Neighborhood Watch to clean up old airfield

Reported and reposted from: Marianas Variety
Wednesday, April 28 2010 - By Junhan B. Todeno - Reporter

THE Koblerville Community Coalition Neighborhood Watch Group will conduct a cleanup operation on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m., at the old airfield behind Tottotville that has become a dumping ground for trash.

Task force block captain Rose Ada-Hocog said the project, which is their first, aims to make Koblerville a beautiful, peaceful and crime-free place.

She said they want their village to become a “place that they can be proud of — a sanctuary where families don’t need to worry too much about being victims of senseless crimes.”

In Kagman, task force block captains Eric Magofna and Glenn Dikito will meet with community members, parents and teachers at Kagman High School at 6 p.m. today.

Dikito said they will discuss their upcoming community cleanup and recruitment program.

During a recent meeting with parents and teachers, 14 individuals joined the task force, he said.

Today, the block captains and other task force members are planning to discuss the Neighborhood Watch Task Force program with Head Start parents and teachers.

Dikito said they will also help the Kagman Kommunidat Association in its campaign to remove poker arcades from their village.

On Saturday, Ada-Hocog expects a lot of community members to join their cleanup campaign.

Their group’s motto is, “Moving in to kick crime out.”

They also plan to conduct community meetings, events, and other activities aimed at bringing village residents together.

“This group will serve as a support or backbone for families, businesses and most especially the schools and church groups,” Ada-Hocog said.

She has approached members of the Koblerville community individually and many have expressed interested to join the group.

“However, interest alone does not accomplish anything. Interest, involvement and action, together, are the keys to making Koblerville a better and safer place to live in,” she said.

Their group has requested the Youth Affairs Office to allow them to establish their headquarters at the Koblerville Youth Center.

Their presence, Ada-Hocog said, will be beneficial to the center and will make them more accessible to the Koblerville community.

She said they have also sought help from Precinct 1 House members and Sen. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan.

They also asked the mayor’s office to provide equipment, backhoe, water, manpower, bush cutters for the cleanup drive.

Those interested to join the group may call 287-0818 or e-mail rosetada@yahoo.com.

Kagman Basketball

Here's the picture I promised:

At it again

This past weekend MVA hosted yet another cleanup of Laulau Beach. Here is what Ed Diaz had to say about the event:

Hafa Adai Angelo,

Just got in today. Had my GAH yesterday. Anyway, we actually did great! We had 23 volunteers! 12 from MVA and 11 from the members of Northern Marianas Dive Operators Association (NMDOA).

We actually had one dive company under the husband name Willie Lee Brundidge Jr. donate lawn care service that morning the name of the company was Mozell's Boys Lawn & Trash Services. Do you know him? He is also a part of the Beautify CNMI.

The NMDOA and MVA picked up a total of 140 lbs of trash of course I delivered the trash to lower base station. And we were able to plant a total of 25 coconut tree's. We also had some of tourist divers plant the trees around the area. It was great fun! Next clean-up, we are planning to built bench out of bamboo and wood. What do you think? Well, I guess that is all for now. Please let me know if you need anything else.

Have a good day,

Ed

Thank you MVA!

Thank you Mozell's Boys!

I think that building the benches out of natural materials is a great idea! Click HERE for a few ideas. I took these pictures of Kojo Park benches when I lived in Takaoka-shi, Toyama-ken in the Hokuriku region of Japan.

Kagman Educational Island Ribbon Cutting

Pictures:

Watersheds in the News

Saipan Tribune, Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Learning center for wetlands officially opens
By Marconi Calindas
Reporter

The Kagman Education Island Wetland learning center is now officially open to the public for education tours.

The federally funded learning center held its ribbon cutting ceremony at the site in Chacha Road, Kagman yesterday morning.

Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council vice-president Ike Cabrera, who presided over the ceremony, said the center was built to help schoolchildren with their research on wetlands.

Agriculture Division staff member Ben S. Borja said the learning center would be locked up for security reasons and would be opened only upon request. He said the site is also a sanctuary for migratory birds that seasonally fly from neighboring countries such as Taiwan.

USDA RCD coordinator Ken Kramer said the project was in collaboration with the Coastal Resources Management Office and the Department of Lands and Natural Resources. It was funded through the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Signs have been put up around the site that answer several questions such as: What is a Wetland?, What is a Wetland’s Function?, Endangered Species and Wetlands and Wetlands in the Landscape.

Kramer said the signs would help inform students and the public about the role that wetlands play in the environment.

“Wetlands are important for many reasons. They provide flood protection by slowing and holding stormwater runoff, allowing the water to slowly infiltrate into the ground, where it is naturally filtered by the silt and sand. This process cleanses the water and replenishes the aquifers from which many of us get our water,” Kramer said.

Sediment-laden runoff destroys marine habitat by smothering the corals, which deprives them of oxygen and sunlight. Wetlands trap sediment and other pollutants that would otherwise flow to the ocean, home of the green sea turtle and other marine life. Fish depend upon corals for food and shelter.

