 Pics from a recent double-header beach clean up in Kahuku and at Chinaman's Hat. The amount of plastic and rope that washes ashore at this Northeast facing beach on the North Shore of Oahu is truly astounding and really puts in high relief the effects of our convenience-oriented, plastic disposable-reliant modern global society. Incredibly sad but cleaning this beach and removing this much ocean-killing waste all at once is incredibly fulfilling. Do what you can to Save the Ocean and Save the Earth TODAY. Each individual shares in this responsibilty and should take pride in doing what is right. Mahalo!
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 Did you know that the average American throws away 185 lbs of plastic per year? How do you compare? Whether you use more or less there are always ways to reduce your use...say no to plastic straws, buy and use a steel thermos, bring a reusable shopping bag to the store...whatever you can do, do it today. Begin your journey to sustainability one decision and one day at a time. Mahalo!
 Another fabulous beach clean up with Kassidy at Kualoa Regional Park and Chinaman's Hat! Found and pulled a 250 lb ghost net out of the surfline, removed ocean plastics by the bucket load, and had a blast doing it! Get out there and do your own beach clean up today! Took a couple of friends up to Kualoa Regional Park for a clean-up and managed to remove a large amount of styrofoam, ocean plastics, and several small ropes and nets.  Happy World Oceans Day!!!
So happy to have spent the day cleaning the beaches on the North Shore of Oahu. Recommit today to reducing your reliance on single use plastics. Buy a metal water bottle and use it. Just say no to that totally unnecessary plastic straw. Never again use a plastic bag. We can still save our oceans and there is much to celebrate in terms of more and more people joining beach clean ups, reducing waste, and supporting ocean-saving legislation. BUT we haveso much further to go, and its going to take ALL of us!!! Do what you can each day to show your love for mother ocean and planet Earth! Mahalo!  Went up to Kahuku on the North Shore of Oahu yesterday and per usual there was an enormous amount of commercial fishing related plastic, nets and ropes, and consumer single-use plastics from all over the world. Was able to get 10-11 painters buckets worth of marine debris, put into 4 60 gallon bags, and hauled out of the surf zone. We need to do more than just encourage people to change their habits and avoid single use plastics. We need to support and encourage legislation to ban the production of single use plastics as has been done in several European countries recently. Do what you can. Clean your beaches. Take photographs and share them. Raise awareness and support ocean saving legislation. Mahalo.  Had an awesome group come out for a clean up today at Kahuku. We got five 60 gallon bags of ocean plastics, numerous nets and ropes (including one that was absolutely massive!), saw all manner of wild life, had many laughs, and encouraged a few passersby to join us for a few minutes - helping to raise awareness about the harmful side effects of relying on single use plastics and the need to clean our beaches. Thanks to everyone who came out and joined in the effort....what a marvelous day!  My old high school and college wrestling teammate (Go Towson Generals! Go Maryland Terps!), Zack Hines, flew in from Denver, CO last night. First thing this morning we were out cleaning the beaches to get his trip underway. Needless to say, he was shocked about the amount of plastics that wash up on the beach here on Windward side - made worse by the heavy onshore winds of the past few days...We found many toothbrushes, bottle caps, some marine life traps, and a large buoy. 
We were able to break the net and rope mass down into smaller sections and dragged them down the beach approximately 300-400 yards to the beach access where we would then be able to arrange to pick them up at the road. It took a few hours, but it was made shorter by a number of people who were just passing by who jumped at the chance to haul a section for us. (Always so, so heartwarming to see that kind of impromptu volunteerism!) A mother and her two kids grabbed a section, a female jogger grabbed a giant section on her way past and marched it down the beach, exclaiming, 'I need the leg work out this morning, and gah, can't be a better way than this!', a little boy who walked up and added some plastic to our pile he had scavenged. On the way down the beach access with the sections Hans' friend Cindy saw him and called in Parks and Rec. Soon Wayne and Teryl arrived from Parks & Rec and were so friendly and helpful in getting it loaded into a truck. And then as serendipity would have it, we bumped into Joanna from 808 Cleanups who was able to close the loop with her group as well that the net had been removed.  We sure do love this town and these people! Its amazing how fun volunteering is, the connections it leads to, and the good positive energy it engenders.
If you aren't doing so already, go coach, go volunteer, go clean up your neighborhood, paint over some graffiti, or whatever else you can to be involved in your community. Its so much more fun than you can possibly know until you get your jersey dirty! TL:DR; Q: What's more fun than laying on the beach? A: Saving the beach!  The crew got up at 6 a.m. today and made way for Chinaman's Hat. We swam the half mile out in some wonderfully swift current, hiked and scaled our way to the top, enjoyed the views and swam back. To show our appreciation for the adventure and for this beautiful place, we spent an hour cleaning up the beach. With nets and ropes included were able to remove approximately 200 lbs of trash from Kualoa Regional Park! Per usual, we found buoys and other plastic from all over the world. Pictured below is a buoy from Vancouver, B.C. and a bin from Guatemala. Amazing to think how far some of this trash has traveled and for how long across the mighty Pacific Ocean. As Windward Oahu is east-facing, it is likely that the majority of the plastic waste came from the Great Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch (see more: http://nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/) We were able to remove two large ropes from the beach to easily accessible trash pick-up locations where the ropes would have no risk of being sucked out to sea by the tides. Larger ropes frequently attach themselves to larger marine life including monk seals and humpback whales which can sadly die under the strain and abrasions from pulling the ropes along for miles and miles in the ocean.    Ambassador Byron had a few friends join us this morning. Pictured below are Erica who took time out of her vacation to join the crew and Blaine who just recently moved to Hawaii! A great day was had and the south end of the beach was looking fairly free of trash by the time we packed up for the day. Many thanks to Byron, Erica, and Blaine for helping out!    |
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