Community & Environment
1. Use reusable water bottles.
Don’t add to the Pacific Garbage Patch!
2. Use reef-safe sunscreens.
Oxybenzone kills reef. Use Zinc and or mineral based products.
3. Pack everything in a dry-bag.
Don’t have a “yard sale” while out on the water.
4. Don’t leave food products/crumbs behind.
This promotes pests such as pigeons, ants and rats on our bird sanctuaries.
5. Help us clean!
Carefully remove derelict fishing nets and other plastics before they entangle or are ingested by marine life.
6. Promote your stewardship.
It’s not shameful to post your actions on Snapchat when it saves animals’ lives.
7. Take your selfies from a distance.
Follow the rules for not disturbing marine life. Sea-Turtles, Monk Seals and many sea-birds are federally protected.
8. Make a pledge against single-use plastics.
Set 1 goal at a time like carrying a travel mug to get your next coffee in.
9. Educate Others.
We have visitors form around the world and they will not all read this post!
10. Take these lessons home.
Most marine debris that arrive here originates from outside of Hawaii.
Hawaiian Monk Seal on Mokulua Nui
40 years of SUSTAINABILITY
Kailua Beach Adventures has participated in and hosted 5-10 beach clean ups per year since 2002! In doing so we have partnered with several other community members including: Plastic Free Hawaii, The Kokua Foundation, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, The Surfrider Foundation, and Ocean Devotion
KBA is partnered with The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to restore the Mokulua and Popoi’a islands. KBA regularly donates equipment and use of kayaks to DLNR personnel and KBA staff volunteer with clean up efforts frequently. Additionally, five dollars from each of our tours goes toward the DLNR and its efforts. When on tours, tour guides take steps to clean up the offshore islands and encourage tour customers to do the same. Tour guides also assist the DLNR enforcement branch in spreading awareness and compliance of its rules on the islands.
KBA has additional partnerships with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and The Clean Water Campaign. KBA’s Guides report all Monk Seal sightings, photos, behavior to NOAA for tracking. KBA staff communicate Monk Seal awareness and updates to customers and the community. When sighting a seal at Moku’nui, guides communicate procedures to all humans in the vicinity. For the Clean Water Campaign KBA has been reporting to the City’s clean water branch with on-the-scene, real time updates from Kailua beach. This helps expedite response time to pollution or contaminants entering Kailua Bay and may prevent serious health hazards to visitors and the community.
Kailua Beach Adventures has also partnered with The Kokua Hawaii Foundation and Plastic Free Hawaii to put on educational events that inform community members about recycling and waste management in Hawai`i and to promote a lifestyle of environmental consciousness and less waste.
Kailua is an amazing place with a wide variety of ecosystems. As a tour company, Kailua Beach Adventures focuses on sustainability and low impact operations. Our employees are all very environmentally conscious, so it isn’t hard to run a business that focuses on sustainability. The islands and the bay are truly our lifeblood, so we are focused on a business model that can last many lifetimes.
In 2013, the Hawaii Tourism Authority awarded Kailua Beach Adventures a prestigious grant to build the Kailua Bay Learning Center. As a tour provider, we are in a unique position to educate tourists about the land and wildlife they will be interacting with. We see large numbers of tourists come through our doors, and each of them is an opportunity to inform them about the best way to behave in these environments. The KBLC is located within our facilities and we have exhibits ranging from the freshwater runoff mitigation in the Ka`elepulu Stream to information about one of the most endangered Marine Mammals in the world, the Hawaiian Monk Seal. Stop by and learn more about our precious environment!
Education is a priority here at Kailua Beach Adventures to insure that we are all respecting and taking care of the environment so people and wildlife may continue to enjoy it for generations to come. Kailua Beach Adventures is a Hawaii EcoTourism Association Certified business, and so we are held to a high standard. From providing reusable water bottles as an option for all of our customers to donating time and equipment to the DLNR volunteer efforts for conservation and restoration, KBA is committed to the cause.
At the Kailua Bay Learning Center and in our shop, our KBA staff take steps to educate visitors and locals alike about what they need to know before entering the water and wildlife ecosystems.
Armed with knowledge, staff provide intensive pre-trip education for all customers Including:
· Assessing customer experience and ability to swim.
· directing customers to the proper activity and location based on their abilities.
· Reviewing conditions verbally with customers.
· Requiring customers to sign waivers explaining inherent risks of the ocean conditions.
· Watching an orientation video, highlighting safe areas to paddle and leave-no-trace ethics.
· Reviewing up-to-the-minute weather board.
· Reviewing conditions again at the checkout table before customers head to ocean.
· Providing a Shore break attendant when necessary to ensure safety of customers and all beach users as they enter and exit the ocean.