Hawaii is renowned for having beautiful, world class beaches, attracting both visitors and locals for swimming, playing and relaxing. However, it is more than a playground. It is also a precious resource for sea life and fragile reefs. So, in honor of April as Environmental Awareness Month, we wanted to do our part in keeping the beach in front of Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa clean.
About 30 associates gathered on a recent Saturday morning to assist with the clean up, including nine scuba divers and eight snorkelers.
We scoured on land and in the ocean for trash.
Our divers even found a beach chair and a nice pair of designer sunglasses on the reef. On the beach, we picked up a lot of cigarette butts, food wrappers, beer bottles and aluminum cans.
Fortunately, our beach did not have a lot of trash to begin with and we will continue to make sure it stays that way.
We were honored to have Ka‘au Abraham, education manager from the Maui Ocean Center, on hand to explain to us about the reef system and the effects we as humans have on the ocean, including how things such as runoff and trash can damage the health of the ocean.
Ka‘au said currently about 24 percent of the world’s reefs are damaged or have suffered adverse effects. And in another 30 years, if we are not careful with how we care for the reefs, we could lose another 25 percent. That is why it is so important, not just as a Hawaii hotel, but also as a member of this community, whether you’re a visitor or a resident, to be responsible for what we do at the beach.
