MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaii Wildlife Fund has announced it will begin its Marine Debris Keiki Education & Outreach “MDKEO” program on Hawaii Island this fall.

This program will bring two marine science mentors into 20 different elementary schools (K – 5th grade classrooms) to introduce topics like ocean circulation, marine ecology, and human impacts (like marine debris).

Mentors will work with receptive Hawaii Island teachers to coordinate relevant student activities that meet the math and science benchmarks and “Common Core” standards for the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education for each grade level.

These in-class lectures will conclude with student presentations of potential solutions to reduce marine debris here in Hawaii and elsewhere throughout the Pacific Basin.

The program will culminate with a family “Beach Cleanup Day” at local marine debris hubs like Kamilo Point (Kaʻu), Pololu (North Kohala), Kanekanaka Point (South Kohala), Cape Kumukahi (Puna), Kaipalaoa (Hilo), and Ooma (Kona).

This MDKEO program began with financial support from a HWF T-shirt fundraiser and will now be sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program.

For more info about this marine debris prevention program or to sign up a classroom, contact Catherine at spina.HWF@gmail.com/

For more info about volunteering for our next Kaʻu coastal cleanup event, contact Megan at kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com or 808/769-7629.

— Find out more:
www.wildhawaii.org