Dedicated Partners Tackling Trashed Stretch Of Ewa Shoreline

Volunteers clean up the Ewa shoreline at a recent workday organized by Hoakalei Cultural Foundation. Photo courtesy of the foundation.

A stretch of Ewa shoreline went from dumping grounds to shining sands in a matter of hours, thanks to a dedicated crew that coordinates cleanups in the area.

The most recent work-day was Feb. 6, with 120 volunteers donning hygienic gloves to fill large plastic bags with opala found along the shores from the west end of Oneula Beach Park to White Plains.

After their hard work, participants relaxed and cooled off with lunch and shave ice. While helping out, volunteers young and old learned about the area’s cultural and natural history.

The cleanup’s organizer, Hoakalei Cultural Foundation, was established in 2006 for the purpose of restoring the neglected, trash-strewn area to its natural beauty in order to preserve its land and sea resources for future generations.

The initiative was inspired by Kupuna Arline Wainaha Kuuleialoha Brede Eaton, who in the 1990s began documenting the area where she was raised in the 1920s to ’30s.

Her work, along with the help of other kupuna, involved looking at historical records and recording oral histories about the area.

The stretch of Ewa shoreline also benefits from the annual “Get the Drift and Bag It” campaign, which last took place in September and also is conducted by community volunteers and various organizations, including Hoakalei Cultural Foundation.

For more information about foundation, visit hoakaleifoundation.org.