Planting Resilience on Maui

At Nu‘u Bay at the base of Haleakalā volcano, kiawe trees dot the dry landscape and crystal-clear waves pick up and roll black and grey rocks, stacking them. Mattias Nyquist tends to the land, surrounding native saplings with mulch and dragging the branches of felled kiawe trees into a pile. It’s his first job since the Lahaina fires, progress that mirrors his inner journey of healing.

“I like this job because I feel like it can make a difference. You feel good about every ounce of effort that you're putting into your work. It's really rewarding,” says Nyquist. “For six or seven months after the fires, I couldn't sleep. But the work is so physically demanding, I’m sleeping better because I’m exhausted.”

Mattias has been hired as a field supervisor, part of Hawai‘i Land Trust’s (HILT’s) Maui workforce relief group, to provide green jobs to people impacted by the Maui fires, teaching them the skills to put mālama ‘āina principles into practice. The effort is a partnership between HILT and the Maui Strong Fund, with administrative support from Maui Strong Fund partner Kupu, whose EŌ (Emergency Outreach) Maui program was created to offer paid positions to Maui residents affected by the wildfires. Today, on 82 acres in Nu‘u that HILT acquired from Kaupō Ranch in 2011, Mattias and crew are fast-forwarding HILT’s long-term plan to protect and restore native habitats and archaeological sites.

The desert-adapted kiawe trees have decimated the shoreline ecosystem here, sucking up an inordinate amount of water and crowding out native species. As the thorny trees and tall invasive grasses are replaced with endemic and introduced Polynesian species, the clogged landscape opens up to views of the ocean, and resilience takes root in the soil—and in the hands that tend to it.

“When you contribute your efforts, when your work is healing, I think there's a reciprocal response, and that is healing for yourself,” said HILT’s Director of ‘Āina Stewardship, Scott Fisher, reciting a Native Hawaiian proverb. “There’s an 'olelo no'eau: ‘I ola ka ‘āina, I ola mākou nei. When the land is thriving, when the land is healed, all of us thrive.’”

A bustling rest stop for native birds, several of them endangered, as they crisscross the islands, Nu‘u Refuge now also finds itself at the intersection of relief and healing—not just for the ‘āina, but for Mattias and his fellow crewmembers, too. Here, we follow Mattias on his workday, sharing his perspective on his job with HILT and his journey after the fires.

See the HILT video here.

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