Marines

Photo Information

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - Cpl. Jaycen Figueroa (left), supply warehouse chief, Marine Aircraft Group 24, and Lance Cpl. Dakota Zaun, airframes mechanic, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 cut down excess foliage to widen a walking path near Waterfront Operations during Malama Ka Aina, Nov. 20, 2014. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Kristen Wong)

Photo by Kristen Wong

Going green on green: Volunteers beautify MCB Hawaii

21 Nov 2014 | Christine Cabalo Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Teams of volunteers made a clean sweep of Marine Corps Base Hawaii during the semi-annual “Malama Ka Aina” cleanup held Nov. 18 through 20, 2014.

Marines, sailors and civilians formed three teams to tackle beautifying recreational areas and outdoor working areas at MCB Hawaii. Volunteers also rolled up their sleeves to chop down plant overgrowth and clear away debris all over the base.

“Malama Ka Aina is important because it energizes the tenant units and hopefully the residents to look around and appreciate the beauty of Hawaii,” said Lt. Col. David Bohn, base inspector at MCB Hawaii. “It is a privilege and great opportunity to live and serve aboard this base.”

During the three-day cleanup, teams patrolled through outdoor spaces to clear debris as well as account for environmental conditions. The teams searched for trouble spots that needed maintenance and then reported to the Base Inspector’s Office and the unit in charge of the area.

“If we notice buildings in need of repair we can inform parent commands,” said Lance Cpl. Justin Agness, who volunteered with Team One and is a reconfigurable transportable consolidated automated support system technician with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24. “We set this up like we were doing (foreign object debris) checks.”

Each of the teams swept through both high-traffic areas and places they may not normally walk around.

Agness and others in Team One said they hadn’t found any unusual items, but were surprised at how many bags they could fill with loose trash. During their sweep of Pyramid Rock, they collected bags of plastic bottle caps, cans and other potentially hazardous items hidden in the sands of the beach.

“We found lots of plastic,” said Pfc. Joshawa Short, an electronics intelligence technician with 3rd Radio Battalion. “On the beach we also found old Styrofoam and abandoned wood.”

In addition to removing debris, volunteers worked with the Environmental Compliance and Protection Department on invasive plant overgrowth. Volunteers cleared away foreign plants that crowd out both native Hawaiian animals and plant life near Nuupia Ponds. The group removed overgrowth by the Kailua Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Temporary Lodging Facility and Waterfront Operations.

“Near (the lodge) we needed to clear a pathway to get to the wetlands,” said Lance Bookless, the senior natural resources management specialist at the Environmental Dept. “(For some plants) it is hard because there are so many seeds.  (Some species) can be tangled, branching plants. You might cut off a limb and be far away from the base. Some species grow up to four or five feet tall.”

Bookless said the cutting down of plant overgrowth was his team’s main goal due to heavy rains making pest plants grow faster.

Volunteers pulled out roots and cut down the wildly sprouting foreign plants near the lodge so researchers can better observe the native life in the area. The spot is home to endangered birds including the moorhen, Hawaiian coot and Koloa ducks.

Without volunteer help, pests like Christmas berry, koa hauoli and thorny keawe plants threaten wildlife.

Bookless said the keawe plant growth is especially challenging to remove without group help because the plant’s thorns are sharp enough to pierce leather working gloves.

Before the three-day cleanup, volunteers cleared  the opening of Mokapu Central Drainage Ditch. 

Water in the channel runs from the Mokapu Elementary School area, through Nuupia Ponds and exits close to the wastewater treatment plant.

“When there is too much trash or wild growth of invasive plants it chokes out life and turns into stagnant water,” Bookless said. “This causes an increase of mosquito populations and other problems.”

Both Bookless and Bohn said the volunteer work is challenging, but the goal of creating a cleaner base is achievable with a solid effort.

“Malama Ka Aina allows us to get more people involved,” Bohn said. “There are more hands to clean up, more eyes to identify problems and more people contributing to the beautification.”

For details about future volunteer opportunities, call 257-7000.


Marine Corps Base Hawaii