Program Overview
For more than a century, we at The Outdoor Circle have worked to protect the beauty, health, and character of Hawaiʻi. Founded in 1912 to protect the islands from visual blight and environmental degradation, our work today has evolved into a coordinated statewide effort to strengthen communities, restore urban forests, advance research and public policy, educate future leaders, and help Hawaiʻi adapt to growing environmental and climate-related challenges. Through tree planting and restoration events, advocacy, education, and research, we approach environmental stewardship as our kuleana in keeping Hawaii clean, green and beautiful.
Each year our statewide tree distribution events and Arbor Day programs place thousands of fruit, native, ornamental, and canopy trees directly into the hands of residents, schools, and communities. These trees directly and significantly reduce urban heat islands, absorb stormwater runoff, improve air quality, support biodiversity, strengthen food security, and foster stronger connections between people and place. The supply of trees we have is always exhausted within hours, reflecting the strong public desire for greener, healthier communities. We also work closely with schools, campuses, and community sites to ensure trees are treated not simply as landscaping, but as essential green infrastructure—past projects at locations such as Jarrett Middle School and Windward Community College help address flooding, excessive heat, and unequal access to green space, while agroforestry initiatives connect stewardship with education, nutrition, and long-term resilience. At the same time we remain deeply committed to protecting Hawaiʻi's exceptional, historic, and culturally significant trees through endeavors such as our Exceptional Trees Initiative and Banyan Drive grove advocacy, which allows which allow us to highlight, protect, and care for these ecological, cultural, and historical living landmarks.
Perhaps most importantly, we strive to respond compassionately and effectively during times of crisis. In communities affected by natural disasters on Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island, we have supported recovery efforts through tree distributions and restoration projects that help restore not only landscapes, but also hope, healing, and community connection. Working alongside and with generous support from partners such as the Arbor Day Foundation, FedEx, United Airlines, Verizon, State Farm, Enterprise, and others, we continue to demonstrate that environmental stewardship can simultaneously strengthen resilience, public health, cultural identity, and community well-being. We would welcome your partnership and support in our continued efforts to help shape a future where Hawaiʻi's natural beauty, environmental health, and communities continue to thrive together.
Each year our statewide tree distribution events and Arbor Day programs place thousands of fruit, native, ornamental, and canopy trees directly into the hands of residents, schools, and communities. These trees directly and significantly reduce urban heat islands, absorb stormwater runoff, improve air quality, support biodiversity, strengthen food security, and foster stronger connections between people and place. The supply of trees we have is always exhausted within hours, reflecting the strong public desire for greener, healthier communities. We also work closely with schools, campuses, and community sites to ensure trees are treated not simply as landscaping, but as essential green infrastructure—past projects at locations such as Jarrett Middle School and Windward Community College help address flooding, excessive heat, and unequal access to green space, while agroforestry initiatives connect stewardship with education, nutrition, and long-term resilience. At the same time we remain deeply committed to protecting Hawaiʻi's exceptional, historic, and culturally significant trees through endeavors such as our Exceptional Trees Initiative and Banyan Drive grove advocacy, which allows which allow us to highlight, protect, and care for these ecological, cultural, and historical living landmarks.
Perhaps most importantly, we strive to respond compassionately and effectively during times of crisis. In communities affected by natural disasters on Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island, we have supported recovery efforts through tree distributions and restoration projects that help restore not only landscapes, but also hope, healing, and community connection. Working alongside and with generous support from partners such as the Arbor Day Foundation, FedEx, United Airlines, Verizon, State Farm, Enterprise, and others, we continue to demonstrate that environmental stewardship can simultaneously strengthen resilience, public health, cultural identity, and community well-being. We would welcome your partnership and support in our continued efforts to help shape a future where Hawaiʻi's natural beauty, environmental health, and communities continue to thrive together.
