Posted on: Monday, November 1, 2004

For the Environment

Advertiser Staff

GIVE PEACE GARDEN A CHANCE Volunteers of all ages are welcome to plant native plants and maintain grounds at the Millennium Peace Garden from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday. The garden is on the corner of 18th Avenue and Diamond Head Road, across from Bark Park. Materials will be provided. For more information, e-mail peacegarden@gmail.com or call Josh Cooper at 542-7204 or Sean Casey at 780-7326.

KA'ENA POINT CLEANUP Reservations are required for Saturday's Sierra Club service project to remove invasive plants that endanger the Ka'ena Point coastal ecosystem. Call Reece Olayvar at 456-3049.

POUHALA MARSH RESTORATION The Hawai'i Nature Center is cleaning up and restoring the marsh, the largest remaining wetland habitat in Pearl Harbor. Volunteers are needed to pull pickleweed from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Nov. 13. Bring work gloves, water, hat, sunscreen, towel and change of clothes; covered footwear and long pants required. To sign up, contact Pauline Kawamata at 955-0100, Ext. 18.

HARDY HALEAKALA VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT Remove non-native plant species and perform minor maintenance during a four-day service trip to Haleakala Crater. Hike into Paliku Cabin on Nov. 11 and hike out Nov. 14. Bring rain gear and other supplies. Contact Farley Jacob at (808) 248-7660 or farley@shaka.com.

WORK WITH THE FISHES The Waikiki Aquarium has volunteer opportunities for School Support Program docents, Edge of the Reef interpreters, Monk Seal Program assistants, aquarist assistants, gift shop staff and more. Call the aquarium's volunteer coordinator at 923-9741.

GREEN NOTES

ARBOR DAY TREE GIVEAWAY The Maui Nui Botanical Garden, at 150 Kanaloa Ave. in Kahului, will hand out more than 1,000 native Hawaiian and Polynesian-introduced trees and shrubs from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in celebration of Arbor Day. Experts will be on hand to help homeowners select the appropriate tree. One tree per household. Call (808) 249-2798 for more information.

TOUR DE TRASH If you've wondered what happens to all the stuff you wash down the drain or flush down the toilet, you'll find the answers on the Nov. 18 Tour de Trash bus tour, run by the city's Refuse Division. The tour will visit the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant and Water Reclamation Facility, where Veolia Water North America processes wastewater into clean water for irrigation and industry; the Navy's Biosolids Composting Facility, where sewage sludge is being composted with ground green waste to create a nutrient-rich compost product; the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant; and Pacific Biodiesel, which converts cooking oil and grease from restaurants into a biodiesel fuel. Tour runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and begins and ends at Kapolei Hale. Participants must show up 15 minutes prior to departure time. Call 692-5410 to register; for tour schedules and details, check www.opala.org/recycling_businesses/Tour_de_trash_2004.html.

PHONE BOOK RECYCLING Old telephone books can be dropped off through November at any of the Community Recycling Center bins throughout O'ahu. Verizon Hawai'i is offering schools cash awards for collecting the most phone books. To find a participating school, call Verizon at 546-7335.

HAZARDOUS WASTE DROP OFF Nov. 26 is the deadline to make appointments for the next household hazardous waste drop-off Dec. 4. Call 692-5411 or e-mail info@opala.org to schedule an appointment. Before calling, take an inventory of the type and quantity of materials. The following materials are among a long list that will be accepted: acetone, arsenic, herbicides, kerosene, lighter fluid, mercury, paint stripper and thinner, rust remover, swimming pool chemicals and wood preservatives. For more information, check the Web site www.opala.org.

For a free listing of your environmental event, send details to For the Environment, P.O. Box 156, Wailuku, HI 96793; fax (808) 242-1520; or e-mail cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.