Program Looks To Save Shark’s Cove

Malama Pupukea-Waimea, the North Shore nonprofit created to protect natural and cultural resources, will conduct workshops Saturday to train adults and children on the dangers of coastal erosion. Foot traffic and rain have caused large amounts of sediment to wash into the ocean, endangering fragile marine ecosystems at the popular Pupukea snorkling spot.

MPW is a beneficiary of Hawaii Community Foundation’s 2014 Community Restoration Partnership and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Erosion Grant. The organization also is leading a pilot program to restore the vegetation above Shark’s Cove.

With assistance from the city Department of Parks and Recreation and Ku Maoli Ola nursery, volunteers will remove invasive weeds and install native plants to reduce erosion from the banks above the cove.

To help complete its mission, MPW’s two-part workshop will run from noon to 2 p.m. at Shark’s Cove. The first workshop will cover the importance of coastal and ocean ecosystems and the key role that native vegetation plays in protecting those areas. The second workshop will train volunteers to identify and properly remove and install plants.

For details about the workshops and other volunteer opportunities, visit pupukeawaimea.org.

Shark’s Cove is not the only location needing help. Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii is coordinating a coastline cleanup Jan. 19 of the Mokule‘ia section of Kaena Point State Park. Volunteers will remove trash as they hike to Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve where Laysan albatrosses are nesting.

Registration closes Jan. 16. Call 393-2168. For more on the group, go to b-e-a-c-h.org.