Tan Holdings, Friends of the Monument recognized with Beautify CNMI awards

Beautify CNMI announced today the winners of their annual Environmental Champion and Environmental Steward Awards. The awards are given out to recognize individuals, organizations, and businesses that have proven to be environmental leaders in the Commonwealth.

The Environmental Champion award recognizes a person or group that exemplifies the Beautify CNMI spirit. Those qualities include volunteerism, cooperation, innovation, creativity and the ability to infect others with the Beauty Virus. The Environmental Champion is a role model for others to follow. They bring environmental issues to the forefront of public consciousness. They make things happen and effect change.

This year Beautify CNMI will recognize Tan Holdings, Laurie Peterka, and Ken Kramer as the 2009 Environmental Champions.

Tan Holdings is being recognized as a model of corporate environmental responsibility. Under the leadership of President Jerry Tan, Tan Holdings employees and friends have been part of several environmental projects over the past year. All Tan Holdings offices on Saipan participate in a Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle program and the company participates in a reusable shopping bag campaign with Joeten. Employees, often with the participation of management, regularly participate in cleanups, including the recent island wide cleanup.

Laurie Peterka and Ken Kramer are being recognized for their roles in the creation of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

Kramer was so inspired by the concept of the monument that he quit his job so that he would have more time to collect signatures. Kramer was the largest signature collector for a petition being circulated in support of the monument, collecting over 1000 signatures at the street market, in front of stores, at the Sabalu market, and door to door. Kramer also penned nearly two-dozen letters to the editor educating newspaper readers about the benefits of a monument.

Peterka is being recognized for the role she played as staff with the Pew Environment Group. According to one of her nominations for the award, “Laurie has been the backbone of the Friends of the Monument’'s efforts: always there, always supportive, keeping things moving, doing much of the organizing, writing, scheduling, as well as a lot of the scut work.”

The Environmental Steward award recognizes a person or group that leads the community in activities that help protect our environment in a variety of ways. This individual or group has demonstrated the need to take pride in our islands and to take care of the place we all call home. They serve as an example for others, especially the next generation, to follow.

This year Beautify CNMI will recognize Friends of the Monument as the 2009 Environmental Stewards.

Friends of the Monument was formed to help promote the idea of creating a national marine monument in the waters around the three northernmost islands of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Friends of the Monument engaged in activities to help educate the community --distributing leaflets, conducting meetings, and coordinating with teachers for classroom presentations. The organization gathered more than 6,000 signatures on petitions in support of the designation of a Monument. The Friends sent representatives to Washington, D.C. to meet with White House officials, and participated in television and radio public service announcements and advertising. Ultimately, they were instrumental in the process that resulted in former President George W. Bush designating the Marianas Trench Marine Monument, along with three larger national marine monuments.

The awards were handed out at the Beautify CNMI/PAWS Boonie Dog Show on Saturday, June 13 at the CPA Airport Field.

Beautify CNMI recognizes Steward and Champion Awards winner each year in Spring. Nominations are taken from the community at-large and the Beautify CNMI Committee Chairs select winners. Past winners include Aqua Resort Club, Friends of the Mariana Islands, Marites Castillo, Kathy Yuknavage, Captain Carl Brachear, Adam Sablan, Katie Busenkell, Rose Callier, Mike Tripp, Marianas Dive, Nava Khorram, Max Aguon, Paseo de Marianas Promoters, and Bree Reynolds.

Beautify CNMI! is a coalition of concerned citizens, private groups, and government entities united to enhance the CNMI's natural beauty and foster community pride in its residents and visitors. The coalition was a recipient of a 2007 EPA Environmental Award and received a Certificate of Commendation from the United States Congress in 2009. For more information visit them online at http://www.beautifycnmi.org.

First Photos

Over 4000 people are expected to hit the streets of Saipan today to Beautify the CNMI. The first person to send in their pictures was Ken Kramer. This is his son Alexander Kramer standing next to the litter he picked up in Gualo Rai.

The Laolao Bay Golf Resort team were the second group to get their photos in. Here they are standing next to their impressive pile of trash.

