Decorate a Live, Native Ohia for the Holidays!

MAKAWAO, HI, November 29 – Plant a Wish, a Maui-based native tree planting project that recently completed a mission to plant native trees in all 50 states, is back for a fifth consecutive year with its ‘Planting Christmas’ native Christmas tree sale and fundraising campaign. Starting today, Maui residents can begin placing orders on live, potted native ohi‘a lehua trees that have been pre-selected for decorating and displaying during the holidays. Each order includes free delivery, with all proceeds supporting the Plant a Wish project. Interested buyers can also request planting assistance, or may plant their holiday tree with Plant a Wish at an active native restoration site on Maui.

In 2007, ‘Plant a Wish’ co-founder and Makawao resident Joseph Imhoff initiated ‘Planting Christmas’, an annual project that initiates community support of the local native tree farming economy and encourages native habitat restoration in everyone’s backyard. As an expansion of his tree efforts on Maui, in 2010 Imhoff and his wife Sara Tekula began Plant a Wish, a 50-state native tree planting campaign and documentary film project. The couple completed their 50-state mission this year, on November 5^th, with a grand finale in Hawaii in celebration of Arbor Day.

‘Planting Christmas’ trees may also be purchased as gifts and can be delivered to other Maui residents. For off-island residents, native tree dedications are also available, where customers can send gift cards and planting certificates to friends and family members. All proceeds from these sales support ‘Plant a Wish’, now in the post-production phase of its’ nonprofit documentary film project.

While searching for the perfect items for this year’s inventory, Imhoff decided on red ohi’a lehua, in the following sizes:

• Ohi‘a Lehua – Medium – $70 (About 3 ft tall in 5 gallon pots)
• Ohi‘a Lehua – Large – $110 (About 5 ft tall in 7 gallon pots)
• Ohi‘a Lehua – Extra-Large – Available upon request

“In our travels across the country, we have learned a great deal about the importance of native biodiversity in each local landscape,” says Imhoff. “While visiting most neighborhoods on Maui it’s rare to see any native plants growing. For the last 5 years, we have been changing this, one Christmas tree at a time.”

For more information, or to order your tree for the 2011 holiday season, please call Joseph Imhoff at 808-250-1469, or email your order to joe@plantawish.org. To purchase the trees online, customers can make secure payments at http://www.plantawish.org/planting-christmas

Decorate an Ohia Tree for the Holidays

Plant a Wish is back for a fifth consecutive year  with ‘Planting Christmas’, a live, native Christmas tree sale and fundraising campaign that offers an alternative to displaying imported, cut evergreen trees in our homes. Maui residents can begin placing orders on live, potted native ohi‘a lehua trees that have been pre-selected for decorating and displaying during the holidays.

Each order includes free delivery, with all proceeds supporting the Plant a Wish project. Interested buyers can also request planting assistance, or may plant their holiday tree with Plant a Wish at an active native restoration site on Maui.

Please click on the images below to select your tree(s). You will be taken to our secure checkout. (All major credit cards accepted, as well as PayPal.)

Ohi‘a Lehua (MEDIUM: 3' tall, 5 gallon pot)

Ohi‘a Lehua (LARGE: 5' Tall, 7 gallon pot)

Photo by Sean Michael Hower.

Our tour finale is just 3 days away! Some people are wondering if its one specific event on Maui, others think their schedule might get in the way, even more think that they’ll have to shell out some cash to buy trees to plant.

Well, after spending 15 months organizing, planning, and traveling to planting events in all 50 states, we understand that the thought of planting a tree can feel daunting, like a big commitment.

We have always felt that this final planting event – our grand finale here in our home state of Hawai‘i – should be something special. Something everyone can be a part of.

So, we designed it that way!

There are multiple events happening on all of the islands in Hawaii - and all of them are being coordinated in solidarity with Plant a Wish. It doesn’t matter where you are, or what you have, you can join us!

So, without further ado, here are 7 Ways to Be a Part of the Plant a Wish Finale:

1. No cash? Pick up a free tree at one of the many tree giveaways organized by Arbor Day Hawaii on November 5th. Here’s a list of all of the locations. Plant it at home or with a local community group. Don’t be afraid to ask our experts if you’re wondering what type of tree to plant.

2. No car? Plant a tree at your home, at a community planting event within walking distance, carpool, take the bus to one of the events, or plan a planting at your neighbor’s house. We feel that when you plant a tree, you’re really planting it for a future generation anyway, so it doesn’t matter if it’s your house or your neighbor’s house…either way, the future looks bright!

3. Are you a renter? It’s okay, many of us are not landowners in Hawai‘i, which can make it harder to find a place to plant a long-lived tree. Have no fear! There are plenty of community planting events you can attend, and we bet there’s one near you! Our list is being updated daily with new public planting events located on all of the islands.

4. Amateur/Professional Photograher? You can participate by documenting a community planting event or private planting near you. We’re looking to compile all of the photos for listing on our website, in social media, and – with your permission – for potential use in our documentary film.

5. Have a way to shoot video? We’d love more coverage of the tree planting events that are sprouting up all around Hawaii! It doesn’t matter if it’s a camera phone or a fancy camera, it all counts! Connect with one of the local events near you, and contribute by capturing footage of a planting event. In our finished film, we want to create a montage of the awesome efforts in Hawaii, so we’ll need lots of footage to do that. (We can only attend so many events in one day.)

6. Have a gift for gab? Before November 5th, make sure everyone you know has a link to this post (http://plantawish.org/2011/11/7-ways-finale/), and share the Facebook event with all of your friends and Twitter followers! Your help will result in more trees planted for Hawaii’s future! (Tweeps, we’re using the hashtag #PlantHI)

7. Make sure your trees count!*** At the end of the day, head on over to our online form, and let us know what you planted where. We’re planning on creating a fun map and info-graphic that shows the unified effort!

***Don’t forget to plant your wishes!