NUKOLII — Nikole Keahiolalo, the mother of an Island School third-grader, said they found things they didn’t even know the names of while doing a beach cleanup Saturday at Nukolii Beach near the Aqua Kauai Beach Resort.
“There is a lot of trash,” said Sydney Manibog, a Voyager third-grader. “We even found a soccer ball. But it was broken, so we threw it away.”
More than 30 people turned out for the beach cleanup which was re-scheduled from Feb. 3 due to the inclement weather. The beach cleanup was done under the Matson Ka Ipu Aina (“container for the land”) program as a fundraiser for the class to go to Oahu for a field trip.
“We’ve been doing fundraising activities throughout the year, including the poke bowls on the Lights on Rice,” said Keola Keahiolalo, the event coordinator. “Under terms of the Matson Ka Ipu Aina program, Matson donates the use of the container and takes care of the trucking expenses for the delivery and hauling away of the container which has trash from the cleanup. They also provide $1,000 cash contribution once the project is done. This was a perfect amount to help us get to our goal. This was also an opportunity to teach the children about preserving our land, and how hard work pays off with the Matson contribution.”
Keahiolalo said determining the cleanup was not as simple as saying “we’re going to clean the beaches.”
“There were three dates, and three different sites to select from,” he said. “The first, Ahukini, was too dangerous to have the kids running along the road. The second was the road to Glass Beach, and then, there was Nukolii, perfect for the kids’ safety and parent helpers. We also had to schedule the date, and the weather was really bad last week. But the trucking firm was really good about storing the container for an extra week until we could complete the cleanup.”
Avani Keahiolalo was enjoying her first beach cleanup.
“We found a lot of rubbish,” the third-grader said. “But we’re cleaning the Earth. There were a lot of big plastics, and some weird stuff. Someone said they found a toilet seat, and someone else found a tire.”
Cheryl and Ryan Stiglmeier both found a lot of small plastic debris, known as microplastics.
“All these things get stuck with the fish,” Ryan Stiglmeier said. “It’s not every day that I come to the Eastside, but I’m spending my day cleaning the beach.”
Keahiolalo said the proceeds will help the third-graders travel to Oahu to further their exploration of culture; they plan to visit the Bishop Museum and spend the night at the Honolulu Aquarium.
“This was a great opportunity,” he said. “Matson was so helpful with getting the ball rolling with this project, and the Aqua Kauai Beach Resort invited the cleaners to enjoy some pastries and cold drinks in the shade of their buildings. We are so thankful.”
The Matson Ka Ipu Aina program was started in 2001 and since that time has been successful in partnering with nonprofit groups who have received more than $1 million.
