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Friday, November 1, 2024

DOW: Receives2019-2020 Hawaii Green Business Award

Dow

Kauai Department of Water issued the following announcement on Dec. 7.

The  Department  of  Water  (DOW)  was  recently  honored as  a 2019-2020  Hawaii  Green  Business Award recipient and received a Governor’s Commendation for incorporating environmental-friendly,green practices during its 16thAnnual Make a Splash water education festival.  A virtual recognition ceremony; held on  December  4,  2020, was hosted  by  the state’s Department  of  Business, Economic  Development  and Tourism’s (DBEDT) it’s Hawaii Green Business Program (HGBP)partners.

DOW coordinated its 16thAnnual Make a Splash with Project WET water education festival with 2goals in mind:  provide  an  exciting,  interactive  water  education  experience for students and improve the event’s green efforts by applying the HGBP’s checklist of green business recommendations.

“The Kaua`i Department of Water’s efforts to minimize environmental impact is paramount in all areas of ouroperations and we are honored to be recognized as a Hawaii Green Business Award recipient this year,” said  Kurt  Akamine,  Board  Chair  of  the  Kaua`i Board of Water Supply.  “Providing  water  education  at  an environmentally conscious event is a win-win for sustainability on our island andwe could not have done it without our hard working staff, partnering agencies and participating residents.”

The Make a Splash with Project WET water education festival is a student-focused event that gathers nearly 800  fifth  grade  students  and  teachers  for  an  interactive,  hands-on  educational  experience.    12  activity stations  were  offered  in 2019  that  addressed  water  topics  such as:  resource  management,  conservation, water  quality  and  filtration,  environmental  impact  from  natural  disasters,  importance  of  drinking  water service and more.

“As leaders for water education, we are continuously seeking to improve our approach toward show the community  values  waterand  our  natural  resources,” said Jonell Kaohelaulii, DOW’s Information and Education Specialist.  Encouraging attendees to bring their own reusable water bottle was an important part of  the event’s announcements.   Additionally, preparations  for  the  event  included  gathering  compostable products, recyclable cardboard boxes and recycled papers to be sorted, compiled and prepared for use at the event.  “Environmental impact is taken into consideration in every Department of Water project and our annual water  education  festival  is  no  different.    We took the  necessary steps  to  replace materials  with compostable and recycled products;and by doing  do, were able to eliminate plastic waste and minimize trash at the event.” said Kaohelaulii.

Other  green efforts  included: activities  that  featured  re-usable  supplies, change  from  paper  to email registration forms,  offered compostable  and  recycle  bins throughout  the  event, purchasedeco-friendly versions of required event materials; such as:compostable napkins, bags made of recycled materials, etc.  Transportation  offered by  bus  or  carpool  to  and  from  the  event.   Post  event, staff  collected reusable nametag  holders,  cleaned and  washed supplies,  carefully  restored  items, and  used  leftover  water from activities to feed grass and plants nearby.  In addition to other recommendations aligned with the state’s green business program, no electricity was used during the event.

For more information on DOW’s Make a Splash with Project WET festival, please call the Department of Water  at  245-5461.For more information on the DEDBT’s Hawaii Green Business Program,  visit www.greenbusiness.hawaii.gov

Original source can be found here.

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