species selection, fencing, and years of care. $25 covers a tree’s full lifecycle, so it is still standing decades from now.

Do I have to be traveling to Hawaiʻi to subscribe?

No. Many subscribers have never visited. But if you are going, or just got back, this is the most direct way to balance the trip.

Will I get photos of my trees?

Yes. After planting. Germination comes first, then the next planting season. We wait until trees are established before sending images.

Which species will my tree be?

Koa, ʻōhiʻa lehua, kamani, milo, kou, kukui, among others. The mix follows what the hillside needs: a biodiverse forest survives where a monoculture does not.

Can I cancel or change my subscription?

Anytime, from the billing portal link in your receipt email. There is no minimum term and no cancellation fee. Trees already funded stay funded.