To end our first week on the island of O’ahu, Hawai’i, the 2026 Jan term Honors class went down to Mokulē‘ia Army Beach, a 2-minute drive from our camp, to clean up trash from the beach for an hour. We split up into groups of 3 to 6, turning our project into a little competition of which group could collect the most trash.

            Each group set off in different directions, being careful to not disturb the unhoused people set up across the beach. For our group of 6, the most common find was glass from shattered or empty bottles. Fishing line or other discarded fishing equipment was also abundant on the beach, as well as plastic bags and fast food wrappers.

            Our efforts resulted in ripped trash bags and bags full of all types of gross things: cockroaches, feces, toilet paper, etc. By the end of the cleanup, we had 3 large black trash bags full of waste.  It was too close to call who collected the most trash, so we all got ice cream as a reward for our hard work.

            When beach cleanups are televised or articles are published about them, they usually show beaches covered in trash. Going into this experience, that was what we expected. When we arrived, however, we had to look hard to find the tiny bits of glass, ducking under trees and bushes to get to the plastic bags. This made for an interesting internal dialogue. On one hand, it didn’t feel like we were making a real difference because advertisements tell us that if we can’t see the difference from far away, we didn’t do enough. On the other hand, the lack of trash to pick up was exciting. It is a sign that people are beginning to care enough to pick up their trash and, because of their efforts, the beach, ocean, and all the wildlife are healthier.

            According to O’ahu’s Surfrider Foundation, high school and college youth across the island have been speaking out for cleaner beaches and less plastic pollution. In joining this cause, we made a relatively small impact, but even so, our efforts were certainly worth something. Every piece of fishing line we picked up is one less tentacle of plastic wrapping its way around the sea creatures who call O’ahu’s shores home. During our time on the island we have seen sea turtles, whales, and a seal. Cleaning up O’ahu’s beaches is one small step to making the ocean a pollution-free place for these majestic animals to thrive.