Earth Day Cleanup with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii

Last month's Earth Day Cleanup with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii was a day for the books!

Not only were over 2,000 volunteers sifting micro plastics on the beach, this cleanup held space to work together with the local indigenous community at Hawaiian Nation in Waimanalo where ~30 volunteers mindfully cleared debris in a place that had been occupied by squatters. I had the opportunity to photograph this segment of the day's cleanup.

The piles of 'opala from decades ago looked dystopian as it had been partially reclaimed by nature. Fiberglass and carpet had weaved its way into the soil and needed to be extracted with pickaxe, chainsaw, and bare hands.

Underneath the camouflage of the invasive albizia forest, it was pointed out to me that the space we were cleaning was terraced and had been landscaped for farming and community living hundreds of years ago!

As busy as things can be, and even though cleanups only support a part of the problem of plastic pollution, making time to volunteer in this capacity and connect with the community is so very energizing and fulfilling.

Some of my work was featured in SCH's 2023 Earth Day Impact Report. As busy as things can be, and even though cleanups only support a part of the problem of plastic pollution, making time to volunteer in this capacity and connect with the community is so very energizing and fulfilling.

Let's leave this place better than we found it. Every day is Earth Day!