Editor’s note:Be sure to check out the photo gallery below to see Kay in action with fellow conservationists at ODA!
Every month we shine the spotlight on another amazing volunteer. This month we’re featuring ODA’s North Hawai’i Island Volunteer Coordinator Kay Cooper.
We met Kay in June of 2021 through one of our wonderful Big Island dive boat partners Kohala Divers. There she is a PADI IDC Staff Instructor and Conservation Sensei!
We’re so fortunate that she channeled her enthusiastiasm about utilizing her dive skills and knowledge to work with ODA to remove man-made debris from the northern coastal waters of Hawai’i Island.
Earth Day cleanup - Kohala Divers Co-Owner Rebekah Kaufman and Kay Cooper
Not only has Kay been a superb leader of cleanups for ODA, but she also came up with an excellent idea to partner with ODA to educate the youth of the Big Island about the negative effects of marine debris. The idea: Offer ODA-funded scholarships for dive certification to high-school-aged kids! This way, our shared hope is that many local young people will learn to dive AND learn about the problems that abandoned fishing gear, plastics, and other trash pose to ocean wildlife and their habitats. In the interview section, Kay shares her passion about this, and at the end of the article, we’ll share the link to our ODA Scholarships page.
ODA leaders from left to right: Southern California Dive Team Leader Kim Cardenas, Kurt Lieber, Sarah Milisen and Kay Cooper.
ODA’s Founder and President Kurt Lieber had this to say about Kay’s involvement:
“Participating in any ODA outings can be very rewarding and draining at the same time. The efforts that go into each project requires someone to be the leader. Organizing these cleanups, whether it be underwater or on land, requires someone to lead from the start of the day all the way through to the end. And trust me, when I’m the person leading the cleanup, by the end of the day I am always spent.
Not Kay Cooper. She has an internal battery that just keeps going and going! Kay is a force to be reckoned with. She puts a ton of time in getting ready for the big day, doing all the planning and outreach to make sure we have enough volunteers to get the job done, enough equipment to assure everyone’s time is put to good use, and then get all the debris that was hauled out disposed of properly.
Kay does this with aplomb, all the while making everyone feel like they were part of a successful cleanup and feel inclined to come back and do it again. No minor feat!
She’s a dive instructor and as such has a great understanding of the damage that all this toxic marine debris causes to a variety of life forms. She’s a good communicator who’s great at inspiring people to want to get involved with solving these problems and not just sit home and wish someone would do something.
I feel very fortunate that she has chosen ODA to be her vehicle for educating the public about the causes and effects of man-made debris, advocating for change, and have fun while making a difference.”
Crew with Catch of the Day - Kay in foreground on the right.
Dear reader, be sure to look at the photo gallery below to see all the hard work and fun that Kay brings to the ODA Crew!
Please enjoy our Q&A interview with Kay
Q: What drew your attention to the ocean and when?
A: Dolphins have always been my favorite animal since I was a little girl. I find their beauty, playfulness, and a particular closeness to members of their family truly magical. I have always lived in the desert (New Mexico), so when we – my husband and I – moved out here to Hawai’i 12 years ago, we spent as much time as we could near the ocean and on the beaches. Growing up near a river we would always find trash lining its edges and made it a point to always have a trash bag with us to clean as we visited these beautiful sites.
The same mindset and good habits followed us here, cleaning the beaches as we lay on them or pulling trash out of the ocean as it floated by us. When we saw the opportunity to become scuba certified we couldn't resist. Here I am now diving with the same beautiful animals I have loved since I was a child and trying to make their home safe for them to live in.
Kay with her son Carl.
Q: What are your favorite ODA expeditions?
A: The top of my list as far as ODA expeditions (the list is very long as I appreciate and like each one) would have to be Deep Step. This was a site that Sarah Milisen, our Hawai’i Island Chapter Leader Sarah Milisen, has been talking about for some time and finally was able to arrange for a smaller, long-range boat to take us there! We created a group called the “ODA Elite Force” and set out to tackle this new to us site. We heard it was bad, full of fishing line and leads weights; when we descended underwater, no words could at all describe how bad this site was. It truly was like a large, wide waterfall of fishing line that extended down to the blue as far as you could see. Thick line, thin line, line with many hooks, lead weights, metal pieces, on and on and on it went. We spent an entire hour working one area and filling our bags, yet when it was time to come up after each dive, it looked as though we hadn't even been there or touched this site. Getting back onto the boat after both our dives and seeing the overwhelming amount of line and rubbish we pulled from the ocean made all of our hearts swell. This is why working with Ocean Defenders Alliance keeps my love for the ocean always rising.
Holding the ODA banner -left to right Kay and Sarah Milisen
Q: Do you have any funny stories to share?
A: I’m laughing and joking and playing so much with my ODA staff and volunteers so much that not one story in particular rings a bell but many. I will leave it at so much fun and play all the time!
Q: Why do you like volunteering with ODA?
A: I love volunteering with ODA for many reasons. A big reason is because they don't just interact with their volunteers as if they are another person just showing up to help clean. They get to know everyone, they ask advice, listen to opinions, follow leads of possible rubbish sites, and welcome each individual back with much excitement when they return to do more cleanups. It truly feels like family, and they value each other and recognize how each person contributes something unique to the cause. ODA is always willing to partner with new companies, go to new locations, no challenge is too big or too small, they call to action with new reports, and truly make a difference with even the smallest amount of rubbish. I am beyond proud to be a part of this “ohana” (family).
Q: Why is the Scholarship program important?
The new scholarship program that ODA is offering is immensely important because it helps to education our younger generation on the importance of rubbish in the ocean and what impact it has not only on the wildlife, but also the communities we are all a part of. Many local families have been fishing for years, raising their children to fish, making it a weekend event, or family get together, many without realizing they’re not fishing with safe practices. If we can get our kids scuba certified to go underwater, and marvel, like we do, at the beautiful ocean life they didn't know was there by looking from the surface, and see for themselves how the fishing line gets caught in live coral, animals entangled by it, how the sea life tries to eat it, then maybe they will take a greater interest in protecting it and educating their families as well. We also wanted to reach out to the older high schoolers because we hope that they may choose to use this experience as a possible career opportunity when they graduate high school and pursue further education and research into helping protect our oceans!
Here, Kay is giving an orientation briefing to the crew before the cleanup.
Q: Aside from diving with ODA, where else do you like to dive and why?
Outside ODA, I love shore diving at local spots and not very common ones. I help to clean and maintain one of our partner dive centers' harbors, Kohala Divers, in Kawaihae as this area is not possible for a standard shore diving spot and requires permission to dive here. A lot of locals in this community love this location for holidays, as a hangout, and just for everyday swimming in the ocean, so a lot of debris makes its way in here. Though I do clean up this site, it is truly magical as I see so much ocean life that’s rare on a normal dive on a boat with customers. I see critters such as nudibranchs, eels, crabs, and hunting fish like trevally! Honokohau Harbor is also a favorite of mine as it is frequented by local and friendly tiger sharks and dolphins and is always a pleasure to encounter.
Kay, all of your ohana at ODA would like to give you an enthusiastic and bubbly (just like you) thank-you from the ocean bottom of our hearts! You are a joy to work with and a true Ocean Defender.
Check out her "pet project" the Hawaii Island Student Scuba Scholarship Program on this special page!
