Beautify CNMI Selects New Committee Chairs

During their regular meeting on June 4, 2009, Beautify CNMI partners brainstormed on projects for 2009 and selected chairs to head four committees.

Joe Kaipat of Division of Environmental Quality and Kathy Yuknavage of Mariana Islands Nature Alliance are to co-chair the Solid Waste Committee, the goals of which are to increase the percentage of solid waste recyclables collected, reduce littering, and remove solid waste from local beaches, roads, and villages.

The Solid Waste Committee has plans to develop an adopt-a-spot program in conjunction with a marine debris removal and recycling campaign.

“In the next year we want to take the success we’ve had with keeping Wing Beach clean and spread it to at least seven other beaches,” explained Yuknavage. “We have plans to work with the community putting recycling and trash bins next to some of the most popular beaches on Saipan.”

Angelo Villagomez of the Rotary Club of Saipan, Ronnie Rogers of Historic Preservation Office, and Kathleen Hermann of Division of Environmental Quality will co-chair the Restoration Committee, which will focus on re-vegetation projects and maintaining historical sites.

The committee plans to continue work on the Laulau Revegetation Project started by the CNMI Watershed Group in 2005. They also want to start a volunteer corp who will maintain local historical areas.

Dr. Dan Lamar of FHP Saipan will chair the Parks & Trails Committee, which seeks to create a system of local, state, and national parks under a Commonwealth Parks System.

“A Commonwealth Parks System connected by a series of trails would be a great draw for tourists,” according to Lamar. “It would also attract professionals who look at quality of life issues when deciding where they want to practice their profession.”

Laurie Peterka of Practical Solutions and local student Tyler Yoshimoto were named as the co-chairs of a new Beautify CNMI Committee that will launch a campaign uniting youth, the community, artists, and businesses to combat graffiti.

“This is something that I’ve been working on with the ISK8 Society for quite some time and I’m really excited to make it a part of Beautify CNMI,” said Peterka.

All of the coalition partners agreed that youth education and development through coalition building and partnerships should be an integral part of Beautify CNMI.

“It is so important to work with the kids,” said Hopwood Junior High School teacher Kimberly Vaillancourt.

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.

Imagine the New Garapan

The Garapan Tourist District should be the premier real estate in Saipan. Sandwiched between the Saipan Lagoon and a National Park, with easy walking access to several hotels, an elementary school, health clubs, restaurants, bars, shopping centers, and a three mile long walking path fronting the ocean, it should be the perfect place to raise a family.

But it’s not.

It’s the manky armpit of our once beautiful island.

In his weekly column in the Saipan Tribune, Bruce Bateman recently recounted a conversation we had concerning Garapan. We were discussing ways to make Garapan more palatable for families and tourists alike and I offered three simple solutions that would lead to a "new" Garapan. I suggested that we move prostitution out of Garapan, move several government offices into Garapan, and entice young professionals to make Garapan their residence.

I’d say close your eyes and try to imagine my vision, but then you’d have a really hard time reading this...but imagine what living in Garapan could be like:

Imagine if you are a young professional with a small one- or two-bedroom apartment on the third floor of one of the buildings in the "new" Garapan. You share it with your husband and your daughter.

You could wake up first thing in the morning and go for a six-mile run along the Saipan Bike path, then jog over to Club Elan for some weightlifting or yoga.

Fresh from a shower at the spa, you walk over to one of the Chinese restaurants and have breakfast for $4.

You walk back to the apartment to help your husband get your daughter ready for school. Your daughter is pretty good in the morning and can get herself ready; it’s your husband who really needs the help getting out the door.

Your daughter likes you to walk her to school, which is right across the street, so you take her over, kiss her goodbye, wish her luck on her test, and then go to work.

You work at MVA, which along with the Saipan Mayor’s office and several other government entities are now located in Garapan. Instead of driving, you walk over to work, strolling through the brand new Visitor’s Center on your way to your desk.

Around noon one of your coworkers asks if you want Japanese, Korean or Thai for lunch. You respond with, "How about Italian?" Your husband, who works for the Mayor, walks over to meet you.

When your daughter gets out of school, you are able to take a 15-minute break to pick her up. You take her home, then she goes out to play with her friends. They ride bikes through the National Park and then go swimming.

After work, some of your coworkers want to go for some happy hour drinks, but you promised your daughter you’d take her to the Thursday street market.

Alright, open your eyes.

In my vision, almost everything except for the government offices being located in Garapan is already true. It already exists. We can do this. If we can move the prostitution out, move several government offices including MVA in, and get young professionals to live here, we can save Garapan.

Beautify CNMI has done a lot of work in the last two years to clean up Garapan, with our biggest support coming from Rep. Waki, Rep. Kaipat, Friends of the Mariana Islands, Kinpachi Restaurant, Hyatt, and Fiesta Resort. There is still a lot of work to be done, so if you are interested in helping, please attend 2008’s first Beautify CNMI meeting. We meet on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008, at 7pm at Cafe at the Park in Garapan.

I hope to see you there.

Angelo Villagomez
Executive Director
MINA

Adopt a Flame Tree Update

In 2007 Beautify CNMI planted about 200 Flame Trees (I think) as part of our Adopt-a-Flame Tree Program. 6 of those trees were planted in American Memorial Park last June during our Micronesia Challenge Summer Camp and they were adopted by Barney Ono, a Japanese citizen living in Japan who has kept track of Beautify CNMI via the Internet.

I had the chance to visit those six Flame Trees earlier this morning and I am happy to report that they are all doing very well. This picture was taken next to the largest of the six.

