More than 400 naupaka plants now line the highway at Waihe'e Marsh in Kahalu'u where the plants, once they mature, will be a barrier that keeps young waterbirds off the road.

Automobiles have struck chicks that wander onto the well-traveled highway and the plants are expected to contain them.

Members of the Kahalu'u Neighborhood Board and area residents planted the bushes, donated by Greg Boyer-Hawaiian Landscapes, this month. Also contributing to the effort were Rick Towill, who provided a backhoe; Jonathan Brewer, who operated it and Waiahole taro farmer Danny Bishop, who provided a truckload of mulch and fertilizer.