MANA — Pacific Missile Range Facility’s MC2 Bodie Estep reported that more than 208 pounds of trash was removed from the Waiokapua Bay, currently known as Majors Bay, beach area on Friday as an Earth Day activity.
The effort involved PMRF personnel, teachers, chaperones, and students from the ‘Ele‘ele Elementary School, Kalaheo Elementary School, Kekaha Elementary School and Saint Theresa School.
“We’re thrilled to work with our partner organizations from across Kaua‘i, as well as schools and the local community, to get them excited about their environment, and bring them together with sailors and the workforce of PMRF to be able to celebrate Earth Day 2024,” said PMRF Commanding Officer Capt. Brett Stevenson.
In addition to the beach cleanup efforts, the 112 visiting school students rotated through different stations to learn about the missions of some of the many PMRF community partners. Those partners include the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Division of Aquatic Resources, Ho‘omalu Ke Kai, County of Kaua‘i, Recycling, Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee, Kaunalewa, Na Maka Onaona, PMRF Crash Fire, PMRF Meteorology, Save Our Shearwaters, The Nature Conservancy, USDA Wildlife Services and Zero Waste.
“This is a great interaction where we at PMRF are having our kids come down,” said Darrian Muraoka, a predator control biologist with the USDA. “Not only picking up debris, but also learning about Waiokapua Bay, and how long this stretch of beach is, and why it is important to them and to us.”
During the rotation through the different stations, students were able to learn about the conservation and environmental efforts that take place, not just on the Navy base, but around the entire island, Estep said. The stations additionally served to educate the students on possible future career paths for them.
“We couldn’t do our important mission here at PMRF without the experts in our environmental team who bring a range of skills and techniques to ensure that our mission is a success,” Stevenson said.