Thanks to everyone who participated today!

Cleanup day is almost here

Just a few more hours before the troops hit the ground. I submitted the following press release, hopefully in time for Friday's papers. Our tally going into tomorrow is 4018 volunteers.

Go us!

Nearly 4000 ready to Beautify CNMI

4000 volunteers are set to hit the streets and beaches of Saipan tomorrow in what is expected to be the largest island-wide cleanup in Micronesian history.

“The support the community is showing us has been tremendous,” explained co-organizer Angelo Villagomez of Pew Environment Group. “We have businesses, government agencies, schools, and even families registered to participate.”

As of Thursday afternoon, 51 volunteer groups had adopted 48 sites around Saipan. According to Beautify CNMI volunteer Ken Kramer, “The cleanup we organized in 2006 had 32 volunteer groups. This one is nearly double the size.”

Deputy Secretary of Labor and Beautify CNMI founder Cinta Kaipat had a reminder for all participants, “Don’t forget to take before, during, and after pictures of your cleanups. We will post these on the Beautify CNMI blog and the two groups with the largest number of volunteers and most trash collected will win $100 each. We’ll use the photos submitted to determine the winners.”

Division of Environmental Quality, Rotary Club of Saipan, Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA), and Marianas Tourism Education Council are the co-organizers of the island-wide cleanup. Supplies were donated by MVA and McDonald’s.

For more information on the how to participate in the cleanup, contact Joe Kaipat at 664-8500 or Angelo Villagomez via Email at angelovillagomez@gmail.com. A list of all participants can be found by visiting http://beautifycnmi.blogspot.com.

Jake Shimabukuro plants a Flame Tree

Yesterday's Beautify CNMI anniversary concert with Jake Shimabukuro was an all day affair. The concert took up the entire evening, but even before that we were setting up and going on the radio to promote the show.

We even took some time to plant a tree with Jake.

Join National Trails Day!

Wednesday March 19, 2008


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Residents encouraged to join National Trails Day

By Raquel C. Bagnol
Variety News Staff



BEAUTIFY CNMI!’s parks and trails committee is planning to join National Trails Day, an annual event hosted by the American Hiking Society on June 7.

Kenneth E. Kramer, Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council coordinator and chairman of the committee, yesterday said joining the event is one way to put Saipan on the global map.

“Just for joining, we can get free advertising on their Web site, and people all over the world will know where Saipan is when they visit the American Hiking Society Web site,” Kramer said.

He said in addition to the free advertising on the Web site, they can also avail of banners and posters.

“It would be very nice to have each island come up with its own trail and people can go out to hike on different trails during that day,” Kramer said.

He added that this will be the first time for the CNMI to join National Trails Day.

He said in the past, they have worked closely with the Boys Scout in their hiking activities.

Information from the Beautify CNMI! Web site disclosed that this year, its parks and trails committee will continue to push for the creation of a commonwealth parks system.

The goal is to create a system of hiking trails that links the different parks and conservation areas on Saipan and will stretch from Suicide Cliff to Susupe Lake.

Kramer said the first day of June is designated as National Trails Day in the United States.

This is an event which draws millions of hikers and bikers go out to the different trails in the United States.

It is organized nationwide by the American Hiking Society, a national nonprofit trail advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Currently, it has more than 3,000 events organized in each locality.

Kramer is also inviting community members to join Beautify CNMI!’s ongoing campaigns.

The group, he said, is involved in all kinds of activities to keep the islands clean and attractive — picking up trash from the roadsides and beaches and planting trees.

Beautify CNMI! works closely the Coral Reef Management Office, the Public School System, the Department of Public Works, the Marianas Resource Conservation & Development Council, the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, Isa CNMI, Marianas Dive, and Pet Assistance and Welfare Services

Boy Scouts Troop 910 from Tanapag Beautified Banaderu Trail

Below is a slide show and a personal narrative from Ken Kramer (RC&D), Chair of Beautify CNMI's Parks & Trails Committee--with additional contribution from Tom Gipson (Safety 1st)-- regarding the awesome job the Boy Scouts Troop 910 from Tanapag did to clear the Banaderu Trail. Tom, Ken and Oscar Camacho led the Scouts.



