{"id":241706,"date":"2026-10-07T10:13:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T20:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=241706"},"modified":"2026-10-07T21:36:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T07:36:38","slug":"soest-students-global-passion-for-native-forests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/07\/soest-students-global-passion-for-native-forests\/","title":{"rendered":"Rooted Resilience: A SOEST<\/abbr> student\u2019s global passion for native forests"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Kics backpacking a section of the Koʻolau<\/span> summit where there are many interesting native plants.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gabrielle (Gabi) Kics, now a student at the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa, participated in a summer work exchange program on a permaculture farm in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador following her high school graduation. This experience sparked her interest in sustainable land management practices and has taken her around the world to explore native forests and the interconnectedness of nature and humans.<\/p>\n

“I am interested in native ecosystem restoration as a means to address climate resilience and watershed stability, and as a means for individuals and communities to continue having relationships with native plants and spaces,” she shared.<\/p>\n

Kics was drawn to the Global Environmental Sciences<\/a> (GES<\/abbr>) program in the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST<\/abbr>) as an opportunity to learn about a broad spectrum of environmental issues and conduct research. Now, Kics is wrapping up her degree and her latest research experiences, which included projects in M\u0101kaha Valley on Oʻahu<\/span> and South Sulawesi, Indonesia.<\/p>\n

M\u0101kaha Valley to Indonesia<\/h2>\n

Kics\u2019s senior research project centers around native forest restoration in M\u0101kaha Valley with 糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa botany<\/a> professor Tamara Ticktin and 糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa natural resources and environmental management<\/a> professor Travis Idol. Her project explores how planting a native sedge at different densities and weeded at different intervals impacts native and invasive plant recruitment.<\/p>\n

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Gabi Kics helped to prepare a rice field for planting as part of a research field school in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“As a result of western contact, native Hawaiian forests have been degraded, which includes habitat loss, species extinction, invasion of foreign species, changes in watershed, and alteration of soil stability,” Kics explained. “The project I\u2019m working on supports restoration of native forests in order to increase ecosystem stability, protect endangered species, and maintain the connection between people and native plants and animals.”<\/p>\n

“Conventional forest restoration starts with planting one or two native overstory trees to create an overstory canopy and favorable environment for planting other native species in the understory,” Idol shared. “Gabi\u2019s project is using a native ground cover to hopefully suppress invasive species and thus create a more favorable environment for natural regeneration of native species. This would help rebuild ecosystem resilience, along with biodiversity.”<\/p>\n

Kics also received a grant from the 糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program to support her participation in research projects in South Sulawesi, Indonesia for the past two years in partnership with a university in Makassar.<\/p>\n

“Through this research, I learned that government-imposed land management policies harm local livelihoods and connections to forests,” Kics shared. “We further learned how villagers resist these pressures through upholding their cultural practices and identity. This experience has really emphasized the importance of co-creating management practices with communities in order to address ecosystem and community resilience.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gabi Kics explores forest restoration and food sovereignty in M\u0101kaha to Indonesia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":241770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[665,758,1298,134,1466,1314,92,73,9,1497,1626],"class_list":["post-241706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-conservation","tag-environmental-science","tag-global-environmental-science","tag-international","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","tag-urop","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t