Community Events for Keiki!
This spring, Kailua Beach Adventures had the opportunity to put on and support several noteworthy events for the keiki of Kailua and Oahu.
This spring, Kailua Beach Adventures had the opportunity to put on and support several noteworthy events for the keiki of Kailua and Oahu. In March, we partnered with Quicksilver to host an event for the 6th graders of Kainalu and Ka'ōhao Elementary Schools, and this past weekend we supported the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oahu by providing an opportunity to introduce children to a plethora of watersports while educating them about ocean safety.
On Friday, March 15th, sixth grade students came to Kailua Beach Adventures to share their sustainable boardshort designs, receive autographs from professional surfers, and view a screening of the Quicksilver Generations movie. Surfers including Freddy Patacchia, Zeke Lau, Jamie Mitchell, and Joey Johnston came out to sign autographs and to select a winner of the creative sustainable boardshort art project.
Some students took the project to another level by collecting microplastics and waste from the beach and incorporating it into their design. Other students artistically depicted healthy aquatic scenes, and a few depicted side by side comparisons of a healthy ocean v. a polluted one. Students made it a tough decision for our judges - these sixth graders have talent!
We at Kailua Beach Adventures were overwhelmed by the turnout and the energy students and parents brought. Pizza was served, and a good time was enjoyed by all.
Later this spring on Saturday, April 20th, organizations including Hawaiian Island Creations, Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku foundation, Volcom, and more collaborated to get keiki of the Boys and Girls Club out on the water. The goal of this event was to introduce children to ocean sports and fitness.
For many keiki, it was their first time trying an ocean sport. Children rotated among four stations and had the opportunity to play volleyball, catch waves on a surfboard, boogie board, and paddle. The paddling station was comprised of outrigger canoes and SUPSquatches. Waves were caught and smiles were shared!
With over 40 volunteers and more than 100 children, the turnout was excellent and the energy that this event inspired was tremendous. We already can’t wait for next year’s event!
Sustainable Coastlines Waimanalo Beach Clean-Up
Earth Day 2019 was yet another great success as over 1,050 volunteers came out and 4,000 pounds of debris from Bellows to Makapu`u was collected. This annual event was spearheaded by Sustainable Coastlines, an organization founded in 2010 . . .
Earth Day 2019 was yet another great success as over 1,050 volunteers came out and 4,000 pounds of debris from Bellows to Makapu`u was collected. This annual event was spearheaded by Sustainable Coastlines, an organization founded in 2010 that is committed to keeping our beaches clean.
Several of our staff members members joined the ranks to help facilitate this large-scale event. Matt, Austin, and Ashton helped to outfit guests with beach cleaning supplies including our sand sifters, bags, and gloves.
The day began with a yoga class provided by Core Power Yoga. As our sea kayak guide Ashton pointed out, this Earth Day celebration began with health for our own bodies followed by health for our planet. She noted that seeing local businesses willing to offer their goods and services inspired the community, and similarly was overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up.
As someone who enjoys volunteering, Ashton noted that her favorite part of the day was being able to lead a group of volunteers and supply them with the necessary tools and information. She was also overjoyed to see just how many parents were showing their kids how to take care of our planet at such a young age. As this year’s Earth Day fell so close to the Easter holiday, she noticed how many groups treated the event as a family celebration that positively affected the planet.
For Austin, the biggest takeaway was the feelings of empowerment. He noticed the variety of people who showed up. This included families with small children, friends, and even individuals who were even feeling under the weather. Whether people showed up for the entirety of the event, or made the effort to spend an hour of their Easter Sunday and Earth Day weekend cleaning windward Oahu’s beaches, people made it a priority.
Lastly, Matt, a Kailua Beach Adventures veteran, commented that it was great to see the community show up, collect a massive amount of trash, and reinvigorate a lot of hearts and minds. We are excited to continue in this ongoing partnership and are already looking forward to the next beach clean-up!
Read on for a few fun facts about Earth Day and it's inception!
Earth Day was born after New York Times’ bestseller Silent Spring was published and shortly after a massive oil spill occurred in California in 1969.
20 Million people participated in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. They participated in the form of loud rallies, peaceful reflections, nature walks, speeches, concerts, and more.
The senator of Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, spearheaded the Earth Day celebration.
The secret to Earth Day’s success was the involvement of college students as this helped the movement gain major traction. The date of Earth Day was strategically planned to fall between spring break and final exams.
Business Profile: A Different Kind of Kayak Company
We recognize that we are not just running a business in a ‘vacuum’ as if we were a restaurant or retail store. We interact with our guest’s, nature and the community when paddling in Kailua Bay.
Let’s face it, life is good in Hawaii. It’s easy to just catch the tropical breeze, soak up the Pacific sun and passively enjoy life’s moments as they float by. Hawaii’s remote location and Polynesian roots allow us to invent our own priorities and way of life. These include relishing the ocean and land but also preserving its pristine state. Otherwise, before you know it, “they’ve paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
We recognize that we are not just running a business in a ‘vacuum’ as if we were a restaurant or retail store. We interact with our guest’s, nature and the community when paddling in Kailua Bay. We consider those pillars as the foundation that keeps us grounded. We look at work as an opportunity to facilitate the interactions between human, animal and our natural world. Granted we could look the other way and operate as an amusement park but that would not be fair to our company morals and community we have built. As a company we want to preserve the beautiful culture and environment and hold ourselves accountable as environmental stewards.
Our Goal: Educate and push coexistence throughout Kailua
How we accomplish our goals:
We hold beach clean ups in perpetuity as the world’s plastic consumption is relentlessly endless. We allow these cleanups to act as an educational tool as well as to bring attention to issues such as the Pacific Garbage Patch. Seeing this issue has pushed us to pay out of our own pocket for compostable containers for the restaurants providing our kayaker’s lunch and sell water in boxes instead of plastic bottles. We help the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources recruit volunteers, provide staff and kayaks for restoration of our offshore islands. We see this kind of cooperation as the perfect embodiment of our goals as a company.
We stay humble, however as we recognize that we can always do much more. We learn from our neighbors and from our out of town guests as the problems facing us are complex and pervasive. So, go surf, go kayak, be outside and spread your passion for these things. People will work hard to protect the things that bring them enjoyment and we’re all in this one together.