Technical Implementation

Prepare the site for planting

Field crews including volunteers from the Maui Preparatory Academy and other community members prepare the planting areas.

Add biochar to improve soil quality

Biochar helps to improve infiltration as well as the water holding capacity of the soil.

Plant and irrigate rows

Vetiver grass rows are planted perpendicular to the direction water flows downhill; this traps sediment before it flows into a sensitive coral reef system. Rainwater catchment systems feed the drip irrigation system and optimize growth of the sediment trap.

Let the sediment trap grow

Finished sediment traps growing in the upper watershed.

Sediment trap beginning to work

Note the sediment beginning to deposit on the test panels within the vetiver grass trap.

After two months - success!

Sediment is being deposited largely within the first cell, partially within the second cell, and is mostly captured by the time it reaches the third cell. Minimal sediment continues downstream and the reef is safe from erosion from this slope.