Postcards from Papahanaumokuakea

Aloha and Happy Summer to One and All,

Many of you asked me to send postcards from Midway Atoll during my journey to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Some of you have sent me the most wonderful and inspiring questions from your students and because of those questions, I have a very clear sense of my mission and wanted to share the beginnings of my project, a project that has already begun, thanks to one child.

Her name is Evelyn. I met her on Earth Day in Columbus, Ohio. She is a student in Debbie Charna's Book Club. Evelyn has asked me a series of questions I will attempt to find answers to on Midway. They all relate to the issue of our continuous production of plastics and how they end up in the ocean and enter marine food webs. Some of Evelyn's questions relate to how the plastics got there in the first place. Others are very specific and relate to how much an Albatross Chick can eat, safely. If there is a safe amount. She also wondered if we might form a research ogranization to help the albatross and other life affected by our discards.

My first response was to suggest something that seems to be catching interest. My second response was to collect plastic on the beach by my home and do a research investigation into the kinds of plastic and the sources.

That is how SOAR was born.

Save Our Albatross - Research.

More on that in later postcards. For now. THANK YOU Debbie and Evelyn!

And here is a one week cleanup of Marrowstone Point beach. Marrowstone Island, Washington. Approximately 1.5 miles of beach, the first seven days of June, 2009:

1 chair leg
1 comb
11 drinking water bottles
3 beverage bottles
1 bathroom cleaner bottle (cleaner included)
3 mediceine containers
14 clean plastic bags
1 bucket
1 sign
1 chewing tobacco container
3 packaging wrap
4 cups
9 ropes or strapping
1 sharpie
1 bic pen
15 pieces of unidentifiable plastic
9 lids
1 lego
5 balloons
2 oil containers
2 pieces of crab buoy
4 flip flops (no matches. darn)
22 chunks of styrofoam
3 styrofoam cups
1 plastic flower

Brand names of 13 items recorded for use in our project to help reduce plastic entering the sea. The plan is to make stickers to give to compaines who find ways of reducing or eliminating plastic in their day to day business.

I will do a seven day beach cleanup on Midway and ask all of you to try to do a cleanup of seven days along a lake, pond, or ocean shore or along a river or stream. All plastic debris comes from the land, ultimately and all our waters are connected to our one ocean.

My friend Anne Murphy at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center has opened my eyes to the ways in which plastic enters far more food webs. Most of us woke up to this issue when we learned of the Albatrosses feeding plastic to their chicks. Many other seabirds from gulls to gannets accidentally ingest it and pass it along to their young.

I also want to share this fun project.........Apparently, a monkey named Fred has been disrupting Paula Vertikoff's Kindergarten class all year long. I can't seem to find him, but I am told that Fred snuck into my suitcase and will be popping up on Midway. I hear Fred has "Gone Green" --- you know, one of those obnoxious environmental types! He's going to rid the world of plastic or he will be doing some illegal fishing with me in the sanctuary!!!! Watch for news of Fred and tune in for more Postcards from Papa!

Aloha nui loa,

Ron Hirschi