Deep in Mangilao, near the 1000 Steps area, a new project is hoping to heal the land and the people connected to it.

It's called i hålom tåno para i yo’åmte’, the forest for a deeper healing. 

A town hall meeting this Saturday at the Mangilao Community Center will give residents, landowners and other stakeholders a chance to learn about conservation work underway in taguan, and to have a say in the process.

Tihu Lujan is the community engagement specialist with Tåno Tåsi Yan Todu. 

“The project is led by Tåno Tåsi yan Todu, where a community of scientists, educators and activists work with local communities to restore thriving ecosystems across the Mariana islands,” said Lujan. “It's really an initiative that’s aiming to restore our native limestone forest, which is home to so many native plants and animals that have been part of the CHamoru story, our heritage and our history for all time.”

He says Taguan was identified for the initiative as the 42 acre parcel is one of the last remaining intact limestone forests on Guam that can be best restored. 

The project tackles big challenges, from invasive species, to habitat protection, to planting native trees that play a role in healing traditions.

“Our initiative in this project really is to plant a lot of native medicinal plants that our yo’amte are looking for that are used in their healing practices that so many of our people rely on,” added Lujan. “At the same time, I think it’s healing in a very mental health way, just for people to reconnect with our native forest, our native trees and animals, and what that means for us as a people living on an environment and island where we have so many unique species that connect us to our past, our ancestry and our heritage.” 

Speakers from the Guam Department of Agriculture, NAVFAC Marianas, and Tåno Tåsi Yan Todu will walk residents through strategies and long-term goals for land stewardship.

“That includes removing invasive plants that are suffocating native plants and native flora and fauna, and also removing ungulates–which are pigs and deers– that are destructive to the soil that our native plants are growing through and the plants themselves that are trying to grow. We will also be outplanting a large variety of native plants that are sought after by a lot of our yo’amte, our local native healers, who found challenges cultivating these plants themselves in nature, due to the way our environment has evolved with external influences over the last few decades really– due to habitat destruction, climate change, and other forces,” said Lujan. 

The town hall runs from 2 to 4 p.m. this Saturday at the mangilao community center. 

Light refreshments will be served, and free native trees will be given away. But Lujan reminds that the real gift is community involvement.

“We encourage the community to come out and learn about these initiatives and this project that really is ensuring that clean water flows, native plants thrive and our traditions live on,” added Lujan.