Get the Drift and Bag It

Eighty Hawaii Preparatory Academy students in grades four, five, and seven, recently participated in the annual “Get the Drift and Bag It” International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by The Ocean Conservancy and coordinated by the County of Hawaii Parks and Recreation, Aquatics Division. Students focused their efforts on the Hapuna and Spencer Beach Parks. The students gathered more than 300 pounds of debris, including 1,000 food wrappers, more than 2,000 cigarette butts, 250 plastic bags, and much more. Seventh graders analyzed and documented their findings.

The International Coastal Cleanup is the largest and most successful volunteer event of its kind. Volunteers of all ages from every continent remove trash and record specific types of marine debris being collected, allowing The Ocean Conservancy to compile, analyze, and track this data year-by-year and make discoveries about the behaviors that cause the debris.