Mālama Maui Nui Launches 2017 Great American Cleanup

As part of Keep America Beautiful’s annual Great American Cleanup, Mālama Maui Nui is encouraging volunteers to “be the bridge from mauka to makai” by forming their own block cleanups during the month of April.

Litter piles at the beach at ‘River Mouth’ in Paukūkalo. Photo credit: Mālama Maui Nui.

Since most residential areas on Maui are located between the protected ecosystems of the upper elevations on the mauka side and the marine protected areas to the makai side, Mālama Maui Nui believes it is important to “be the bridge” in your neighborhood in order to ensure Hawaiʻi’s ecosystems thrive and to help keep the ocean and watersheds clean from litter and pollution.

The GAC has launched every spring for the past 18 years and involves more than 20,000 communities across the country.

“The GAC is an incredible opportunity for all of us to participate in positive change in our community. Every year I find myself so inspired by the way our community comes together to cleanup and help each other out to protect the unique resources of our islands,” said Gabrielle Schuerger, Mālama Maui Nui’s executive director.

Mālama Maui Nui will join the Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association at their cleanup event on April 1, at the Kwong Fook Tong Cemetery from 8 a.m. to noon.

Interested participants in the April 1 event and the 2017 GAC can sign up here.  or by visiting the Mālama Maui Nui website  and clicking on the iVolunteer link.