June 18th. 9 to 11AM. Alii Beach Park & Weed Circle.

June 19th 9:30 AM to Noon. Sharks Cove

June 26th Noon to 2:30 Regular Beach Clean Up at Chun’s Reef and Laniakea.

Entry form and contest details available at http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/outreach/artcontest.html.

OPENS April 22nd, Earth Day)!

CONTEST ENDS June 1, 2010!

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program would like to know how marine debris impacts you and what you are doing about it.  The winning artwork will be showcased in a 2011 planner that will help in raising awareness about the global problem of marine debris. Additionally, the winners will be featured on the Program’s website and in their newsletter, reaching over 200,000 people each month!

About the NOAA Marine Debris Program – Established in 2005, the NOAA Marine Debris Program supports national and international efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris. The Program’s goal is to protect and conserve our nation’s natural resources, oceans, and coastal waterways from the impacts of marine debris.

Eligibility – All students in grades K-4 and 5-8 from all U.S. states and territories–recognized public, private, and home schools are eligible to participate.  Schools, including home schools, must be in compliance with federal and state civil rights and nondiscrimination statutes.  Students must work individually.

Criteria for Art & Description – Each entry must be composed of a piece of artwork and a description (on entry form).  All must meet the requirements below. Students are highly encouraged to check out the rest of the NOAA Marine Debris Program website for information about marine debris.

ARTWORK & DESCRIPTION:

1. The entries must be on 8.5” x 11” paper.
2. Use white, non-glossy paper; do not laminate.
3. Any art medium may be used (e.g., colored pencils, crayons, paint); however computer graphics will not be accepted.  Artwork must be hand-drawn by the student.
4. Artwork must be flat (e.g., no glued pieces) and able to be scanned.
5. A description of no more than 50 words must accompany the artwork (space provided on the entry form).
6. Teachers may send in as many entries as they would like to; however selective screening would be greatly appreciated.
7. Label each entry (artwork) on the back with student’s name, age and grade, along with the teacher’s name, school name, address, and telephone number.

Entry Form – There should be one entry form filled out per student. Please ensure that the entry form is filled out completely and legibly.  All entries (entry form + artwork) must be submitted via mail (postmarked) no later than Tuesday, June 1, 2010.

Download entry form here.

Competition Process – A NOAA awards panel will collect all entries and select six from each grade category (K-4 and 5-8) and one overall winner.  Entries (artwork and description) will be judged on the creativity, artistic presentation, and relevancy to the theme.

Time Frame
June 1, 2010 – Deadline for postmark of completed entry form + artwork.
July 1, 2010 – Winners will be notified.

Entries (entry form + artwork) should be mailed to:
Art Contest
ATTN: Megan Forbes
NOAA Marine Debris Program
1305 East-West Highway
SSMC4, 10th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910

*Please note that entries will not be returned.

If you have any questions, please contact Carey Morishige at Carey.Morishige@noaa.gov or
# (808)397-2651 x256.

For more information or to sign up go to http://adoptabeachhawaii.com/ or contact us.

TOP TEN DEBRIS ITEMS COLLECTED ON THE NORTH SHORE OF OAHU
1. Cigarettes                                    52,130
2.   Food Rappers/Containers                    6,226
3.   Caps And Lids                                    5,591
4.   Plastic Bags                                       5,048
5.   Pieces of Plastic                                 4,604
6.   Styrofoam Pieces                                1,571
7.   Glass Bottles                                      1,451
8.   Beverage Cans                                   1,336
9.   Broken Glass                                      1,022
10.Straws         /stirrers                               680
(Of Mention-Starbucks)                       509

During the year of  2009,  we had  47 Beach Clean Ups on the North Shore of Oahu, 474 Volunteers spent approximate 948 hours, cleaning up Kamehameha Highway and our beaches.  They collected 8,530 pounds of trash, 89,253 debris items, which were hauled to the dump.  Including labor and supplies, we saved the State of Hawaii approximately $15,000.00. In addition, 6 under-water clean ups, provided 186 pounds of lead weights collected and recycled back to the fishermen.

Overall, Cigarettes filters, cigar tips and tobacco packaging with a grand total this year of 52,600, remains, year after year, over 50% of the debris found. This has been a horrible trend for all the 10 years of tracking debris items in the whole state of Hawaii.  With the car manufactures no longer providing ashtrays and public ashtrays disappearing, the public is using our Aina.  Of great help would be for Hawaii rental car companies to provide disposable ashtrays in the cars, which could be taken to the beaches, etc.  Better yet- A no smoking ban on all beaches.

Plastic Bottle Caps will remain a problem, so long as the plastic bottles cannot be recycled with the lids on.  This is fixable.

Haleiwa Town is to be commended on going plastic bag-less. However this campaign needs to be stepped up and more community effort is needed.  Free promotional bags as gifts monthly, for visitors would be wonderful.  As a whole town, cost could be cut.

A review of the money being spent by the State and C & C on contracts to clean our beaches is imperative. Maybe the neighborhood Board #27 could look into this or form a committee.

With our State not having a Litter Prevention Office in over five years, our Litter highway signs are disappearing.  We need this office.  It affects education and tourism.