UPDATED (1/18/2013 at 3:31 PM)

THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED DUE TO HIGH SURF IN WEST HAWAII. A FUTURE DATE FOR THE CLEAN-UP WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER.

MEDIA RELEASE

A community cleanup day is planned 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Jan. 19 at Kahaluu Beach Park.

Residents and visitors are invited to participate.

The Kahaluu Bay Education Center and the county Department of Parks and Recreation are facilitating the event and will provide gloves and trash bags to all participants. Starbucks will provide refreshments.

The cleanup day is part of the National Day of Service, a program of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Thousands of community service events are being organized across the United States, focusing on health, education, economic development, the environment, faith, and veterans and military families.

Those interested in participating in the Kahaluu Beach Park cleanup day are encouraged to sign up at http://action.2013pic.org/page/event/detail/4jrxt

Kahaluu Bay, a premier island snorkeling and reef encounter site, offers some of the finest fish and green sea turtle viewing in the state. More than 400,000 tourists and residents visit the park each year.

“The county does a fine job cleaning the park on a regular basis, but small trash and cigarette butts gradually accumulate on the beach and in the sand,” said Jean Bevan Marquez, KBEC manager. “Although a county ordinance prohibits smoking at the park, the law is often disregarded by smokers. Consequently, there are many butts on the beach. Plastic trash and cigarette butts pose hazards to our marine life. This cleanup event provides the community a way to come together and make a difference for the bay’s inhabitants and our visitors.”

In 2011, the county entered into a 10-year contract with The Kohala Center to build an education and research center at Kahaluu Bay, and to work with the county to improve the beach park and enhance the health of the bay through the implementation of a master plan.

KBEC is located at Kahaluu Beach Park, 78-6740 Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona, and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day that the park is open.

In addition to offering snorkel equipment rentals and instruction on proper reef etiquette, KBEC also operates two long-standing, volunteer-run programs: ReefTeach and Citizen Science.

ReefTeach volunteers patrol the bay and educate visitors about the different types of fish and invertebrates in the bay, and about the ecology of the reef. Citizen Science volunteers help collect valuable scientific data that track the health of the bay.

The Kohala Center is an independent, community-based center for research, education, and conservation. The Center was established in direct response to the request of island residents to create greater educational and employment opportunities by enhancing — and celebrating — Hawaii’s spectacular natural and cultural landscapes.

— Find out more:
www.kohalacenter.org