Sea Cleaners are harnessing the power of people to educate future generations on plastic in the Pacific, writes Molly Floyd
The impact plastic has on the ocean is complex and confronting but there's a beacon of hope thanks to a group of passionate young Kiwis.
New Zealand non-profit group Sea Cleaners recently selected a group of 10 youth ambassadors from Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and Hawai'i to generate awareness about the fragility of the Pacific ocean.
They travelled to O'ahu, Hawai'i, the epicentre of the plastic pollution crisis. Hawai'i is swimming in plastic, expansive clusters of it wash up on the beautiful shorelines every day.
The ocean is a fundamental part of life, at least 70 per cent of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the ocean. But Sea Cleaners Founder Hayden Smith says there's not a human alive on the planet who will ever see an ocean free of plastic.
This is the third year Sea Cleaners has collaborated with Hawaiian Airlines, Hawai'i Tourism and local youth ambassadors to focus on the importance of reducing plastics in the Pacific.
"It's about sustaining not only our own health but the health of the planet and what people can do to help make a change and create action," says Smith.
It was a jarring sight for the ambassadors who saw firsthand the storm of plastic lash the coastlines. They've all participated in coastal clean-ups at home and cracked into it seamlessly during the first beach clean-up at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge.
A Hawaiian monk seal, one of the most endangered seal species in the world, basked on a sandy bed of microplastic, a stark reminder that plastic doesn't break up, it breaks down into smaller pieces that will remain in the environment for thousands of years.
The coastline was littered with fishing lines, polystyrene, and even a toy soldier. Youth ambassadors hauled bags of waste down the coastlines in blistering heat, and others meticulously picked out microplastics from the sand. The youngest Sea Cleaner, Duke Smith, 7, broke out a vacuum cleaner designed to suck up plastic.
Patrick Brabant, 19, said microplastic is relentless and never-ending.
"I've seen plenty of videos and documentaries about plastic pollution, but it's really different when you can come to a place and see it before your eyes," says Brabant.
Beyond beach cleanups, youth ambassadors travelled to schools around Hawai'i to educate and engage with future generations. The more people learn about the ocean, the more they realise the magic, beauty and opportunity they have to protect the ocean that connects us all.
For almost 20 years, Sea Cleaners have removed an estimated 127 million pieces of rubbish, ranging from military bombs to toothbrushes.
Beach cleanups also provide an opportunity to share a broader understanding the Hawaiian concept of mālama - to take care of and leave a place in better shape than before.
Darragh Walsh, Hawai'i Tourism Oceania, says it's about the connection as people of the Pacific and the role we can play to make a change.
The youth ambassadors travelled to Kualoa Ranch, Hollywood's "Hawai'i Backlot," where blockbuster movies have been filmed, including Jurassic Park, Jumanji and 50 First Dates.
They took part in the Mālama Experience which captured the importance of sustainability and watershed management.
They got stuck into cleaning waterways and learned how tourism can play a part in making a regenerative change in order to protect such an iconic mecca.
Noelani Schilling-Wheeler, executive director of the O'ahu Visitors Bureau, says it is connected to the Hawaiian term "kuleana", to take responsibility.
"It is about our future generations and giving them the tools and the resources to start to be able to collaborate to come up with solutions," Schilling-Wheeler says.
"What happens in their little community isn't singular to their community, but a larger blue planet community."
She urges visitors to learn about Hawai'i in order to understand that it is made up of fragile islands that are part of a greater ecosystem.
For the second beach cleanup, Sea Cleaners joined forces with Sustainable Coastlines Hawai'i at Kahuku Beach.
Smith says it was a great opportunity for youth ambassadors to engage with other community groups who share the same tenacious drive to protect the ocean.
"The most important thing to come out of this whole project is making sure we continue to spread that message both here and back in our own home communities," says Smith.
Sea Cleaners has worked with Sustainable Coastlines for years, since its inception back in New Zealand.
"We helped them with the first reconnaissance missions and first cleanup events when they launched back in 2007 themselves," says Smith.
Hideki Kimukai, an education specialist at Sustainable Coastlines Hawai'i, started digging for solutions after getting stuck into beach cleanups in 2013. He has educated locals and established global outreach in Japan, Australia, and Europe.
He says scientific research has shown drifting microplastics emit greenhouse gases. Beach cleanups show visible pollution but there is a lot of invisible pollution.
"We can't keep reacting to this problem the system creates. You have to respond to that problem," says Kaimuki.
He is separating organic matter into microplastics to gather data.
"We can quantify data to show the scientific world or the scientific society and whoever makes the policies."
The science and the data can help make the issues visible to policymakers.
Kahi Pacarro, founder of Sustainable Coastlines Hawai'i, says plastic pollution is a result of failed design.
He says it is important we come up with proactive solutions rather than reactive ones. "Reactive solutions allow problems to continue to exist."
Smith says the mission is a matter of deepening the understanding of the issue.
"The sand is full of plastic, it's confetti through the sand, you're picking up plastic particles the whole time and it doesn't matter where the stretch of sand is you're working on."
This year the focus is on microplastics; in the past, there was a heavy focus on large objects.
For the third and final beach cleanup, a group of Hawaiian Airlines volunteers joined Sea Cleaners on International Coastal Cleanup Day (September 17) at Kahuku Beach.
In 2018, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawai'i Tourism Oceania and Sea Cleaners joined forces to create the youth ambassador programme.
Hawaiian Airlines' director of community relations, Debbie Nakanelua-Richards, says it was a great opportunity to reconnect following the pandemic.
"What we're here today to do is to follow in the path of the people that came before us and to ensure the next generation - and the one after and the one after into perpetuity - that they have the same kind of connection to the land to the ocean."
Two Billabong surfers, Lilliana Bowrey and Willis Droomer, were among the Australians joining this year's group. They have been making waves ever since they could stand up. Earlier this year, Droomer claimed the Under 16 ISA World Junior Title in El Salvador. Bowrey, a semi-professional surfer, recently starred in Netflix's hit Australian drama Surviving Summer. The ocean is their playground and they've now turned their attention to protecting it.
Smith says the simplest thing that people can do is to stop and pick up a piece of rubbish if they see it on the ground.
"It's not rocket science what we're doing here; it's about changing people's habits. If they're picking something up off the ground, they're less likely to be dropping something or leaving something behind."
GETTING THERE Hawaiian Airlines flies direct from Auckland to Honolulu, with connections available throughout Hawaii and the US. hawaiianairlines.com
DETAILS For more info on Sea Cleaners, visit seacleaners.com For more things to see and do, see gohawaii.com
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