One of the greatest gifts of being photographers is that our

work provides us with a key to enter into worlds we might not

otherwise experience. One of those amazing worlds, on the

north shore of Maui, is the Merwin Conservancy, a palm forest

we have visited several times. The idea of restoring a bit of the

earth’s surface began as a long-held dream of W. S. Merwin, the

Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, writer, translator, and former poet

laureate of the United States. Over many decades, Merwin and

his wife, Paula, patiently restored a piece of land once officially

designated as an agricultural wasteland, which is now home to

over 2,740 individual palm trees.

We thank you for your generosity, environmental

advocacy, and the privilege of wandering in and among your

palm forest, and most importantly for your tireless devotion to

collecting, planting, and preserving these rare and endangered

trees from around the world. Your undertaking is an inspiration—

and gives us hope.

For W. S. Merwin

And for Paula Merwin, in memoriam

“On the last day of the world

I would want to plant a tree”

—W. S . MERWIN (FROM THE POEM “PLACE”)