Construction company Bowers + Kubota receives Adopt-A-Highway award for Maui

The Adopt-A-Highway program on Maui has named construction company Bowers + Kubota as the first No Ka Oi Highway Hui Award recipient of 2022.

The State of Hawaiʻi’s Department of Transportation recognizes Adopt-A-Highway volunteer groups for outstanding public service to Maui’s environment. By removing unsightly litter along state highways, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers contribute not only toward tidier roadways, but also to Maui’s natural environment by preventing potentially harmful pollutants from flowing or blowing into the ocean and other sensitive ecosystems.

Bowers + Kubota’s volunteers adopted a segment along Kuihelani Highway. Over the past three years, the group has picked up an average of 45 bags of rubbish during their cleanup events.

“The amount of litter that Bowers + Kubota’s volunteers pick up speaks not only to the sheer volume of trash escaping into the environment, but underscores how hard their volunteers work to keep our public areas clean,” said Ty Fukuroku, the state program manager of Environmental Management on Maui.

Bowers + Kubota provides construction management, architectural and engineering design firm services throughout the state. For more than a decade, the company’s employees have participated in Adopt-A-Highway cleanups across the islands.

“Bowers + Kubota operates on a set of core values that we call SWIFT: Superior Quality, Wellness, Integrity, Family and Teamwork,” said Todd Niemann, senior associate. “Participating in programs like Adopt-A-Highway is just another way we act on our values and show that it’s not about taking, it’s about giving back.”

Adopt-A-Highway cleanups are carried out by volunteer groups that commit to adopting a two-mile portion of a state highway for a minimum of two years. They pick up litter on their section of the highway at least four times per year, and undergo safety training before each cleanup event.

Organizations in Maui County interested in signing up for Adopt-A-Highway can search for available highway segments at www.stormwatermaui.com. Applications, cleanup forms, a safety training video and program information are also available on the website.