The Beloved Banyan Tree

On August 8, 2023, the entire community of Lahaina, Hawaii was destroyed by wildfires. Once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, Lahaina was home to 13,000 people, of whom 97 were killed in the fires.

In the center of Lahaina there is a 150-year-old Banyan tree which has grown to cover more than half an acre. News media reported that, after the fire, the trunk of the banyan tree “appeared badly charred,” and “its leaves browned to a crisp.”

After reading this I felt sad.  A few years ago I owned a home on Maui, and I came to cherish the Banyan tree almost as much as the locals do.  It’s across the street from the Peter Lik shop that sells great professional photos of nature. I have three or four displayed in my office and at my home.

But there is good news.  The tree may recover.

According to the New York Times, “…some feared that it might not live on.  Then, green shoots began to unfurl around the trunk…others sprouted from its branches between brown and withered leaves.”  A landscape contractor who is tending the tree says, “…we saw a lot of new root growth…”

I’m rooting for the tree (pun intended) and hoping it will recover, along with the town. I remember how pleasant it was to visit. I once enjoyed an engrossing conversation with a close friend under the shade of that same Banyan tree.

The learning I take from the beloved banyan is that trees, like people, can recover from disruption and disaster and, like the Banyan tree, we are all beautiful in our way.

Trees grow toward the light.

And, hopefully, so do we.

Alan