To help combat the alarming problem of microplastic pollution in our oceans, we were excited to host Dr. Sean Anderson to "train our trainers" last January at the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center!
Check out this internship essay from Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund summer 2024 intern, Joshua Landkamer, describing his experience working with the Hawaiʻi Island HWF team.
Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund (HWF) has been an active partner with the state DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources’ “Rapid Response” program to help remove large derelict fishing net bundles from Hawaiʻi Island shorelines since 2023.
Mike Stone was a graduate student working with HWF during his internship within the Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Master’s program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo from Fall 2019 to Fall 2021. During this time, Mike worked with HWF’s Megan Lamson (as his graduate advisor) and completed over 700 volunteer hours with HWF and focused on a brand audit study for marine debris collected in Kaʻū from 2013-2021. We are so appreciative of his amazing contribution to HWF.
With funding and support from the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA), Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund recently reached a major milestone in its collaborative project with the Surfrider Foundation (Kauaʻi Chapter), SHARKastics, and many other community partners. During this extensive two-year project across three Hawaiian Islands, we collaboratively hosted a total of 390 debris-removal activities and we recovered 61.0 metric tons (134,423 pounds) of marine debris!
My Favorite Wildlife Species written by Kaʻū Wildlife Scholarship Recipient #2. In May 2023, HWF offered ten scholarships to recent high school graduates with ties to Kaʻū (thanks to funding from a private foundation).
Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, Sea Cleaners NZ, Clean Rewards, Keep Puakō Beautiful and the Marine Option Program at the University of Hawaiʻi - Hilo all team up to clean up coastlines across Hawaiʻi Island for the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) event in September 2023. Read more about this "net" success in the full story!
HWF joins up with partners from the Upcycle Hawaii crew to remove plastic pollution from our shores and then turn them into useful treasures!
Then-graduate student at UH Hilo and HWF intern on Hawai‘i Island, Leah Sherwood, writes about her colorful experience in this guest blog: “A beach cleanup on the southern coast of the island of Hawai‘i” from March 2019.
For eight years, HWF and volunteers kept track of the marine debris items that washed ashore with brand names and UHH graduate student, Mike Stone, investigated the patterns and what it told us about the most common debris items, types, and brands washing up along the Kaʻū coastline.
