Artist Martha Vockrodt-Moran to be honored for arboretum work

By VALERIE MONSON, Staff Writer

KAHULUI – Artist and devoted tree lover Martha Vockrodt-Moran has been named honorary chairperson of Arbor Week by the Maui County Arborist Committee for her work with the D.T. Fleming Arboretum on the slopes of Haleakala.

The Arborist Committee and the Maui Outdoor Circle have partnered to participate in the Lawn and Garden Fair sponsored by the Maui Association of Landscape Professionals that will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Maui Tropical Plantation. A proclamation for Moran will be read at noon.

“When Martha’s nomination came up, it was unanimous,” said Ernie Rezents, vice chairman of the Arborist Committee who was honored by the Maui Outdoor Circle for his work with trees last month. “Anything Martha does, she does to beyond expectations. She has such a love for trees.”

Moran has taken over the maintenance and care of the native trees planted by Fleming, her grandfather, on 17 acres at Puu Mahoe above Ulupalakua in the early 1950s. The trees grew from rare seeds gathered by Fleming at the nearby dryland forest of Auwahi, which had been in decline since 1920.

Earlier this year, Moran was happy to announce that the seeds of the last known fertile alani tree in the world had sprouted and were growing next to the mother in the arboretum. Anna Palomino, the native plant grower who operates Ho’olawa Farms, used methods developed by Nellie Sugii, a researcher at the Lyon Arboretum on Oahu, to get the seeds to sprout.

Moran also worked with Rezents on the maintenance of the trees along Hana Highway, cleaning the water filters weekly, sometimes dressed in her high heels on her way to work.

The theme of this year’s event is “exceptional trees.” The Arborist Committee wants to bring notice to new legislation passed this year that provides a tax benefit for private landowners who have a designated tree on their property. The law was amended to provide a tax deduction for the care of an exceptional tree at the actual cost, not to exceed $3,000 per tree over a three-year period.

To have a tree named as exceptional, a nomination must be submitted to the Arborist Committee, which evaluates it for the quality of the specimen or the cultural or historical value of the tree. If accepted, the nomination is forwarded to the mayor who then transmits the request to the Maui County Council for approval.

The most well-known exceptional tree on Maui is the Lahaina Banyan Tree. There are 19 other exceptional trees located on Maui and Molokai. The committee hopes that the tax benefit will encourage more nominations of trees on privately owned land. For more information, call 270-7329.

One of Moran’s favorite trees – a kiawe makai of Honoapiilani Highway on the Lahaina side of the pali tunnel – was approved as an exceptional tree a few years ago. She has recently nominated some of the trees at Puu Mahoe to be included on the elite list as well.

Valerie Monson can be reached at vmonson@mauinews.com.