As Spectrum News Hawaii looked back at the past year, we reflected on the stories we reported that highlighted the good things people have done for the environment. These stories include major financial investments in saving plants and animals, protecting a monk seal pup born on Kaimana Beach and much more. Here’s a roundup of the stories that stood out to us.

In our oceans:

• The Board of Land and Natural Resources banned taking Achilles Tang — a highly sought-after fish in the aquarium trade — from West Hawaii waters as their population was “dangerously depleted"
• The Department of Land Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources raised more than a million native sea urchins to combat invasive seaweed in Kaneohe Bay
• Corals grown at a DLNR nursery were placed in Hanauma Bay to restore colonies damaged by a log
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies protected a monk seal pup born on Kaimana Beach by putting up a fence and monitoring the marine mammal 24/7

On land, positive news for animals:

• A Hawaii Island family rescued a Nene gosling after witnessing a woman snatch the native baby bird from Wailoa River State Recreation Area
• Thousands of native Hawaiian snails were transported to a new site that doubled the Snail Extinction Prevention Program’s ability to rear the rare snails.
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invested $5 million in recovery efforts for Hawaiian and Pacific Island plants, butterflies and other endangered species
• Incompatible male mosquitoes were released in a pilot study to save native birds on Kauai

Good news for plants:

• Organizers and volunteers transformed the ridge above Heeia in Windward Oahu into an Indigenous agroforest
• The iconic banyan tree in Lahaina survived being scorched by the Aug. 8 wildfire with the help of arborists, landscapers and volunteers
• A new plant species was discovered in the remote, high-altitude forests of West Maui

Other positive environmental stories:

• KIRC staff and volunteers cleared 5 tons of trash from Kahoolawe
• The City and County of Honolulu extended its successful food waste-diversion project in Chinatown for at least two years
• The State of Hawaii and City and County of Honolulu were awarded a combined $4 million in federal grants for climate change mitigation 
• Hawaii County received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enhance recycling infrastructure and waste management systems
• A nonprofit removed 63 tons of marine debris from Papahanaumokuakea

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.