Eradicating Invasive Ginger at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
On Saturday, 16 July 2022, ten members of the Eco Rotary Club of Kaka'ako met up with fellow Rotarians from the Big Island of Hawaii for an invasive ginger service project.
The day started with sign-in, a safety briefing, and environmental precautions at Kilauea Military Camp (KMC), where many members took advantage of available cabins within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. To combat the fungal pathogen known as Rapid Ohia Death, all members brushed their footwear off and sprayed them down with isopropyl alcohol to ensure they wouldn't spread any pathogens into the rainforest that would be dangerous to Ohia trees.
Next, all members met at Devastation Trail for a short informational lesson on the area and were met by Park Ranger Kekoa Rosehill, who performed a traditional Hawaiian chant requesting permission to enter the rainforest before our service project. After Ranger Rosehill confirmed permission was granted to us, we moved on to the rainforest located near the Pu'u Pua'i Overlook.
Anxious, excited, and armed with gardening shears, volunteers hiked into the rainforest.
The plan for today's service project was for everyone to cut the ginger plants down low, exposing roughly 6-12 inches. Even the angle of the cut plays a vital role in adequately killing off the plants. Using what is affectionately called "Sunny Side Up" cuts exposes the cut toward the sky, which allows park volunteers to return later to apply herbicides to kill off the roots. All ginger plant cuttings were stacked near each cut-down root area to be used later as mulch.
Even with rain pouring down, an approximately 300 square meter area was cleared thanks to the volunteers.