Current Programs
Our current programs represent a comprehensive statewide effort to strengthen Hawaiʻi's environmental resilience, urban forests, cultural landscapes, and community well-being through tree planting, conservation, research, education, and climate adaptation initiatives. Since 1912, we have planted and distributed more than one million trees throughout Hawaiʻi, and we now seek to build on that legacy with programs designed to address food security, urban heat, biodiversity loss, flooding, wildfire recovery, and public health. The initiatives we are proposing range from large-scale community tree giveaways and public school agroforestry systems to scientific research projects involving climate-resilient urban forests, green roof and wall technologies, to pest management for historic trees being devastated by invasive species. Across all of these efforts, we position trees and green infrastructure not simply as aesthetic amenities, but as essential public infrastructure that provide environmental, cultural, economic, and human health benefits for communities statewide.
Our signature projects include the modernization of Hawaiʻi's Exceptional Tree Map to re-document and analyze more than 1,400 legally protected trees statewide, the publication of a new Majesty III book highlighting Hawaiʻi's most iconic exceptional trees, and the preservation and restoration of the historic Banyan Drive grove in Hilo through scientific treatment programs and companion replanting efforts. We are also working to transform underutilized public spaces into greener, healthier environments through initiatives such as the restoration of Haleʻiwa's Weed Circle and statewide public-school tree planting and agroforestry projects. Many of these programs incorporate cultural stewardship, scientific monitoring, workforce development, and educational curricula that reconnect students and communities with mālama ʻāina traditions and long-term environmental stewardship.
Our program portfolio also demonstrates a strong emphasis on climate resilience, ecological research, and disaster recovery including: a) climate-adaptive urban forestry research using Species Distribution Models to identify climate-resilient tree species for Hawaiʻi, b) a study examining Oahu residents’ perceptions towards trees to identify barriers and solutions to increasing the number of trees across the island, c) a green roof and living wall research partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi focused on urban agriculture and cooling technologies, and d) multiple Lahaina wildfire recovery initiatives involving food-producing tree giveaways, watershed restoration, and community planting events. These projects will integrate community engagement, scientific research, public education, and long-term vision to create scalable models for sustainability and resilience across the islands. Collectively, the programs reflect a systems-based approach that combines conservation, urban forestry, public health, education, food security, and climate adaptation into a unified vision for Hawaiʻi's environmental future. What follows below is a sample of projects that we have along with opportunities to sponsor them according to available funding. We welcome questions on how we can customize these efforts to best meet various philanthropic needs.
Our signature projects include the modernization of Hawaiʻi's Exceptional Tree Map to re-document and analyze more than 1,400 legally protected trees statewide, the publication of a new Majesty III book highlighting Hawaiʻi's most iconic exceptional trees, and the preservation and restoration of the historic Banyan Drive grove in Hilo through scientific treatment programs and companion replanting efforts. We are also working to transform underutilized public spaces into greener, healthier environments through initiatives such as the restoration of Haleʻiwa's Weed Circle and statewide public-school tree planting and agroforestry projects. Many of these programs incorporate cultural stewardship, scientific monitoring, workforce development, and educational curricula that reconnect students and communities with mālama ʻāina traditions and long-term environmental stewardship.
Our program portfolio also demonstrates a strong emphasis on climate resilience, ecological research, and disaster recovery including: a) climate-adaptive urban forestry research using Species Distribution Models to identify climate-resilient tree species for Hawaiʻi, b) a study examining Oahu residents’ perceptions towards trees to identify barriers and solutions to increasing the number of trees across the island, c) a green roof and living wall research partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi focused on urban agriculture and cooling technologies, and d) multiple Lahaina wildfire recovery initiatives involving food-producing tree giveaways, watershed restoration, and community planting events. These projects will integrate community engagement, scientific research, public education, and long-term vision to create scalable models for sustainability and resilience across the islands. Collectively, the programs reflect a systems-based approach that combines conservation, urban forestry, public health, education, food security, and climate adaptation into a unified vision for Hawaiʻi's environmental future. What follows below is a sample of projects that we have along with opportunities to sponsor them according to available funding. We welcome questions on how we can customize these efforts to best meet various philanthropic needs.
