Dash for Trash winners: Kamehameha Schools ʻOhana and Maui’s ʻāina

Students, teachers and family members of Kamehameha Schools ʻOhana collectively earned this year’s Adopt-A-Highway Dash for Trash Champions title for the annual Earth Month public service competition sponsored by the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Highways Maui District.

But the real winner might be Maui’s ʻāina, after more than 220 volunteers with over a dozen groups on Maui and Molokaʻi turned out to pick up trash along over 30 miles of State Highways during April. The Kamehameha Schools ʻOhana conducted two cleanups during the month and extended the public service activity into a learning experience for students.

“We understand that students in Kamehameha Schools Maui’s Environmental Science class identified pollution as a problem affecting our ʻāina and considered how they could be part of a solution. Not only did that lead to their participation in Dash for Trash, they also helped plan their cleanup event and shared what they learned with younger students,” said Ty Fukuroku, program manager of Environmental Management, Highways Maui District. “We greatly appreciate the dedication and support of Kamehameha Schools Maui.”

For participating students, the endeavor was both fun and eye-opening.

“It took a lot of planning at first,” said Leihalia Bulusan, a junior at Kamehameha Schools Maui. “We had to send a lot of emails and we had meetings with our Poʻo. But when we were able to get out there it was actually very fun.”

“There was a lot more trash than we thought there was going to be. Driving up there it doesn’t look that bad but when we actually got out on the road, we realized it’s way worse than we thought,” added fellow junior Nawea Cook. “We found (this cleanup project) to be really fun and it’s really satisfying to go there and do the work and then see all the things that you collect. You feel accomplished.”

Members of Kamehameha Schools Maui”s Parent Teacher Student Organization also volunteered for the highway cleanups. The Kamehameha Schools ‘Ohana has been with Maui’s Adopt-A-Highway program for nearly 25 years, caring for a two-mile stretch of Kula Highway between mile markers 8 and 10.

Adopt-A-Highway is a public service program that works with volunteers to remove trash from along Hawaiʻi’s State Highways and help prevent litter and other pollutants from blowing or flowing into the ocean and other bodies of water. Volunteer groups commit to adopting a two-mile segment of a State Highway for a minimum of two years, pick up litter on their section of the Highway at least four times per year, and undergo safety training before each cleanup event.

Dash for Trash is a fun, friendly and good-for-the-islands competition among Maui County Adopt-A-Highway groups to celebrate Earth Month each year. 

Organizations in Maui County interested in signing up for Adopt-A-Highway can search for available highway segments at Highways Maui District’s Adopt-A-Highway webpage. Applications, cleanup forms, a safety training video, and program information are also available on the website. Adopt-A-Highway groups receive support from Highways Maui District in the form of cleanup supplies, safety training and the group’s name printed on a highway sign.