KAILUA-KONA — More than three dozen volunteers came together Saturday to malama aina and kai at Kailua Bay.
KAILUA-KONA — More than three dozen volunteers came together Saturday to malama aina and kai at Kailua Bay.
From keiki to kupuna, the volunteers plucked tires, beer bottles, plastic, cigarette butts, cellphones and more from the waters and land in just a couple of hours.
The shoreline scourers, snorkelers, free divers, scuba divers and standup paddleboarders collected more than about 1,000 pounds of tires, and at least 150-200 pounds of other trash during the effort, said Megan Lamson, Hawaii Wildlife Fun Hawaii Island Program Director. The half-ton of tires collected during Saturday’s effort will be recycled free-of-charge by Lex Brodie’s Tire in Kona.
“Very conservatively, we got 1,200 pounds,” she said Saturday afternoon shortly after the event wrapped up. “Oh my gosh, it was an amazing success on many levels. It was a great collaboration seeing all the groups come together for the cleanup effort.
Organized by Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Kona Honu Divers and the Surfrider Foundation Kona Kai Ea Chapter, the event was held in conjunction with International Surfing Day, which is Monday. International Surfing Day is an annual event to raise awareness, engage communities and support to help protect and preserve our ocean for future generations. More than 200 events are being held globally, according to the foundation.
“It’s just all over really filthy and it’s an area that’s used a lot,” said Lamson before the cleanup. She also noted that last week a shopping cart and five tires were pulled out before the event. “We just want to malama where it’s the worst.”
Steve House, a Kona resident, brought his twin 10-year-old boys Drake and Deacon to take part in the volunteer effort. He decided to take part in Saturday’s cleanup because he was impressed by how a 1-ton truck was filled with opala from the water and shoreline during a recent clean up at Old Kona Airport Park last month.
“I think it’s good,” he said. “It’s good for the environment.”
The local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation conducts shoreline and ocean cleanups about once monthly, as well as before events like the Keiki Surf for the Earth competition and others, said Holly Kersten, who is the chairperson of the Kona chapter. For information, visit www.kona.surfrider.org.