Celebrating 110 Years of Keeping Hawai‘i Clean, Green and Beautiful

The Outdoor Circle celebrated our 110th anniversary, in 2002, with events throughout the year including statewide tree giveaways, a historical performance at the Hawaiian Mission Houses, and proclamations from Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, and Hawai‘i Mayor Mitch Roth, who both declared November as Hawai‘i Arbor Month.

Branches of The Outdoor Circle Held Tree Giveaways
To celebrate Hawai‘i Arbor Day (now Hawai‘i Arbor Month), seven of our branches held tree giveaways in November 2022 where fruit and flowering trees, as well as plants and free seed packets were distributed. We thank the East Hawaii Branch, Kauai Branch, Lani-Kailua Branch, Manoa Branch, North Shore Branch, Waikoloa Village Branch, and the Waimea Branch, for participating and giving away thousands of free trees to communities across the state.
Photo: Manoa Outdoor Circle's 1,000 Tree Giveaway. 

Hawaiian Mission Houses ~ Footprints on the Land
In October 2022, The Outdoor Circle sponsored a performance of Footprints on the Land, that featured historical vignettes created by Hawaiian Mission Houses. The theme of the evening were four luminaries of Hawai‘i’s natural history.

Cherilla Lowrey, The Outdoor Circle’s first President, talked about how the organization was formed and her role in guiding it, and was portrayed by Karen Valasek. Joseph Rock, the famed botanist, who authored the first book on native trees in Hawai‘i, was portrayed by Keven Keaveney; Annie Alexander, a botanist and paleontologist, considered the mother of modern museum education was portrayed by Rasa Fournier; and Charles Judd, an early Territorial forester who pioneered conservation techniques with tree planting was portrayed by Adam LeFebvre.

​We were honored that descendants of Annie Alexander, Charles Judd, and Cherilla Lowrey were in attendance at the evening’s performance.
Photo: Karen Valasek, portraying Cherilla Lowrey, first President of The Outdoor Circle.

November is Hawai‘i Arbor Month!
​Hawai‘i Arbor Day, which is traditionally celebrated the first week in November, will now be celebrated as Hawai‘i Arbor Month. The Outdoor Circle accepted a Proclamation from Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who made the declaration in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Shade Tree Commission, established in 1922 with help of The Outdoor Circle. 

The first group appointed to the commission included the President of The Outdoor Circle, the City and County Engineer, the Superintendent of the City and County of Honolulu Parks and Playgrounds, the Superintendent of Forestry of the Territory of Hawai‘i, and a nominee from the public utility corporation. The Shade Tree Commission eventually became the City Division of Urban Forestry (DUF) that plants, maintains and preserves trees on city streets and in parks.
Photo: Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi with TOC representatives: Winston Welch, Steve Mechler, Mimi Bornhorst Gaddis, Diane Harding, and Myles Ritchie.