Bank Invests In Nurturing Native Plants

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About 100 employees and customers of Central Pacific Bank descended on a nursery in Haiku valley March 6 to plant more than 7,500 native Hawaiian plants and trees.

The reforestation project is part of the bank’s campaign to get customers to switch from paper to online statements.As a sign of the effort’s success (to save trees), CPB bought the foliage to plant on behalf of every one of its new,“green” account holders at Papahana Kuaola at the end of Kuneki and Makena streets in Haiku Village.

Papahana Kuaola is the nonprofit educational arm of Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a commercial plant nursery founded by Waimanalo’s Rick Barboza and Matt Schirman to protect the Islands’unique natural resources.

“We are very pleased with this partnership with the bank - and impressed with the size of the final outcome,” said Schirman.“This donation enables us to plant more native foliage in our local forests as well as encourages people to eliminate a paper product that really is no longer necessary in this day and age.”

The bank employees were eager to volunteer, said CPB vice chairman Denis Isono.“It was an awesome experience to see our team members and customers work together on a project that makes a difference in our community not only today, but for future generations.”