When I checked into the Twin Fin Hotel on Waikiki Beach, I was aware of a unique partnership between the hotel and Parley for the Oceans—Hawai’i, a non-profit organization that works to protect coastlines, the ocean and its marine ecosystems. I did not know how it worked or why a hotel would want to be involved in such a collaboration. Questions swimming in my head, I quickly made my way to the pool deck after being informed that Parley was located there every Monday from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Manny Pangilinan, Manager of the Parley AIR Station, serves as disc jockey too from beneath the Parley tent that gave him some shade while providing vibes to hotel guests. He was there to educate and build awareness of what Parley is all about within the Hawaiian Islands. He had art materials on hand for people of all ages to engage with, including wooden cutouts of fish that could be “decorated” with microplastics. The lesson of creating your bedazzled fish being obvious.
Mr. Pangilinan said, "As an ocean lover, surfer, artist, and event facilitator, I’m honored to work with the Twin Fin Hotel and Parley for the Oceans. Their trust and guidance allow me to creatively inspire and empower guests to become ocean stewards."
To me, he explained the concept of their AIR station at the hotel: a self-learning visual space inside the hotel that includes interactive hands-on opportunities for guests to participate in, which I would experience the following day.
For Parley, especially when it comes to plastics, the idea is not the usual three R’s of Reduce - Reuse - Recycle. They go further, to push our thinking and ask us to change our behaviors through A.I.R. - Avoid. Intercept. Redesign.
Avoid using products that have a larger adverse impact than others.
Intercept what is already out there and clean it up.
Redesign by rejecting older ways of thinking and design newer visions that are in alignment with environmental values. Don't be afraid to make new things! The old way is not necessarily the 'right way'.
It is a radical approach. With history as our teacher, it is plausible and worthy. Smokey the Bear created behavioral change and so did Woodsy the Owl. Perhaps Parley is at the forefront of similar efforts in the 21st century as change agents. They are doing what they can - from education to action to policy - and I respect that.
Considering the poolside idea-into-action planning, Mr. Pangilinan added: “Poolside Parley is a two-hour hybrid experience blending a Parley AIR Talk, local fun facts, a hands-on ocean art workshop, and relaxed Hawaiian-themed music. Ultimately, the goal is to create a safe and fun space to parley for the oceans."
Parting ways with Manny for the time being, I met up with Lisa Matsuda, Director of Sales for the hotel. I was curious why a hotel would give an environmental organization space to do their work. Immediately, she told me, there was the recognition that in doing so the Twin Fin offers financial support to Parley by providing space to do their work on hotel premises. As a grant writer over the years, that made sense to me. Additionally, she added the hotel wants stand out and they believe in the notion that the ocean provides what the tourism industry draws on Oahu. She also expressed that the Twin Fin does not want to be another useless example of greenwashing, which basically is a public relations front that some businesses display, having minimal actual impact. They are here to make a difference.
Stephen Hinck, Highgate Hawaii Area Managing Director, explained further, “The Twin Fin Hotel is committed to responsible stewardship of the land and ocean, as we treasure the beautiful beaches and mountains that surround our property. Through our partnership with Parley for the Oceans, we offer interactive experiences from community beach cleanups to upcycling marine debris into art that get guests and locals of all ages involved, while also educating them on the importance of caring for Hawaii’s natural resources.”
There are not many hotels offering a permanent space such as the AIR Station inside their buildings to a non-profit environmental organization. While many hotels have various sustainability programs and activities, this felt different. The AIR Station inside the hotel allows guests to visit at any time of the day or night. This thought impressed me, but the lesson was not yet complete. The following morning, I was about to find out even more.
Mr. Pangilinan met up with me at the Twin Fin lobby after I got in a dawn patrol bodysurfing session at The Wall and ate breakfast at the hotel’s Coconut Club, complete with its stunning bird’s-eye view spanning from Diamond Head to north Honolulu. He and I went back to the AIR Station to meet up with Kahi Pacarro, Director of Parley for the Oceans—Hawai’i and co-founder of Sustainable Coastlines Hawai’i. The day’s plan was to go sift sand at Waimānalo Bay Beach Park.
Sift sand?
One of the ways Parley works with schools and community groups around the island to build awareness is by sifting sand. It is an educational way to engage with locals and tourists alike. To participate, all you have to do is scan a QR code at the AIR Station, follow on your phone screen, grab a sifter and a glass jar, and go fill it up with plastics/materials you find on the beach.
In doing so, participants learn the magnitude of the plastics issue and understand why Avoid. Intercept. Redesign. is Parley’s mission. There is one obstacle however. Most of the pollution is on the windward side of the island and not on Waikiki’s pristine beaches which are on the leeward side.
On the beach at Waimānalo, a breathtakingly beautiful stretch of coastline, Mr. Pacarro used the beach as his white board to provide a lesson in how the Great Pacific Garbage Patch interacts with the Pacific Ocean’s currents, the result of which leads to pollution washing up on the islands’ windward sides. Getting hotel guests to the “other” side of the island is a challenge. Parley is considering weekly excursions Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. They run a roundtrip shuttle from the hotel to a beach.
Reminding me of the local-to-global connection, Mr. Pacarro stated, “While NGO education efforts are appropriately focused on local communities, marine debris on Hawai‘i’s shores is a global problem that requires broader outreach. Educating visitors to Hawai‘i therefore represents a unique opportunity to strengthen a holistic strategy—one that fosters collaboration and helps address ocean and beach debris at its source. We're beyond grateful to the Twin Fin Hotel for providing this collaborative opportunity and we encourage other properties to see the value in these types of partnerships.”
As grains of sand fell through the screen of the box-like sifter, plastics of varying sizes, including teeny-tiny beads - called pellets - that had been melted down to plastic products remained on top of the screen. I transferred this humans’ detritus to the glass jar. Indeed, the sheer scale of the task at hand felt overwhelming. I had to shift my thinking away from “beach clean-up” to “education and awareness.” Then I thought of the microplastics coursing through my body, lodged here and here, along as within the bodies of the fishes in the seas.
At last, I understood: A.I.R. = Avoid. Intercept. Redesign.