Hi Cinta,

I met up with the Boy Scouts, led by Tom Gipson and Oscar Camacho on Friday night. I brought my two dogs: Playdough (known as Sunshine by Oscar) and Lucky (the black dog). We watched the stars and then went to sleep at around 9 PM in anticipation of a hard day of work the next day. Other than the stick poking me through the bottom of the tent, I slept fairly well.

The next day, we set out to work on the trail after a breakfast of cereal and milk. Tom rallied the boys, gave them a safety talk, and we made plans for the day. Around 7:45 AM, we headed towards the trail, loaded with picks, machetes (carried by the adults), shovels, a saw, and the two dogs.

After an hour or so, just as we were getting warmed up, clearing brush alongside the trail, moving dead logs out of the way, it started pouring buckets of rain onto us. It was a bit unsettling. We were a bit discouraged and several of us had thoughts of taking a break and going back to dryness at the camp. Lucky was so miserable from the rain that she drew everyone’s attention by moaning, belly up, in a forlorn look that we all felt, but did not express. After Tom said: “We are going to stick it out and slog through this rain,” we renewed our efforts, working to stay warm. Eventually, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day, again.

We all broke for lunch and had a good rest. Tom thought we had made better progress than he thought we were going to do. I was happy to have dry socks and a dry shirt to change into. Oscar Camacho joined us on Saturday afternoon

This was not easy and was often dangerous work. Tom, our fearless leader, seemed to get most of the injuries. First, he got a splinter from one of the iron rebars holding the concrete slab steps. Then, he tried to catch a rock rolling down the hill and received a souvenir scratch on his shins where it hit him. I narrowly escaped falling by doing a back flip down the steepest part of the trail, when the log I was pulling gave way. Instead, I threw the log as hard as I could down the hill, which kept me from falling. It pays to study physics. Boonie bees also attacked some of us: I got stung twice.

On the return to camp, I was so physically exhausted I could barely put one foot in front of the other. We were all exhausted. According to Tom, Oscar went to sleep around 6 PM. I went on a critical supplies run and returned with water, ice cream, and chocolates.

Tom and the Boy Scouts, who were working on their *BSA Historic Trails Award, stayed another night and were scheduled to continue working on Sunday morning to finish the trail. (The BSA Historic Trails Award is given to scouts who camp two nights on a BSA recognized trail of historical significance, perform community service work on the trail, and learn about it's role in history.) I had other commitments on Sunday.

The Banaderu Trail is now far superior to what it was before. It is a fabulous trail with great scenery along the way. Thanks to the Boy Scouts, it is now ready for travel.

The members of the Boy Scouts Troop 910 were: Sam Park, Jay Britt, Jotham & Joshua Camacho, and Garrett Gipson. Well done, Boys! Thank you!

***************

YIKES! Looks like Ken and the Boy Scouts had quite an adventure! Happy there were no serious injuries. THANKS, fellas! We're all mighty proud of the excellent exhaustive work you've done. Reminds me of the Lau Lau Revegitation Project. FUN! :)

Rep. Cinta Kaipat
http://www.cnmiblog.com/

A few more pictures from the Lighthouse

This picture epitomizes the Beautify CNMI! spirit for me. Here is a Chamorro-American, a Caucasian-American, and a Japanese National. One is a student, one is a doctor, and one is a businesswoman. Zach brought his mom, Juanita, and brother, Adam, Allison brought her children, and Aya brought her husband, Willie.

These three families come from different ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, have children of different ages (Allison has babies, Juanita has middle schoolers, and Aya has college students), but they all spent hours ostensibly doing something that should have been somebody else's job...and they enjoyed every minute of it. How often do you see that happen?

Juanita, Zach, Adam, Aya, and Willie have volunteered several dozen times now (Adam and Juanita are approaching a hundred). They are such regulars at our events that they show up with their own tools. Even when Willie can't make it, he'll pack a special tool kit for Aya:

That is what Beautify CNMI! is all about. People from different walks of life, pooling their resources, and coming together on a regular basis to make this island a better place to live.

