Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is seeking volunteers to help remove trash from a short section of the stormwater ditch along the Honoapi’ilani Highway in Ma’alaea on Saturday, December 8 from 9 am to 11 am.

Unless removed soon, the trash will likely end up in Ma’alaea Bay when winter rains arrive and stormwater flows through the ditch into the ocean. The ditch is located adjacent to the highway and is notorious for accumulating large amounts of man-made debris.

“The time you volunteer is truly a gift for the ocean, for the coral reefs and marine wildlife,” says Amy Hodges, Program Manager at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council. “We need volunteers to help us now, to keep all of the accumulated trash out of the ocean.”

Participants are asked to meet at 9 am at the parking lot that contains the EV charging stations between Maui Ocean Center and Carl’s Jr. Please wear closed-toe shoes and long pants, and bring a water bottle, sunscreen and hat. Gloves and trash bags will be provided.

The clean-up is part of an overall plan by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council to help improve ocean water quality in Ma’alaea Bay, home to a sea turtle grazing area, coral reefs, a famous surf break, public fishing area and beaches, as well as a busy small boat harbor.

Cleaning up Ma’alaea Ditch is one project that Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is undertaking to improve ocean water quality in Ma’alaea Bay.

The organization paid for a Stormwater Management Plan for the areas upslope of Ma’alaea Bay to identify additional ways to reduce stormwater runoff laden with sediment and pollutants from flowing into the bay.

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is also working on a pilot project to use caged oysters to help improve the water quality in Ma’alaea Harbor. A free presentation about the oyster project will be presented at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s December 5 meeting, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at Pacific Whale Foundation’s classrooms. The public is invited, admission is free and refreshments will be served.

To sign up for the Ma’alaea Ditch clean-up, please email [email protected] with your name and cell phone number, so that the team at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council can contact you in the event of rain in Ma’alaea or the West Maui Mountains, which would result in the postponement of the Ma’alaea Ditch clean-up in the interest of volunteer safety.

To learn more about Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, visit www.mauireefs.org.