Two Hawaii groups are slated to receive more than $9 million in new federal funding for forest restoration projects, according to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.

A total of $4.9 million has been awarded to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife for forest restoration work “in areas with high values for carbon sequestration and the highest potential to provide habitat for rare species.”

Some of the work DOFAW expects to carry out with the funding includes the planting of 80,000 native trees and the removal of invasive weeds from 1,200 acres.

Another $4.2 million was awarded to Terraformation, a company based in Kailua-Kona with a mission of restoring native forests to reverse climate change.

Terraformation expects to use the funding to implement solutions that sequester carbon, and support agricultural producers in adapting to a changing climate and increasing the resiliency of the local food system.

“Restoring our diverse ecosystems is critical to both mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring a healthy environment,” said Schatz in a news release. “This new funding helps continue our work to preserve our environment in Hawaii and boost our resilience to the increasing risks we face from climate change.”