Honolulu, Oahu (April 9, 2010): In honor of Earth Week, the Surfrider Foundation Oahu Chapter will host a cleanup of the Ala Wai Canal at the park next to the Waikiki Library on 400 Kapahulu Ave., on Sun. morning, 4/18, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. Surfrider is partnering with Lokahi Canoe Club, Mai Tai Bar and the Honolulu Zoo to remove trash along the Ala Wai Canal before it flows into the ocean. Student groups from the Shidler College of Business at UH, the East West Center and UH West Oahu will also be volunteering their time and efforts. Lokahi Canoe Club will donate canoes for volunteers who wish to paddle and collect trash and Mai Tai Bar will provide pupus, prizes and refreshments for after the cleanup. The Honolulu Zoo will also give free entry to volunteers following the event. Participants should wear sunscreen and shoes, and they are invited to recycle old plastic bags, bring reusable water bottles and park at the Waikiki Library and along the golf course access road off of Kapahulu Ave.
"After the massive discharge of sewage into the canal in 2006, Surfrider's Oahu Chapter has been working with the City & County and other environmental groups to make sure that the old sewer lines were replaced and that no other spill like that ever happens again," says Stuart H. Coleman, the Hawaii Chapters Coordinator. "The Ala Wai Canal is an important watershed that needs to be protected."
As part of its Rise Above Plastics campaign, Surfrider is working to raise awareness of the prevalence of plastic marine debris, reduce the use of single-use plastics (ie., bags and water bottles) and to promote a more sustainable lifestyle in Hawaii. "In certain areas of our oceans, the amount of suspended plastic particles outnumbers plankton by a ratio of six to one, and plastic marine debris harms and kills all kinds of sea life," says Coleman.
The public is invited to visit the program's website, www.riseaboveplastics.org, where they can learn about how plastics impact our marine and coastal environments, as well as find information on how they take steps to reduce their own plastic "footprint."
The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and preservation of our world's oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 63 chapters across the country and around the world. The Oahu Chapter has been working on issues of beach access, water quality, coastal preservation and plastic marine debris. For more information, go to www.surfrider.org/oahu.
CONTACT: Stuart H. Coleman, Hawaii Coordinator, 808-942-3841, scoleman@surfrider.org;
Or: Steve Mazur, Beach Cleanup Coordinator, 808-469-5022, smazur@hawaii.edu.