Did you know: The largest forests of sandalwood on the planet once grew in the Hawaiian Islands? In what’s been called one of the darkest chapters in Hawai‘i’s history, the infamous sandalwood trade of the early 1800s rendered this valuable commodity “commercially extinct,” and left the people and landscapes of our islands forever changed. Hawai‘i’s first-ever commercial product, sandalwood was the lifeblood of the Kingdom in a time of cataclysmic change. Trade in this precious wood plunged the monarchy into debt and the people into virtual slavery, against a backdrop of death and disease, cultural and environmental collapse. As the lessons of history fade over time, increasing global demand today means that Hawaiian sandalwood—and sandalwood worldwide—face renewed threats. Local biologist John Stallman explores the past, present, and future of sandalwood in Hawai‘i with a discussion of the ecology, cultural significance, and conservation of this priceless resource, on two occasions: Monday evening, July 22, and the following afternoon, July 23.

Admission to these wonderful programs is free to Museum members, and $3.00 for nonmembers.