Wetlands also provide wildlife habitat for many types of animals that include insects, birds, reptiles, and fish.

“Come observe the wildlife at the Kagman Education Island wetland and see for yourself what the wetland signs have to say. Schedule your visit with DLNR by calling 256-7923,” Kramer said.

Saipan and Northern Islands Soil and Water Conservation District chair Isidoro T. Cabrera commended the realization of the learning center. “The Kagman Education Island serves as a reminder to all of us that effective resource conservation, is based on a strong combination of knowledge and cooperation,” he said.

Rep. Cinta Kaipat said she was “pleasantly surprised” to learn that the center was beautiful and would truly be useful for CNMI students.

At least 30 Kagman High School students participated in the event led by KHS student Chelsea Ruluked and faculty Allan Davis. The students unveiled the signs installed within the wetland center.

For more information on the Kagman Education Island Wetland contact, Ignacio V. Cabrera, vice president, MRC&DC at (670) 236-0894, Fax: (670) 236-0895; web sites: www.hafa-adai.org or www.hafa-adai.blogspot.com or e-mail Kramer at ken.kramer@pb.usda.gov. Interested schools and organizations can also contact Diane Gabaldon of the S&NISWCD 256-7923.

Marianas Variety, Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Conservation council wants more ‘education islands’ in NMI
By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

THE Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council is looking for more wetlands that can be converted into “education islands,” says its vice president, Ike Cabrera, during the inauguration of the Kagman wetland project yesterday.

Students from Kagman High School were the first ones to learn more about wetlands at the Kagman Education Island on Chacha Road.

“We want kids to do more studies about wetlands,” Cabrera said.

Council president Roland Quitugua said turning wetlands into educational venues helps spread awareness of the need to protect the environment.

The seven acre Kagman Education Island is the latest component added to the wetland which also provides flood control and irrigation to the surrounding farmlands.

Four educational signs have been installed in the area.

Coastal Resources Management Office’s Tim Lang said the signs are federally funded and cost $7,000.

The signs provide information about wetlands, how they works, their locations, and the endangered species that can be found in these areas.

Kagman is a farming area for Saipan, according to Scott Crocket, a district conservationist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Services.

“So the wetland also plays an important role in irrigation,” he added.
Quitugua said the purpose of the education island project is to mitigate some environmental impacts.

“This is a living laboratory not only for the students but for the community as well,” he added.

According to Ken Kramer of the Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council, “what we do with land management affects the quality of our marine environment.”

He said wetlands filter water that runs to the beach and the ocean.

It worked once, so we'll do it again

Saipan Tribune, Monday, January 29, 2007

Recycling 'Trick or Treat' a success
By Marconi Calindas
Reporter

Kagman residents were surprised when a number of high schools students knocked on their doors and screamed, “Trick or Treat!” in late January, but the trick or treat was intended for the Kagman residents' garbage.

Beautify CNMI!, together with some local high school volunteers, scoured the area Saturday for the recycling activity.

At least 58 school children helped in the event. Among them were 25 Kagman High School students and some volunteers from private schools such as Grace Christian Academy and public schools like Marianas High School. Some elementary schools also joined the environmental campaign group in collecting trash in Kagman.

Rep. Absalon Waki also participated in collecting trash from Kagman homes.

Mariana Islands Nature Alliance executive director and Beautify CNMI! Restoration Committee chairman Angelo Villagomez said the event was an overwhelming success.

“I didn't expect it, but I want to thank the Kagman residents for giving their trash, the high school students that took their afternoon for the activity,” he said.

The event hauled in a total of 330 lbs of trash from the Kagman homes, he added.

Beautify CNMI! volunteer Nina Rivera and Barrett Ristroph joined Villagomez in the event.

Rivera earlier said the event had a theme similar to Halloween. She said the environmental campaign group, together with the high school students, would be hopping from one house to another, knocking on doors, shouting “Trick or Treat” to collect trash from the Kagman residents.

She said Kagman High School student volunteers teamed up with Beautify CNMI! to turn recycling into a wacky yet productive event.

Villagomez said the residents of Kagman handed over aluminum cans, paper, cardboard, and plastic bottles to the students and other volunteers.

KHS senior Nadia Benjamin said the event was very impressive. “It was very successful and we had fun!” she said, adding though that some Kagman residents were not informed about the activity-the reason why some of the students had to wait minutes before the resident could put their trash together.

The volunteers started visiting Kagman homes as early as 1pm to collect trash.

Beautify CNMI! said if the event had been a success, volunteers would soon be "trick-or-treating" in other villages. “Please start saving recyclables and treat these volunteers to your finest trash.”

Kagman Road Cleanup

On Friday afternoon 27 Law Enforcement Explorer Program and Junior Police Officer students participated in a cleanup of the roads in Kagman between Tank Beach and Cha Cha Oceanview Junior High School.

The event was coordinated by DPS Crime Prevention Unit, Kagman Kummunidat Association, Marianas RC&D, and Rep. Kaipat's Office.

More pictures soon...