Trees critical to community
Mahalo to The Garden Island for the great article about Koloa/Poipu shower trees which were pruned incorrectly. I was treasurer of the Koloa Community Association when the trees were planted and was the board member who recommended shower trees. We are happy that arborist Maureen Murphy has agreed to train our county to correctly trim the trees.
I want to make a correction about the number of trees. The article stated there were 50 trees total planted. There were 50 trees planted originally, Nov. 11, 1995, with funds raised by the Koloa Community Association. The remaining 150 trees were planted by the Koloa Community Association on Oct. 18, 1997. Our shower trees are almost a quarter of a century old.
Of the 200 trees planted, 182 survived, and there are now 162 remaining trees. Seven were pulled out by the development on the bypass road, one was burned in a cane fire but has come back, and one was burned in the brush fire about two and a half years ago and is also re-growing.
One of the trees, by the Dillberg house, looks like it is dying, hopefully not poisoned. I arranged for one of the trees to be replanted when it was hit by a car. We were charged $1,100 for the tree, which makes the remaining 162 trees worth $178,200.
Our rainbow shower trees are the gateway to Poipu. The shower trees will be a special scenic destination like the tree tunnel is, if they are properly trimmed and fertilized. With help from Adam Killermann, KCA arranged for water and fertilizer two years ago when the trees closer to Poipu were suffering from lack of water. The Koloa Community Association, Hawaii Dairy Farms and Poipu Beach Resort Association paid for the water.
The beautiful trees that are in downtown Honolulu actually have a committee of arborists that help with their tree trimming. It would be terrific if in the future Kauai had the same kind of staff to care for our wonderful trees.
I am glad the county is interested in helping our community of Koloa/Poipu make our beautiful shower trees, the gateway to Poipu, a special place for both residents and tourists
Carol Ann Davis
Board member of the Koloa Community Association
My coment on an article was about this. I read handbooks and pamphlets too. All kinds. Details of the job is important. It’s obvious you are an active member of the community. Unfortunately, voting is not by district, rather island wide polls. Being there is a good element to possess in decisions that require planning and thoughtful analysis. This is a nice town to visit Tourist alike.
I got some of the handbook from an employment office. I figure why not? I’m like you guys, no credentials no pass. But then there are a few exceptions. The food trucks handbook is my next reading. An interesting array of topics.
“Hoales”
Don’t surf. But I am assuming it comes up in the meetings.
We’re ok. I don’t usually visit there. But shopping in Koloa is fun.
I graduated from Kaua’i high school in 1986′. Long time ago. I am for Koloa town. Go Red Raiders. Back then.