 While we don't have a mobile app for the Exceptional Tree map (yet!), you can still add a bookmark of the map to your mobile device's home screen, which will work just as well! To add the exceptional tree map webpage shortcut to your phone's home screen please follow the directions below:
For iPhone/iPad: (using the default Safari browser) 1) Go to outdoorcircle.org 2) Click on the menu icon in the top left corner of the screen 3) Select "Exceptional Trees" 4) Click on "Check out our map of trees here" 5) Along the bottom of the screen you will now see an icon that looks like a square with an arrow coming out of the top of it, press this icon then along the bottom select "Add to Home Screen". 6) Search through your home screen and you will now see a new icon next to all of your other apps that says "The Outdoor Circle Exceptional Tree Map". For Android: (using the default Google Chrome browser) 1) Go to outdoorcircle.org 2) Click on the menu icon in the top left corner of the screen 3) Select "Exceptional Trees" 4) Click on "Check out our map of trees here" 5) in the top-right corner of your screen you should seen three vertical dots that, when tapped, open a drop-down menu. On this menu select "Add to Home Screen". 6) Search through your home screen and you will now see a new icon next to all of your other apps that says "The Outdoor Circle Exceptional Tree Map". To access the map at anytime (as long as you can access the internet) just click on this "app" shortcut and the information will be pulled up. One other point—the map was designed to be used on a computer and as such it functions better and is easier to use on a computer but, the mobile version is still useful when out in the field.  Beginning September 1, donate to TOC while shopping at Foodland or Sack'n'Save and they will match your donation! Just mention "The Outdoor Circle" or Org No. 77116. More details are below: The 2015 Full Circle and Annual Meeting was consolidated into one full-day event which took place on August 8, 2015 at Honey's Restaurant at the Ko'olau Golf Club. For those who missed it, the following is a report on the programs and discussions that took place.
The Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle participated in the Kailua Fourth of July Parade, with a float depicting their lettuce growing program at WCCC. Volunteer marchers, along with Mr. Mynah and Auntie Litter, passed out 1,000 packets of Manoa Lettuce seeds, with planting instructions, along the parade route. LKOC hopes to motivate people to grow their own lettuce and other vegetables. The seed packets were assembled by the volunteers at the Women’s Community Correctional Center who are in the “Learning to Grow Program” there, a project of LKOC. Former graduate student intern Myles Ritchie, who created the Exceptional Tree (ET) map in June by visiting
nearly all the 700 ETs statewide, has returned this month to build on the valuable work he has done so far. To see a great example of Myles' work with ETs see his short video at: https://youtu.be/mLaXRa2Memo Myles' role is mainly outreach into the community to raise awareness of ETs, not just among the public, but also among professionals like landscape architects, arborists and tree trimmers. An example of what is included in his new program will be a presentation at the retirement home Arcadia in early September. Myles will discuss the value of trees using the data he has assembled so far, then he will discuss the many trees on the Arcadia property. If there is interest and it is appropriate, he will encourage the Arcadia residents to nominate trees on their property as well in their close-in neighborhood. Below is a thank-you from Hui Makua Punana Leo O Ko'olau Poko to the Kaneohe Outdoor Circle for their Wa`a Garden Gifting program: Matson Cleanup programWaimea Outdoor Circle volunteers recently participated in their 2nd annual Matson’s Ka Ipu Aina (container for the land) Program by cleaning up Waimea. The project included removing litter, weeding, trimming and generally sprucing up the center of town. The final workday included tackling the County of Hawaii’s Senior Center located at the main intersection of Waimea. The before and after results were quite noticeable to the community!! Ulu La`au Educational Pavilion building under way
A group of five Korean students from the International Midpac College spent three Fridays in the TOC office
helping write notes to lapsed members encouraging them to renew. In the first session the five volunteers very capably wrote almost 100 handwritten notes to statewide lapsed members. Of the five, four are studying at their college in Korea subjects related to TOC: two are in the landscape architecture program; one in urban planning; and another in environmental science. The fifth student is studying electrical engineering. Their notes said in part: Dear former Outdoor Circle member, As a volunteer exchange student from Korea, studying at the International Midpac College. I am thankful for this opportunity to help a community organization like The Outdoor Circle while learning about America at the same time. I understand The Outdoor Circle is a very important group that saves trees, plants trees and helps keep Hawaii free of billboards and ugly signs. I only wish we had something like The Outdoor Circle in Korea. So far, this effort has raised $1,310 in membership renewals. Thank you, student volunteers!  Hawaiian Mission Houses periodically puts on an evening event called "Cemetery Pupu Theater"
