In 2015, I was proud to help the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai`15th Annual Conference and tto design the interior

“Splash” garden party and I coordinated bringing together many of our nursery growers to showcase their plants .  It was a big success complete with puka lava stepping stone pathways, sod grass, and black cinder berms.  And they were filled with trees, shrubs, and ground covers, from many nurseries on O‘ahu.  Some of the many volunteers were Dennis Kim, Andrew Dedrick from Geobunga, David Fell and Lori Heu from Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery, Rick Barboza and Kelvin McKeague from Hui Kū Maoli Ola, Kathleen A. Canta, Nancy Miller, ONGA, Marge Chikamoto from Pacific Agricultural, Judy and Richard Nii from R&S Nursery, Sharon and Robin Petersen from Sharon’s Plants, Ltd., Danny Green from Southern Turf Hawaiʹi, David Yearian from Ti’s Unlimited, Alvin Tsuruda from Waihale Products, Mark A. Fukui from Contemporary Landscaping LLC, Matt Lyum and his great happy crew from Performance Landscapes, and most of all Randy Lui our leader and chair for this grand LICH Trade Show.

 

LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF HAWAIʹI (LICH), 501(c)(3)

I have always been proud to be part of our green industry in Hawai‘i, whose mission is to “Improve the quality of the landscape environment and promote the growth of the landscape industry”.

 

It all started in 1985, with a letter to Dr. Noel P. Kefford, the Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). The letter from three organizations; the American Society of Landscape Architects Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Landscape & Irrigation Contractors Association of Hawaiʹi, and Hawai‘i Association of Nurserymen, requested that the College undertake an analysis of the industry to help identify problem areas and possible solutions.

 

In 1986, Dr. Fred Rauch, emeritus professor in Ornamental Horticulture at the University of Hawai‘i, was instrumental in leading meetings early to organize, communicate, and coordinate the landscape industry.  This was the real start of the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘i, when a few dedicated green industry professionals including, Landscape Contractors, Landscape Nursery people, Landscape Architects, and Green Industry Partners got together and met every month to start up the LICH organization.  I remember attending some of these early meetings when LICH was formed with the purpose for the Green Industry to work together.

 

It is easy to be a part of this wonderful group of volunteers.