Seventy-five Hawaii Preparatory Academy students in grades four, five and seven, along with their teachers and parent volunteers, recently participated in the annual International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy.
Seventy-five Hawaii Preparatory Academy students in grades four, five and seven, along with their teachers and parent volunteers, recently participated in the annual International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy.
The students, who focused their efforts at the Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor, Pua Ka Ilima o Kawaihae Surf Park and Spencer Beach Park, gathered about 138 pounds of debris, including 3,237 glass, plastic or foam pieces; 1,982 cigarette butts, 627 bottle caps, 272 beverage bottles/cans and 208 yards of fishing line.
Seventh-graders analyzed and documented their findings, which were submitted to the Ocean Conservancy for its annual report, “The Ocean Trash Index.”
The International Coastal Cleanup is the largest volunteer effort to clean up waterways and the ocean. In 2015, nearly 800,000 volunteers collected more than 18 million pounds of trash.
For more information, visit www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/international-coastal-cleanup.