at Oahu Cemetery. Five prominent citizens buried in the cemetery are highlighted and their lives portrayed by actors. Over 100 people attended each of four sold out weekend events on June 12, 13 and on June 19, 20 that featured Outdoor Circle founder Cherilla Lilian Lowrey. In a 30 minute performance, actress Karen Valasek – in full period costume – brought smiles to many and tears to some during her portrayal of Cherilla's life. It was fun, it was poignant. The applause signified the success of this effort. By Alexandra Avery
The W.S. Richardson School of Law, in conjunction with Jindal Global University, hosted a presidential symposium on June 26. Preceding the Courts Initiation July 1, this world wide telecast congress set the stage for the week to come, and the beginning of a new environmental standard in our state. The Outdoor Circle was given numerous accolades for its efforts to further the EC Bill into law. It was a treat to hear from our lawmakers and world environmental leaders during the day. A historical view of the law was shared by Senator Mike Gabbard, who explained that nine like bills were introduced, and none of them received a Committee hearing. The 2013 opposition to SB 632 deferred the bill, claiming that the judiciary data didn’t demonstrate that an Environmental Court would be necessary at that time. The tide turned in 2014. An unfortunate series of environmental events occurred and led legislators to look more closely at the EC bill. The Outdoor Circle took up the cause. The molasses spill into Honolulu harbor may have been the last straw. The bill passed the Legislature on April 29. It was signed into law July 7. Marti Townsend shared the story of how The Outdoor Circle chose to take on the bill, and what happened to generate the grassroots efforts of many. TOC member Jan Dapitan, was honored for her work in bringing the idea of an Environmental Court to Hawaii. Keep America Beautiful and its local chapter Keep Hawaiian Islands Beautiful also supported Jan in her monumental leadership efforts. Together, with the support of many state environmental groups, our efforts prevailed. This past January, Marti and I travelled to D.C. where Keep America Beautiful awarded The Outdoor Circle for its work toward moving the bill into law. Representative Chris Lee illustrated the scope of environmental protections to be afforded under our new court system. He described how the EC will “help make our justice system more transparent in protecting our environment and enhancing the health and well-being of the people." The day was moderated by Associate Dean Denise Antolini and Justice Michael Wilson, who both thanked TOC for our united efforts at fostering the passage of the Environmental Court. Denise heralded this big step for Hawaii as ' homegrown island jurisprudence.’ It is the belief of these two leaders that the establishment of our EC will change how people view our resources and our environment; making compliance much more doable. Special presenter and Chair of India’s Green Tribunal (their Environmental Court) Swatanter Kumar commented on how the dream of a few became the dream of many, and now we have the reality of an EC in our state. He opined that "Hawaii is the ideal environment in the human collective mind” and that we have an honor and a duty as its citizenry to protect it. He emphasized how an Environmental Court is critical to the common good of society. Dr. Raj Kumar, Vice Chair of Jindal University, introduced the new student exchange partnership with Richardson School. The first Indian exchange students are clerking with Hawaii Supreme Court Justices for the summer (pictured with Dr. Kumar are Ishnoor Saini, Avni Choudhary, Swarnim Swash, and Aprajita Sheel). These enthusiastic students shared about their experience flecking with our Supreme Court Justices, participated in a panel discussion, and assisted with the Pau Hana hosted by Outdoor Circle members. This casual gathering afforded further exchange after a day of exciting presentations focused on how the EC will be modeled. When trees lose their value the community suffers. This fact was shockingly exhibited in the recent tree massacre at the Madge Tennent historic property. Even the stiffest fines, which need to be firmly applied, can not replace the value of the 50 trees lost. The severity of the pruning to the two Exceptional Trees is also of concern to the community. These are among the few left on the Punchbowl Special District estate. The community members have lost the green scape of their street, and much more.
