#wsmerwin #merwinconservancy

The Merwin Conservancy is located in a rural neighborhood in Ha‘ikū, in the moku of Hamakualoa, and the ahupua‘a of Pe‘ahi. The property spans the slopes on both sides of the Pe‘ahi Stream. It is the site where renowned poet, W.S. Merwin, and his beloved wife of 40 years, Paula Dunaway, slowly and artfully manifested their vision for living in harmony with and regenerating the land. When Merwin purchased the 19-acre plot of former agricultural land in 1977, his intention was to restore native Hawaiian ecology. The neglected landscape proved too lacking in nutrients to support the native tree species that once lived there. So, Merwin turned to palms. The Merwins’ thoughtful and steady efforts to, in William’s words, “try to restore a bit of the earth’s surface that had been abused by human ‘improvement’ " grew to encompass one of the largest and most extensive palm collections in the world with over 2,740 individual palm trees, featuring more than 400 taxonomic species and 125 unique genera, with nearly 900 different horticultural varieties.  While living here, W.S. Merwin was named U.S. Poet Laureate (2010-11), and won the National Book Award and his second Pulitzer Prize. Photo from The Garden Gallery, https://merwinconservancy.org/garden-gallery/ The Merwins' ensuing lifestyle embodied their love of art and nature. As they restored the land they aligned their lives with the natural environment surrounding them. The home that Merwin designed and helped build, is self-sustaining with solar energy electricity, natural shading from the tree canopy cooling the house and cisterns throughout the property collecting rainwater and filtering it for daily use. The Man and the Poet A Renaissance man, W. S. Merwin had a long and illustrious career as a poet, [...]