Champion Conservation with These Essential Titles

April is a special time in Hawai‘i. Marking not only the early days of spring, April is also Native Hawaiian Plant Month, celebrating the rich biocultural diversity of our over 1,400 native plant species. This auspicious month also arrives in 2025, which has been declared the Year of Our Community Forests. The mission of this year is to promote caring for the trees in our wao kanaka, the communities where we live, learn, and play.

Yet there is a renewed urgency to this year’s Native Hawaiian Plant Month. At a time when both endangered species as well as public lands housing important ecosystems are at risk of exploitation and decimation, it’s vital now more than ever that we read, learn and actively engage in conservation efforts to protect and preserve native species.

To curate our recommended reading list, we spoke with Danya Weber. A conservation biologist and local artist, Weber is also founder of Laulima, a fashion and home goods brand that’s raised more than $50,000 for more than 20 Hawai‘i nonprofits and conservation efforts.

SEE ALSO: Celebrate Hawai‘i’s Trees During the Year of Our Community Forests

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Nā Lei Makamae: The Treasured Lei

by Marie A. McDonald and Paul R. Weissich

Selected by Danya

Containing some of the most beautiful photographs I have ever seen, Nā Lei Makamae showcases a plethora of lei made from an impressive diversity of native Hawaiian plants, many of which are quite difficult to find today given perils that native species have faced over the last few centuries. Not only does this book highlight incredible ephemeral artworks made from flowers, foliage, fruits, and seeds, but it also provides botanical information about plants’ natural ranges, historical uses, and significances in mo‘olelo. Altogether, Nā Lei Makamae inspires a deep appreciation for Hawai‘i’s unique and magnificent native flora.

SEE ALSO: Fashion Designer and Lei-Maker Meleana Estes Launches A New Book

Looking for more titles on native plants and nature conservancy? Check out our bookseller recommendations:

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Lā‘au Hawai‘i: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants

by Isabella Aiona Abbott

Recently reissued by Bishop Museum Press, this vital work of ethnobotany by the great Isabella Aiona Abbott is a comprehensive guide of traditional Hawaiian plants used for food, clothing, shelter, transport, religion and recreation. Abbott’s goal is intentional and admirable: by studying the ways people of old Hawai‘i cultivated and depended on lā‘au Hawai‘i (Hawaiian plants) to meet their needs, Abbott wished to glean insight into their meaningful relationship to the natural environment we collectively call home. Over 30 years past printing, and Abbott’s words continue to ring true: “There is no time to lose in protecting these plants, upon which the authentic revival of many Hawaiian cultural elements depends.”

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Plants in Hawaiian Culture

by Beatrice H. Krauss

Plants in Hawaiian Culture is a fantastic introduction to the ethnobotany of Hawai‘i, which highlights the relationship between native plants and people. In this book, Krauss pays special attention to native plants, which include endemic species found only in Hawai‘i, Indigenous plants and Polynesian-introduced plants. Complete with photos of habitat views, beautiful line drawings, and detailed descriptions, Krauss shares information on early Hawai‘i and the native plants used in food, crafts, houses, instruments, games, medicine and more.

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Under the ‘Ōhi‘a Tree

by Erzsi Palko

We could not be more excited for Erzsi Palko’s thoughtful meditations on the beautiful ‘ōhi‘a tree and the diversity of native forest species it supports and sustains. From the pueo that invites the reader into the book to the endemic forest birds that subsist off the ‘ōhi‘a tree’s sweet nectar to the kāhuli dreaming under an ‘ōhi‘a leaf, this is a dazzling and informative picture book we simply can’t put down. Complete with detailed notes about Hawai‘i’s Native Species across the Hawaiian Islands and even an informal pronunciation guide, Under the ‘Ōhi‘a Tree is a beautiful love letter to native forest species and “those who love them and act on their behalf.” Keep your eye out for this stunning picture book forthcoming from Bess Press!

Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., (808) 421-9460, dashophnl.com, @dashophnl