This is an unfortunate story of land stewardship. It began a few years ago when the Friends of the Tennent Art Foundation passed the property to Waimea's Issacs Art Center. The agreement, according to grandson Hugh Tennent, was that the Art Center would act as a conservator of the paintings on the estate and of the land. It was decided to sell the land to conserve the large paintings that were displayed in the gallery on the property. Dr. Kang bought the property from the Foundation. Grandaughter Madge Tennent Walls, remembers playing in the lush garden on the property, learning all of the plants names from her grandfather Hugh. She is appalled that the Mayor is letting Dr. Kang apply for tree removal permits with no apparent repercussions, and is outraged that Caldwell gave him a retroactive permit. She agrees with TOC that this shameful act sets a very dangerous precedent. There are many who remember when Madge Tennent died. The Hawaii Legislature stopped in session to note the passing of a great lady. The flags were flown at half mast. In a district that is already hot and dry, the only remedy is to replant as many trees as he cut down, perhaps in a more suitable placement to his ambitious plans of providing housing, but to replant the same number as were cut down. The Environmental Court does not act retroactively, but if it did, this infraction would most likely be on the docket. There is a consideration within this new court for Esthetic Environmental Grievances which encourage a Citizen Participation Standing. TOC in the past has sponsored city tree trimmers through educational trainings. This is a service we would like to be able to better fund through donations from the community. TOC has a committee of Arborists and Landscape Designers who offer tree planting advice for a donation. We would like your help in promoting good tree stewardship in your community. Find out more about tree planting and Exceptional Trees on our website, and look for the link to the Exceptional Tree Mapping App. You’ll see why members are dedicated Tree Huggers! We are deeply disturbed with the way the city and county has handled the illegal tree cutting in the Punchboard special design district, at the Tennent Gallery. The reporting of the situation makes the city look confused and unable to take action on the preservation of our mandated tree protections.
We were grateful to speak to Alexandra Avery and The Outdoor Circle to clarify what we need to do in the future to keep our island safe of the devastating loss of our trees. We are glad we can look to TOC to assist in a plan that can prevent future losses of this sort. I was a past Board member and President of the Friends of the Tennent Gallery. During my tenure, we did programs to serve the community, using both the indoor and outdoor space. At one such event, the Alvin Ailey dancer Earnest Morgan, featured the trees in his performance. It was such a gift to have the shaded outdoor space available to shade the events we hosted. Sincerely, Errol and Nancy Rubin Proud TOC Lifetime members  This has been a busy start to summer, with the passage of the Environmental Court Law and its opening on July 1. You will read about this and of the Environmental Court Symposium in this issue.
As I complete my Presidency, I wish to thank all of you who support the ongoing efforts to help TOC further our mission. Your contributions through membership, donations and direct service have furthered the effectiveness of our mission. I would also like to thank each of the eight Branch Presidents for leading your community projects and for your support of the full canopy of TOC. It has been an honor and a privilege to have served TOC as President. I am grateful for the hard work that TOC Board of Directors has contributed toward our state wide goals. Together, we navigated through a structural change in our By-laws, worked on a development plan for mapping out our future, and added to the list of accomplishments under our state sanctioned Exceptional Tree Initiative. It is a great pleasure to have worked with Myles Ritchie to develop a state wide Exceptional Tree Mapping program. It is a state wide learning system to discover the Exceptional Trees of Hawai’i. Here’s to our incoming President Mike McFarlane and to the continuation of a long lived legacy of keeping Hawai’i clean, green and beautiful. A hui ho, Alexandra Avery |
Welina!The Greenleaf is the online newsletter and blog of The Outdoor Circle. Here you will find updates on the projects and accomplishments of our many branches throughout the state, as well as programs with statewide impact. Archives
September 2023
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