Photo By Christine Cabalo | Members of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment form a chain across Mokapu Central...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii - The waters of Mokapu Central Drainage Channel are flowing cleaner after 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and 60 visiting high school students took action, June 8, 2015.
The two groups joined forces to clean the natural resource and were guided by the Environmental Compliance and Protection Department. The channel helps prevent flooding on base by channeling storm water away and is constantly flowing as long as it remains free of debris. The water moves from near the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course, through Mokapu Elementary School and empties into larger bodies of water like Nuupia Ponds and Kaneohe Bay.
“It’s important that debris (from the channel) doesn’t get into the ponds or the bay,” said Lance Bookless, senior natural resources manager at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. “Floating items can be a navigation hazard, and we need to protect the wildlife living in the ponds.”
Several “Lava Dogs” dredged through the thick mud in Nuupia Ponds to haul out two displaced wooden logs. After wrestling the heavy items from the mud, they rolled the wood to the shore of the Nuupia Ponds running trail nearby its 3rd Street entrance.
Then the group re-joined the rest of their unit to pull out trash and abandoned items from further up in the channel. The “Lava Dogs” formed a human chain across the body of water, collecting dumped items both big and small. The high school students, all with Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and visiting the base for the week, gathered the collected trash into bags.
“We powered through parts that were particularly tough,” said Capt. John Steele, remain behind element officer in charge, 1st Bn., 3rd Marines. “It was easier to keep on the line, throwing (trash) up on shore or putting it into a trash bag we kept on shore.”
A trio of JROTC students from Kailua High School took the extra step of getting into the hip-level water to pull out items and scout ahead of the main group. James Higgins, Lloyd Salas and Logan Hinshaw, pulled out a car seat, bottles, electric fans and other abandoned gear.
“It was very convenient having the students help us,” said Sgt. Christopher Longhenry, a member of 1st Bn., 3rd Marines who helped move the logs and worked in the channel. “We could focus on searching and getting things out while they could bag it up. We didn’t have to split up a lot of time working in water.”
Bookless said the channel collects water drained from base housing and other nearby areas, so it’s important to keep lawns neat to avoid items being swept away. He said dumping in the channel is a federal crime and he hopes more people become aware of the problem.
Both Steele and Longhenry said they were shocked to pull out as many dumped items as they did. Among the found items were a stereo speaker, three pairs of military combat boots, a camping stool, an office chair and six bicycles.
“I didn’t realize a lot of the things were in there due to normally high water level,” Steele said. “We found speakers and a lot of abandoned trash that shouldn’t be there. It was an interesting experience for us, but the take away is don’t throw anything in the channel. Otherwise you or your buddies will be taking it out later."
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2015 23:13 |
| Story ID: | 166508 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 101 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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