Less white coral graffiti litters the shoulders of Queen Kaahumanu Highway these days, thanks to an offhand comment at the end of a talk story session.
It started with a simple question, a follow-up after West Hawaii resident Shirley Kauhaihao spoke at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park last fall. Did Kauhaihao have any concerns she wanted to share?
She did, she said.
“It really looks kapulu,” Lily Ann Souza said, recalling Kauhaihao’s description of the coral messages and drawings laid out on the lava rocks along the highway’s route.
Kapulu means messy or out of place.
“She said, ‘I would like to see it cleaned up,’” Souza added.
Souza had thought about the coral before, but had never gotten around to doing any cleanup. After the meeting, she contacted Kauhaihao to see if she was serious about organizing cleanup efforts.
“She said, ‘I’m very serious,’” Souza said. “That’s what I needed to hear, so I said, then let’s do it.”
On a mostly monthly basis since, up to a dozen people have met along the highway, armed with gloves, hats, buckets and pickup trucks to remove the coral. This weekend, they filled five pickup truck loads, Kauhaihao said.
“The lava fields are beautiful without the coral,” she said. “To be able to drive down the highway and see the beautiful black lava, it’s satisfying. Perhaps we’ll get it all cleaned up someday. If we don’t try, we’ll never know.”
Sometimes, strangers stop to help, she added. She said she initially worried about people who like the coral messages giving volunteers a hard time. That hasn’t happened yet, she said.
To date, the volunteers have removed at least 20 tons of material, Kauhaihao said.
Removing the material from the beaches is illegal. But returning can be, too. Kauhaihao said they got permission from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to return coral to the shoreline, as long as they kept the items mauka of the high water mark. Queen Liliuokalani’s Children Center has allowed the group to bring most of the coral to within the center’s property.
Access to the center is limited, keeping the coral collected from being picked up and taken back to the highway, Kauhaihao said.
One surprising discovery has been crushed granite and other gardening materials. Kauhaihao said some people who leave the coral walk far away from the road, in the hopes of preventing the rocks from being moved.
Once an area has been cleaned up, Kauhaihao, Souza and other volunteers keep watch for new coral.
“So far, (it’s) rare,” Souza said.
Kauhaihao would like to see the coral graffiti be treated like litter.
“We have an anti-litter law,” she said. “People are leaving behind things that don’t belong there.”
A county official passed off her request for enforcement because the road is a state highway.
“It’s our county,” Kauhaihao said. “We should be doing something about it.”
The next cleanup date is April 22, Earth Day. Volunteers should wear closed-toed shoes and bring water. Volunteers with trucks to haul the coral are especially encouraged, Kauhaihao said.
For more information, call Kauhaihao at 328-2369.