MASSIVE CLEANUP IN STORE FOR URBAN HONOLULU

THIS SATURDAY; CAPPED BY ENVIRONMENTAL EXPO

A massive, community-wide effort in observance of Earth Month will be held on Saturday, April 12, in Honolulu.  The schedule of activities includes:

Mauka To Makai Environmental Expo

The City and County of Honolulu, Department of Environmental Services’ Storm Water Quality Branch (SWQ), Waikiki Aquarium, and State Department of Health's Clean Water Branch (CWB) are pleased to announce free admission to the public today (April 12) from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as part of the 1st Annual Mauka to Makai Environmental Expo at the Waikiki Aquarium.  The expo showcases the efforts of government agencies to preserve and protect Hawaii's environment with an emphasis on our island's unique water resources from mauka to makai.

Family-friendly and hands-on educational displays by City and State agencies and University of Hawaii will be featured.  The public is also invited to cheer on the release of hatchery-raised Pacific threadfin moi in the waters off the aquarium.

Mauka To Makai Cleanups

April 12 will also see public-spirited citizens joining in a cleanup and beautification effort from the Date Street Bridge, along the Manoa-Palolo Drainage Channel bank adjacent to Kaimuki High School, and under the bridge complex (Kalakaua, King Street, H-1, Waialae Avenue).

The effort is sponsored by the City’s Adopt-A-Stream Program, State DOT’s Adopt-A-Highway, and the Ala Wai Watershed Association (AWWA).  Participants also include State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), DOT Highways Division, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Townscape Inc., Ahupuaa Council, Seicho-No-Ie, Servco Pacific, Princess Kaiulani Hotel, Kraft Foods, Kaimuki High School, Kamehameha Middle School, Kalani High School, Sunset Rotary Club and more.

The Manoa-Palolo Drainage Channel has been partially beautified (bike path constructed) by the City between the Ala Wai Canal and Date Street.  A hearty group of University of Hawaii Environmental Law Society (ELS) members will rove the banks where Manoa and Palolo streams merge in search of litter and debris.  For more than 10 years, similar groups of ELS students have cleaned this portion of the stream as part of the City’s Adopt-A-Stream Program.  Malama O Manoa and Chaminade University stretched its commitments by adopting portions of the Manoa and Palolo streams as part of the City’s Adopt-A-Stream Program, including pickup of trash bags and other items from designated cleanup areas by the City and County of Honolulu’s Environmental Services and Facility Maintenance departments.

Parking and Trolleys

Free parking and trolley pick up point on the Kaimuki High School field (enter on Date Street).

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. free trolley, Kaimuki High School Field to Waikiki Aquarium

Be an everyday environmental hero and make everyday, Earth Day!  For more Earth Month activities, look inside or visit www.cleanwaterhonolulu.com.

1^st Annual Mauka to Makai Environmental Expo and Cleanup

What’s Happening on April 12

1)  7-8 a.m. Waikiki Beach Cleanup

Waikiki Ohana Workforce of the Waikiki Improvement Association volunteers meet at the Duke Kahanamoku Statue in Kuhio Beach Park and end back at Kuhio Beach Park.  Sponsors are ABC Stores, City and County of Honolulu Lifeguards, Crazy Shirts, DFS Hawaii, E Noa Corporation, Honolulu Police Department District 6, Halekulani, Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort and Spa, Hyatt Regency Waikiki, International Market Place, LVMH Fashion Group Hawaii, Pacific Beach Hotel, Roberts Hawaii, ShakaNet, Superstar Transportation, Tiffany & Co., Waikiki Beach Activities Inc., Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort, and Waikiki Trade Center.

http://www.waikikiimprovement.com

2)  7:30-9:30 a.m. Adopt-A-Highway

Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort and Spa volunteers remove roadside litter along Ala Moana Boulevard as part of the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) Highway Division’s Adopt-A-Highway Program.  http://stormwaterhawaii.com

3)  8:30-9:30 a.m. Manoa Adopt-A-Stream

Malama O Manoa’s adopted section of Manoa Stream runs from Kahaloa Street bridge (near Manoa Garden) to just makai of the Woodlawn Drive bridge (below the University of Hawaii Faculty Housing) as part of the City’s Adopt-A-Stream Program.  The first stream cleanup occurred Feb. 28, 1998.  It was a fun effort that led to immediate gratification through a marked improvement in the aesthetic quality of the stream and more signs of aquatic life.  http://www.malamaomanoa.org

4)  8:30-11 a.m. Palolo Adopt-A-Stream

Palolo Stream below the Palolo Avenue bridge and just before St. Louis School has been adopted by Chaminade University as part of the City’s Adopt-A-Stream Program.  Students have removed litter, metals and car parts from the City’s lined channel several times in the past two years.  St. Louis School removed green waste along the stream banks owed by the school.  Volunteers will have a recyclable metals bin provided by Schnitzer Steel Hawaii Corp.  Website:  http://www.chaminade.edu

5)  8:30-11 a.m. Manoa-Palolo Drainage Channel (MPDC) Adopt-A-Stream

A hearty group of University of Hawaii Environmental Law Society’s (ELS) members rove the banks where Manoa and Palolo streams merge at Koali Place in search of garbage and debris. For more than 10 years, similar groups of ELS students have cleaned the same portion of the MPDC as a part of the City’s Adopt-A-Stream program.  http://www.hawaii.edu/elp

6)  8:30 a.m.-Noon MPDC Cleanup and Beautification (see cover story)  http://www.cleanwaterhonolulu.com, alawai.org

7)  9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mauka to Makai Expo (see cover story)  http://www.cleanwaterhonolulu.com, www.waquarium.org

9 –10 a.m. Beach/Berm Cleanup

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District’s Pacific Regional Visitor Center (RVC) is celebrating Earth Day with the beach/berm cleanup on Fort DeRussy Beach from 9 to 10 a.m. and exhibits at the RVC from 9 a.m. to noon.  The RVC first opened its doors at Battery Randolph in 1983.  Its goal is to enhance the public’s understanding of the multidimensional role of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Particular emphasis is on civil works and water resources development that affect the lives of all the residents of Hawaii and the people of the Pacific.  The RVC is located on the second floor of historic Battery Randolph at Fort DeRussy, Waikiki.  Battery Randolph is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and is one of 16 coastal fortifications built by the Corps between 1906 and 1917 for the protection of Honolulu and Pearl harbors.  http://www.poh.usace.armymil

10:30-11 a.m. Armored Catfish Roundup

To draw attention to the alien species problem in our freshwater streams, DAR staff together with the Honolulu Aquarium Society volunteers will gather in Manoa Stream and capture all the Armored Catfish they can in a 500 foot area of stream using hand-held seine nets.  Armored catfish dig holes in reservoir and stream banks, causing erosion and increasing the amount of silt in our stream water.  The public is invited to observe from the bridges at Lowrey Avenue or East Manoa Road. 
http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/index.html

10)  11-11:30 a.m. Restocking Hawaii’s Prized Moi

DAR staff and the Waikiki Aquarium will release hatchery-raised moi in the waters off the Waikiki Aquarium, within the Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District.  The public is welcome to watch the event from the jogging path along the beach behind the Waikiki Aquarium.  http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/library/afrc.htm