Volunteers and neighborhood groups outline phased cleanup and planting plans for Ma'omai Nature Park

Two neighborhood groups presented complementary approaches to restoring Ma'omai Nature Park: Hui Ma'omai detailed recent volunteer work and small fundraising, while Envision Kaimuki outlined a higher‑level cleanup and wildfire‑mitigation plan that would coordinate multiple organizations and agencies.

Anne, speaking for Hui Ma'omai, said the group adopted the park in early July and ran a first cleanup with 34 volunteers that collected "over 30 bags of green waste and 500 pounds of hardwood cuttings." The group sold T‑shirts and raised over $400 to buy a first‑aid kit and plans to submit an addendum to the Adopt‑a‑Park program to permit native planting.

Lori Yamada and Lot Lau of Envision Kaimuki presented a draft they described as a "rudimentary plan" that divides the park into sections (A–D), assigns likely activities for each area and emphasizes coordination with Parks and Recreation, Adopt‑a‑Park and urban forestry. Lot stressed agency approvals and liability considerations and listed potential management options — "I mentioned things like goats. I mentioned things like controlled burning," — while noting each option would require DPR permission and carries costs and risks. He also mentioned the proposal to avoid duplicate volunteer overlap and to consider specialized labor for remote areas.

Residents raised safety and erosion concerns: one attendee warned that controlled burns can increase later erosion risks and said neighbors on the ridge object to certain interventions; another asked how plantings would be protected from free‑roaming chickens. Presenters said they would incorporate those concerns into planning and would return with more detailed proposals, including coordination with DPR and the urban forestry division.