By Oahu Dive Team Leader & ODA Advisory Board Member Glenn Roberts

The ODA Oahu team met at He’eia Kea Small Boat Harbor on January 20th to present Harbormaster Tanya Borabora  with a special volunteer recognition. Our President and Founder Kurt Lieber attended via Zoom and presented this recognition placard to Tanya.

We always have to stop and appreciate the beauty of these places we work so hard to steward - here's the beautiful Kaneohe Bay:

ODA volunteers have removed some 17 tons of debris, mainly comprised of old decaying tires, from the area surrounding He’eia Pier. Tanya has been amazing in her dedication and support for this big ODA cleanup project over the past three years.

Her framed photo-plaque inscription reads:

Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) would like to formally recognize Tanya Borabora for her commitment and leadership since 2021 at the He’eia Pier and Small Boat Harbor. Because of your involvement ODA volunteers have removed:

404 tires and 17,500 feet of fishing line and other toxic debris for a total of 38,406 pounds from the waters surrounding He’eia Pier. That’s 17.5 tons!

We highly value this amazing partnership with you and Hawai’i DOBOR.

THANK YOU, TANYA!

Also playing a critical role in these big cleanup events is the company Kana’i’s Junk Removal who has volunteered their truck services to deliver the hauled-out debris to H-Power which burns the debris to generate electricity.

We’re looking forward to our next big cleanup at He’eia Pier on February 25th!

If you live in Oahu and want to be part of the ocean-cleaning fun, please email us.

Check out the story about our last big cleanup here at He'eia Pier. This was the day volunteer Ed Sisino unveiled his new amazing "tire removal system." ODA Scuba Divers Aided by Volunteers on Dock Perform Huge Cleanup at He’eia Pier