A nonprofit organization called Keep Puako Beautiful coordinates beach cleanups along the west coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, and the woman who heads the group told the Ohana Times that just one person can make a difference in helping to clean up the environment.
Whether it is 10 volunteers or 100 who have attended past events, Cynthia Ho and her volunteers are doing their part to clean up the beaches.
Ho is the volunteer site coordinator for Community and Citizen science Beach Cleanups, Keep Hawaiian Islands Beautiful, Get The Drift & Bag It, and NOAA Marine Debris, the South Kohala Reef Alliance and the Ocean Environment and Education in west Hawaii.
"What we have learned though, you can effective...by yourself," Ho said. "You get outside, you volunteer and you feel good. Volunteering makes you feel good. For maybe an hour you're lost in taking positive action and you forget your worries..."
Volunteering for various groups over the past three decades led her to start KPB several years ago. It has grown since, and so has its partners and sponsors.
KPB has conducted many cleanup events throughout the year in the winter, spring, summer and also has a Get The Drift and Bag It in the fall. However, Ho and other volunteers head out on a weekly basis to continue the cleanup of the beaches.
Ho also created an educational component to her beach cleanup and created Ocean Environment and Education Stations in partnership with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund Project. These stations allow visitors to do their own cleanups on their own time. The station has all the supplies needed for a cleanup, and also has educational brochures and emergency and safety contacts.
One event with middle school children, some who had different issues, all stepped up for a cleanup event. Approximately 25 students were at the event in addition to 25 other volunteers. The event included the children making artwork from some of the more interesting trash that was picked up during the beach cleanup.
"Our kids in school are so inundated with community service," Ho said. "They are being groomed as really good stewards of the planet."
She even has had very young people volunteer. "We had people who bring children – one brought a 2-year-old to volunteer..." Ho said, adding that the child went along and picked up trash along the beach.
When asked how she gets the word out on her cleanups, Ho said, "We are announced by flyer, emails, sharing by partners local media and Facebook."
Aside from getting the word out on Facebook, KPB also highlights how much each cleanup nets. One posting said: "Last Sunday's cleanup; five awesome volunteers removed 127 pounds in one hour. We are moving on to clean up a beach on Sunday. Kelly picked up 188 pieces of trash at Paniau [Waima] last week. No photo since the 3 pounds of trash included four bags of dog poop and a diaper, yuck!"
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ho and volunteers remain out there, making the beach a cleaner place.
"With COVID, everyone is fully aware, wear a mask, hand sanitize, and you can wear a pair of gloves. The cleanup supplies are all cleaned," Ho said.
KPB has numerous partners and sponsors including Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Hapuna Beach State Recreational Area, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, Keep Hawaii Beautiful, Keep America Beautiful, Recycle Hawaii, NOAA Marine Debris, Get The Drift & Bag It, Keep The Hawaiian Islands Beautiful and Department of Environmental Management.
"It's been a journey," Ho said. "You learn something every day."