FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     April 28, 2006

 VOLUNTEERS PREPARE FOR SATURDAY’S CLEAN-UP EFFORTS IN NANAKULI AND AT WAIPAHU'S

POUHALA MARSH

            As part of Honolulu’s observance of Earth Month, scores of volunteers will be cleaning up two areas on Oahu on Saturday (April 29, 2006): Nanakuli, particularly Ulehawa Channel, and Pouhala Marsh in Waipahu.

            Nanakuli: More than 150 volunteers from various school and church groups in Nanakuli, the Army’s 25^th  Infantry Division, Puu Heleakala and Kahe Kai community associations, and
Nani O Waianae along with City employees from the Office of Council Member Todd Apo, the Department of Environmental Services and Department of Park and Recreation will join residents in taking action to solve the illegal dumping problem at Ulehawa Channel on Saturday.

            While some youth will paint classrooms at Nanakuli High School, others will team up with City staff to remove debris at Nanakuli Beach Park, stencil storm drains and help distribute storm water pollution tips to residents who live along Ulehawa Channel. 

            “This is a hands-on example of what everyone can do in their homes to protect the watershed, such as keeping yards clean, storing household cleaning products, and using an oil-change box,” says Gerald Takayesu, head of the Storm Water Quality Branch of the Department of Environmental Services.

            Volunteers will meet at three staging areas:

·         7 a.m. at Nanakuli High School for a campus beautification project

·         8 a.m.at Heleakala Neighborhood Park on Helelua Street to stencil storm drains and distribute pollution tips

·         8 a.m. at Nanakuli Beach Park for the beach cleanup. 

            Then at 11:30 a.m., volunteers will gather at Nanakuli High School for public service announcements (PSAs) produced by students and music with FM100 and BET at 11:30 am. 

            Pouhala Marsh:  This project was postponed from April 1 because of bad weather. Volunteers from Waipahu High School, Air Force, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Nature Center, Grace Bible Church, Waipahu Community Association, Oahu Resource Conservation & Development, along with staff from the City Department of Environmental Services, State Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the Hawaii Nature Center will meet at 8 a.m. at Pouhala Marsh to plant kou trees, trim kiawe trees, clear debris from the banks of Kapakahi Stream and remove mangrove seedlings from the banks of Kapakahi Stream and the marsh.

            The 70-acre Pouhala Marsh lies across Waipahu Depot Road from the Honolulu Police Recruit Academy and the Waipahu Convenience Center. The marsh consists of a remnant fishpond and coastal marsh. Over the years, the wetlands of this area have been severely and significantly degraded through filling, urban development, water pollution, and alien plant invasion. What was once an extensive system of wetlands in this area has declined to a few remaining basins and mud flats. Pouhala Marsh is the largest remaining wetland habitat in Pearl Harbor.

            Efforts to preserve it are being spearheaded through a Community Development project organized by Ducks Unlimited, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the City and County of Honolulu. The project's goal is to restore habitat for native Hawaiian water birds and migratory shore birds, and develop a natural resources management education and internship program.

            For more information about the City’s Clean Water Program and a calendar of work projects go to www.cleanwaterhonolulu.com or call the City’s Environmental Concern Line
at 692-5656.

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Contact:

            Iwalani Sato, City Department of Environmental Services,

429-4112