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Legislators take a tour of
the facility, where some buildings
are riddled with termite damage
In a basement propagation lab in a cottage at the Lyon Arboretum, Nellie Sugii holds up a vial containing embryonic seedlings of the Kukia Cookei, a rare native Hawaiian plant similar to the hibiscus.
It's one of fewer than a dozen samples of the plant known to exist in the world and one of several endangered plant species that researchers in the Manoa facility are trying to preserve.
Yesterday, state lawmakers learned about the Kukia Cookei during a tour of the Lyon Arboretum, which is run by the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The Legislature set aside $3 million in construction bonds to fix old buildings damaged by termites and provide access for the disabled. An additional $500,000 of general-fund money will go to hiring new staff.
During a tour of the Seed Conservation Lab at Lyon Arboretum, Ethan Romanchak, a graduate student in tropical plant and soil science, looked at the initial germination of a rare cyanea plant found in the Koolau mountains.
In January, the arboretum was reopened to the public, but several cottages remain closed and tours by schoolchildren are limited.
In one cottage, termite droppings sit in piles on the floor and the ceiling is sagging from the termite damage. The sewage system, which now uses a septic tank, may also have to be upgraded.
The Children's Learning Center is open. But there is no access for the disabled to the center because a path runs under the basement of another closed building.
Jill Laughlin, the education program coordinator, said programs for kindergartners and first-graders are resuming after alternate activities for the disabled were devised. But school visits for other grades must wait until they are modified or until disabled access is restored.
Lawmakers questioned why the Lyon Arboretum was allowed to fall into such disrepair.
"This is a great arboretum, but was treated like dirty slippers on the back porch, and it should be like new shoes on the front porch," said Sen. Norman Sakamoto (D, Moanalua-Pearl Harbor).
Gary Ostrander, new UH-Manoa vice chancellor for research, agreed that the arboretum had not been a priority in the past but that the new administration would be a good steward for the 197-acre facility.
Ostrander said the university is finalizing a task force report with input from researchers, community members, volunteers, and educators that will help set priorities for the arboretum and the spending of the money appropriated by the Legislature.
The arboretum is an independent unit under UH-Manoa, similar to the Waikiki Aquarium.
Senate Higher Education Chairman Clayton Hee said he would like to see more improvements at the arboretum, but the university must show its commitment to the facility first, before the Legislature would be willing to commit more funds.
"If the university continues to neglect the facility, then maybe the university should not be running it," said Hee (D, Kahuku-Kaneohe).
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