Get Involved: Earth Day celebrations on Oahu

Oahu might be a little greener and quite a bit cleaner after Earth Day on April 22, 2013.

Earth Day is on April 22, but celebrations across the island begin ramping up the preceding weekend, offering opportunities to clean up the coastline or start taking steps toward a greener lifestyle.

On April 20, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii will host the state’s biggest ever beach cleanup, hitting the shoreline from Makapuu to Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii. After the three-hour cleanup ends at noon, the group will host a low-impact Earth Day Fair at Sea Life Park until 5 p.m., with $5 park admission. Visit schawaii.org for more information.

Those thinking about biking to work can bring their bicycle over to Whole Foods in Kailua on April 21 for a workshop on commuter cycling, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Afterward, the Hawaii Bicycling League will lead a beginner-paced group ride around Kailua from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Visit hbl.org to register.

At 1 p.m., April 21, Sea Shepherd Hawaii kicks off Earth Day Reef Awareness Weekend with a marine debris and beach clean up at Haleiwa Harbor from 1 to 5 p.m. Divers must sign up in advance through Hawaii@seashepherd.org. Others can just meet on the beach in front of Jameson’s restaurant.

On Monday, April 22, Sea Shepherd Hawaii will host an informational event at Deep Ecology Dive Shop from noon to 5 p.m., followed by a Earth Day Reef Defense Launch Party at the store from 6 to 9 p.m. This event features a presentation on “Full Tanks & Empty Reefs,” by local reef expert Rene Umberger. Email hawaii@seashepherd.org for more information.

Find more Earth Day activities at the state Department of Land and Natural Resources website: dlnr.hawaii.gov/blog/2013/04/10/nr13-035.

Treena Shapiro is a Honolulu-based freelance writer and editor. She has worked previously for the Honolulu Advertiser, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Associated Press. She currently lives in Windward Oahu with her husband, two children and a pair of cockatiels.