Whether you swim, surf, or canoe, getting covered in salt and sand often leads to seeking out the nearest beach shower. The outdoor showers at beach parks or canoe clubs are super convenient and practical, but they often drain used water directly to the sand or soil. This runoff can carry sunscreen, lotions, or soaps out into the ocean, or pool up and cause a messy puddle when it doesn't drain fast enough. This runoff is the perfect opportunity for a demonstration Ocean Friendly Garden to reimagine how we can harness this second-hand water to grow native plants, biodiversity, and climate resilience in the places we care about.
The Maui Chapter's Ocean Friendly Gardens Program is getting creative with the runoff from outdoor beach showers. Surfrider Maui partnered with Maui County Parks & Recreation, Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, and dedicated community volunteers for a day of mālama ʻāina, weeding, trimming, and planting native coastal species around the outdoor shower. This new Ocean Friendly Garden will help capture and filter runoff before it reaches the ocean we paddle every day.
Native plants help soak up extra water and naturally filter out pollution with their roots below ground, while supporting wildlife and people with flowers, shade, and greenery! The coastal species are not only adapted to the salty soils near the beach, but will also be more tolerant of soaps and salts that can come from the shower. A few native species featured in the new garden include: ʻōhai, Koʻoloaʻula, ʻaeʻae, ʻākulikuli, Puʻukaʻa, and iliahiʻaloʻe.
Huge mahalo to every volunteer and partner who made this possible!
All photos courtesy of Hanna Lilley
As Ocean Friendly Gardens Manager, Kathryn is passionate about advocating for watershed protection through gardens and landscapes. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.S. in Marine Biology, and developed a love for California native plants and restoration work during her time at the Los Cerritos Wetlands in Long Beach.