Picnic Tradition Adds Bonding Moments To Clean The Beach
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Del.icio.usWhile most families across Oahu prefer to relax when a three-day weekend comes around, members of the North Shore Gilman ohana and the Emmsley, Baldauf, Elisara, Duponte and Hoomanawanui clans joined up with their extended family from elsewhere on Oahu to clear trash from Makua Beach.
“Although all of us involved in the cleanup were from all around
Dole Plantation is offering kama’aina and military residents a chance to enjoy the activities available at the plantation, purchase various goods at a 15 percent discount and help the surrounding schools through October, all at the same time.
“This is our slow month,” says Susan Harada of Castle and Cooke Inc. “We thought this would be a good opportunity to get the kama’aina and military out to the plantation to re-experience it. We’ve done a lot of improvements over the last few years in terms of attractions, and food and beverage upgrades.”
Dole will be donating 5 percent of specific purchases made by kama’aina to Helemano, Miliani Waena, Iliahi, Wahiawa, Kaala, Waialua and Wheeler elementary schools.
Students from each campus will collect the receipts of the purchases to claim the funds from the plantation through the end of the month.
“There’s no cap, ” said Harada, on how much the plantation will donate. “So whatever the schools can collect, we’ll total up the receipts and cut them a check for 5 percent.”
Train rides, garden tours, items in the shop and the now world-record-holding hedge maze all are part of the program. For details, call 621-1500.
Oahu, we have a special connection to Makua Beach,“said Natasha Baldauf, a recent college graduate. “Personally, I hear a lot about Makua in the news, and it saddens me that a place so beautiful and culturally vital to the Hawaiian community is greatly inaccessible.”
The tradition to hold a family gathering at the beach started a few years ago, she said, but this year, on Memorial Day weekend,“we decided we would use the opportunity of gathering to give back to the place as well”- in partnership with Nani ‘O Waianae which provided trash bags and gloves.
Baldauf said they combed the beach and found a multitude of items, big and small. There were broken Boogie boards and futons, shards of broken glass and nubs of cigarettes, even old trash bags spilling their contents.
“We were able to collect more than 25 trash bags full of ‘opala and transport it out to the main road for pickup by the state,” Baldauf recalled.
Everyone had a blast and looks forward to doing more of the same next year.
Our family got together to enjoy this beautiful beach and intended to leave this treasured place in better condition than when we found it,” stated Baldauf.“Sometimes all you need is a box of trash bags, some gloves and some of your own ‘ohana to make a difference in your community.”
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