Maui Sea Cadets recognized for public service to Adopt-A-Highway

The Maui Sea Cadets have earned the No Ka Oi Highway Hui Award from the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Highways Maui District, for their ongoing service to Maui’s Adopt-A-Highway Program.

Officially named the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps Maui, NAS Puʻunēnē Division (USNSCC), the Maui Sea Cadets is a development program for youngsters ages 10 through 18 years old. Since 2024, the Maui unit has helped to clean a two-mile section along Maui Veterans Highway as part of its commitment to community service and respect for veterans.

“This is a veterans’ highway, and we are Sea Cadets and we like to honor our veterans. That’s what we do,” said Mitsue Okamura Eldredge, administrator of the USNSCC Maui Division.

Supported by the US Navy and Coast Guard, USNSCC works to build character and self-discipline and offers insights into military life through hands-on training. Learning activities include sailing, aviation, robotics, medical training and SCUBA, as well as community events including Adopt-A-Highway cleanups and honoring veterans at the Maui Veterans Cemetery.

For the young sea cadets, volunteering for the Adopt-A-Highway public service program also became a learning experience about the value of their efforts.

Adopt-A-Highway “taught me in particular that the littlest removal of trash can make a big difference,” said Cadet Damon Ramos, an eighth grade student at Lahaina Intermediate. “You can just start by picking up trash wherever you can – in the park, on the highway, on your own. Eventually, your work will not go to waste.”

“We thank the Maui Sea Cadets for participating in Adopt-A-Highway as part of their broader mission to foster leadership, good character and skill-building in youth,” said Ty Fukuroku, program manager of Environmental Management, Highways Maui District. “It’s gratifying to see these young cadets recognize that their public service makes a difference, and that their volunteerism for the Maui Veterans Highway is a way of demonstrating their respect for our nation’s veterans.”

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.

Organizations in Maui County interested in signing up for Adopt-A-Highway can search for available highway segments at Highways Maui District’s stormwater website, www.stormwatermaui.com.

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.