This was Allison's first time volunteering with Beautify CNMI! I hope to see her again...and maybe if she becomes a regular, Willie will pack her a special tool kit, too.

Here are a few more pictures from yesterday's painting of the Japanese Lighthouse:

The untiring volunteers of Friends of the Mariana Islands were at the cleanup yesterday. Their leader, President Marites Castillo, was fighting the flu yesterday, but she still managed to show up. They brought tools, water, and food to share with the rest of the volunteers.

Bree Reynolds was also there. This picture belongs to the Blackmail Series:

$125
Bree brought her husband Doug, and several students from Hopwood Junior High School.

Jim Highfill, the Khorrams, Roch from Aqua Resort (volunteering for the first time), Ken Kramer, a group of Japanese tour guides from R&C Tours, Cinta Kaipat, Gus Kaipat and some of the boys were also there.

I'm sure I'm missing someone...and I'm sorry if I forgot to list you! Check out Aya's blog and Cinta's blog to see if they got everybody.

Lighthouse Cleanup

We painted the lighthouse from about 7 AM until 4 PM. A huge thanks goes out to Ken Kramer, Marianas RC&D Coordinator. He helped me all week coordinate today's rather large event. He was also the first volunteer to show up and the last volunteer to go home today.

Thank you, Ken.

We managed to apply a layer of primer on most of the Lighthouse and got a layer of paint on about two rooms worth of walls. We're not finished. We have to go back in a week or two.

Here is the lighthouse before we really got started:

...and here is the lighthouse at the end of the day:

We are about half way done. We're going to have to go back and add a little more primer and then paint over the whole thing with a final coat of paint. Here are a few more pictures:

BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:

BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The money for the paint was donated by the Marianas Visitors Authority. They donated $10,000 to Beautify CNMI! about a year ago, but it wasn't until this week that I was spurred to action.

There were two things that made me finally get off my butt and paint the lighthouse. The first one happened last Saturday when Dr. David Khorram's daughter, Nava, handed me an envelope full of dollar bills and coins totalling $49.02. She told me that she had collected the money at school to pay for paint for the lighthouse. I felt so guilty.

The second thing that made me decide that it was time to paint the lighthouse was one of the music videos from the Fiesta Pop Music Festival. The video was shot at the lighthouse and the whole structure was just covered in graffiti. It was time to do something about it.

So I asked MVA for the money, sent out a few emails, and over 50 people came out to help today.

Thank you, Everybody.

There were too many of you for me to remember. If I tried to list everyone, I would only get it wrong.

So again, thank you, Everybody who volunteered time, money, supplies, and resources today.

Like I've already mentioned, we are still not finished. I think we are going to go back two weeks from today. I'll keep you posted...and I'd love for you to help.

In much more important news, Wild Bill's Men's Soccer Team won the Tapachou Derby Consolation match against the Bangladeshi Sports Club to take 3rd place in the NMIFA Men's Summer League. Here we are after the game:

Spicy Tofu!

We Welcomed Our Visitors From Israel and Switzerland

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In July, Beautify CNMI! welcomed some new international friends who joined us in some of our activities. Neta, from Israel; Rep. Cinta Kaipat; and Flurina, from Switzerland. These two ladies participated in the Koblerville flame tree plantings that Beautify CNMI held last month (July). Thank you, friends.Neta and Flurina posed with two of Beautify CNMI!'s leaders -- Ken Kramer (RC&D) and Captain Carl Brachear.Flurina planting lasting memories in Koblerville on Saipan..

Beautify CNMI! volunteers working side by side to help transform the Kobler Substation into a truly beautiful site to behold. We should start to see some blooms in about three or four years. Hopefully, in three or four years, we would see blooming flame trees such as these when we travel down Koblerville's main street. (Blooming flame trees photos courtesy of Mike Tripp.)
The Group Shot. 1-2-3: Beautify CNMI!
One more time with Angelo! 1-2-3: Beautify CNMI!