Indigenous agroforestry systems were widespread in pre-colonial Hawaiʻi and there are growing efforts to restore these systems today. In this presentation, we share collaborative biocultural research from a community-based agroforestry restoration project in Heʻeia, Oʻahu that aims to support community well-being and connection to place. Since 2018, our team from the University of Hawaiʻi, and Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, a Native Hawaiian-led community organization, have worked with thousands of volunteers to transition an entirely non-native forest into a forest with a diversity of culturally and ecologically important plants. As an important component of the project, student-led biocultural research has helped to support agroforestry design and adaptive management as well as track social and ecological outcomes over time. In the six years since restoration began, results demonstrate increased diversity and abundance of native and other culturally important plants, more diverse microbial communities, and increased soil health. Interconnected social outcomes include increasing connection and sense of responsibility to place by volunteers who engage in Puʻulani through avenues including community volunteer days, harvesting, a lei hui (group), and cultural practice workshops. Students growing professionally and personally through engaging with biocultural stewardship and research has also emerged as an important biocultural indicator of restoration success.