Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods Sponsors Plant a Wish's National Tree Planting Project

HONOLULU, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is proud to announce its sponsorship of the Plant a Wish Project.  Plant a Wish—developed by husband and wife team Joseph Imhoff and Sara Tekula—is a public awareness campaign and documentary film project aiming to restore native habitats around America, while engaging communities and inspiring individuals to take an active role in the health of their environment. The two Maui filmmakers (and project founders) will plant native trees in each of the 50 states, learning the stories behind the trees, blogging about their daily experiences, and collecting footage for a feature-length documentary film. They do all of this to fulfill their biggest wish: for future generations to enjoy healthy communities with an abundance of biodiversity, native plants and trees, fresh air, and clean water.

The Plant a Wish Tour—which begins this week in Madison, Wisconsin will be planting and filming in the Mid-West and Northeastern US through June with stops in: Minneapolis, Minnesota; Knoxville, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Atchison, Kansas; Columbia, Missouri; Urbana-Champaign, IL; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; Northern Kentucky; West Virginia; Virginia; Washington D.C.; Chesapeake Bay, Maryland; Delaware; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; New York, New York and Long Island, New York; Connecticut; Rhode Island; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; Maine; Vermont; and Bad Axe, Michigan.

Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is offsetting the carbon footprint for the first leg of the Plant a Wish Tour by planting 50 native koa trees as part of their sustainable forestry project on the Big Island of Hawaii. "Carbon sequestration is something we all need to think about when going green," says Jeff Dunster, CEO of Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods. "We believe in the mission of Plant a Wish and want to help them succeed in getting their message out."

In addition, Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is offering a matching program to help further offset Plant a Wish's three future tours. Tree lovers can purchase a koa Legacy Tree to dedicate as a living legacy—to commemorate an event, honor an individual or memorialize a loved one—for only $75. For every koa Legacy Tree purchased through Plant a Wish (www.PlantaWish.org), a portion of the proceeds will directly benefit the Plant a Wish Project and a second koa Legacy Tree will be planted by Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods. Legacy Tree buyers will also receive a beautiful certificate of planting with the GPS coordinates of the tree planted in their honor and can schedule to visit it on the Big Island of Hawaii.

"We are thrilled to partner with Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods," says Sara Tekula, Plant a Wish Project Director. "I had the pleasure of visiting the project site on the Big Island and am in awe of the work they are doing and the boundless potential of their project. Their support of Plant a Wish will add fuel to our creative fire as film makers, and will give our tour project a nice boost."

Log onto www.HawaiianLegacyHardwoods.com for a link to the daily blog and updates by Plant a Wish.

The Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods (HLH) Plantation is located 34 miles north of Hilo above the historic Umikoa Village on the slopes of Mauna Kea.  The 2,700-acre sustainable forestry project will support the growth of 1.3 million rare tropical hardwood trees, primarily Koa, indigenous only to Hawaii.  While the majority of the plantation is dedicated for the investment of raising a sustainable source of koa, portions are set aside for koa Legacy Trees which will remain standing. The planting site was once a magnificent Koa forest and was the personal property of King Kamehameha I. This old growth forest was almost lost to clear-cut harvesting and cattle grazing.  Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is working to return this site to its former glory. 

Check out http://www.plantawish.org to learn more, to contribute or get involved.

SOURCE Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods