Lahaina resident Britt Daniels recently hiked Maui’s entire 180-mile coastline to raise funds for beach cleanups. Along the 15-day journey, Daniels and Love The Sea cleared 3,360 pounds of plastic debris. PHOTO BY CASEY SULLIVAN FOR LOVE THE SEA.

LAHAINA — Oct. 24 marked the finale of one woman’s journey around Maui, hiking 180 miles around the entire island’s coastline to raise awareness against ocean plastics and raise funds for Love The Sea’s Hard to Reach (H2R) beach cleanups.

Marine Biologist Britt Daniels, 29, an employee at Sail Maui and intern at Love The Sea, left her home in Mala to begin hiking around Maui’s coastline over 15 days.

More than 50 supporters joined Daniels on the last 1.3 miles of her hike, holding signs with statements like “Say No to Plastic” and “Protect Our Oceans” to support the cause and help inspire change.

“This collaboration with Love The Sea and opportunity to create awareness about our plastic problem has meant everything to me, and I hope it inspires others,” said Daniels. “During this pandemic, it’s easy to fall into sadness, but there’s also a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of our ability to create change.”

Over Daniels’ two-week journey, Love The Sea matched her distance by circumnavigating the coastline of Maui by sea, hauling out 3,360 pounds of plastic debris from Maui’s shores and roads with trucks and jet skis. The areas of Lahaina, Kahakuloa, Wailuku, Haiku, Hana and Kihei were cleaned.

Through this process, Love The Sea organizers estimate 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of plastic debris and ghost nets remain along Maui’s coastline.

“We are so encouraged by Britt’s journey and grateful for her support of our mission at Love The Sea,” said Campbell Farrell, CEO, Love The Sea.

“Our aim is to clean more of these forgotten and hard to reach locales in 2021 through our Hard to Reach beach cleanup program.”

Daniels hopes to help raise $60,000 for Love The Sea’s H2R beach cleanup program costs. Love The Sea currently has four H2R beach cleanups planned for 2021, each a massive effort guaranteeing the removal of 1,200 pounds of ocean plastic per hour of picking with approximately 25 people helping per cleanup. Donate to the cause at: https://www.lovethesea.org/britts-hike1.html

Sponsors for Daniels’ hike included: Dos Gardenias, Elite Island Construction, Kuau Store, Red Gecko, and Sail Maui.