Barney, the next time you visit Saipan, make sure you look for your six healthy Flame Trees growing in our local National Park.

Plenty to do this weekend

Tonight, November 9, 2007, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM , American Memorial Park will be hosting a Community Interaction in the Auditorium. Guest speakers will introduce the venomous Brown Tree Snake, the nasty and invasive Spanish Pepper Vine and Ranger Nancy will be showing folks how easy it is to recycle. Click HERE for more info.

Tomorrow, November 10, 2007, from 8:00 AM til lunch time, CRM, DLNR, MINA, NRCS, and other volunteers will carryout the first phase of the Obyan Beach Revegetation project. Equipment, supplies, and saplings... were made possible through funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA awarded to MINA and CRM. DLNR forestry tirelessly did the prep work by growing the saplings, and Beautify CNMI! will be donating refreshments; truly a coalition effort. MINA will also be raffling a pass for two people to attend their WaterPark and Lunch fundraiser at PIC on November 12. See you tomorrow! Click HERE for more info.

Also tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM, join Park Rangers and Volunteers at American Memorial Park in planting beautiful new Flame Trees and Golden Showers as part of the Arbor Day celebration. After planting the trees, AMP will lead the volunteers to the protected wetland to dig up those awful Spanish Pepper Vines. Then everyone will have lunch!!! Our cooperating association, the Arizona Memorial Museum Association is providing a light lunch for us after all that hard work. Click HERE for more info.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, DEQ has their monthly Cleanup Brigade, meeting at Sugar Dock at 8 AM tomorrow. This month, outstanding brigade volunteers who participated in at least ten (10) monthly cleanups will receive a brigade cap and those who participated in at least three (3) cleanups will receive a green brigade t-shirt. For more information call 664-8500.

Obyan Revegetation Announcement

What: Obyan Revegetation Project
Where: the old (blocked off) lower parking area upland from the Japanese bunker at Obyan Beach
When: THIS Saturday, November 10th, 8:00 am
Contact: Kathy Yuknavage, 664-8311, or kathy.yuknavage@crm.gov.mp

CRM in partnership with the DLNR, Mariana Islands Nature Alliance (MINA), and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), will be holding a Beautify CNMI! planting event at Obyan beach this Saturday, November 10th. The planting activity will reduce upland erosion at Obyan.

As many beach goers have observed, the coral road leading to Obyan regularly washes out during heavy rains. Stormwater gouges the soil, exposing important archeological artifacts to the elements, and then carries the soil to the shoreline. The soil or “sediment” enters the water reducing visibility for divers, and harms coral by preventing sunlight from nourishing the living organisms within its skeleton. The sediment eventually settles out on the corals’ surface, further stressing the coral reef’s health.

DLNR forestry experts will be teaching volunteers how to use various non-point source (NPS) pollution prevention “Best Management Practices” (BMP) to disperse stormwater run off. The BMPs are part of a comprehensive Conservation Planting Plan for Obyan created by the NRCS. Saturday’s planting event is just the first of many phases contained within the plan. People interested in learning how to implement BMPs, about other phases of the plan, or just wanting to help are invited to join volunteers from MINA, the Boy Scouts of America, and other Beautify CNMI! volunteers this Saturday, 8:00 am, in Obyan’s paved parking area.

Volunteers should bring sturdy work gloves, a hat, and sunscreen. Light refreshments will be provided and a raffle drawing will be held at the end of the event. Two lucky winners will be given (2) water park passes and a buffet lunch at PIC on November 12th, as part of MINA’s fundraising activities. Funds raised through ticket sales will be used to support MINA’s second Teachers’ Environmental Education Camp next summer. If interested, please contact Kathy Yuknavage at kathy.yuknavage@crm.gov.mp for more information.

American Memorial Park Announces Arbor Day

Join in on the fun of planting beautiful new trees and digging up the roots of the nasty and invasive Spanish Pepper Vine!

Friday, November 9, 2007, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM American Memorial Park will be hosting a Community Interaction in the Auditorium.

Guest speakers will introduce the venomous BROWN TREE SNAKE, the nasty and invasive SPANISH PEPPER VINE and Ranger Nancy will be showing folks how easy it is to recycle. Our guests will be interacting with our community neighbors on all levels. Light refreshments will follow.

The Brown Tree Snake is a very big problem on Saipan. We will learn to recognize this super pest and just what makes it our pest. We’ll learn what we can and can not do if we find one.

Rangers from War in the Pacific are flying to Saipan to introduce us to the danger we are in due to the Spanish Pepper Vine. This invasive species was brought to Saipan during World War II as a simple ground cover along the runways at Isley Field. Today, this nasty and pervasive vine is killing every plant on our beautiful island.

Ranger Nancy will get together with folks and figure out all the great stuff that can be recycled. We’ll discover different ways to use or recycle most of what we have in our trash cans. We will even go visit our great Recycling Center in Lower Base, by way of a slide show!!

Saturday morning at 7:00 AM, join Park Rangers and Volunteers in planting beautiful new Flame Trees and Golden Showers. We’ll go to the protected wetland and dig up those awful Spanish Pepper Vines. Then we’ll have lunch!!! Our cooperating association, the Arizona Memorial Museum Association is providing a light lunch for us after all that hard work.

So come on along and have more fun that a barrel of monkeys!!

Brilliant Star School is Fantastic

The students at Brilliant Star School cleaned up the rest of the trash remaining on the Navy Hill Lighthouse grounds yesterday morning. Their teacher, Elizabeth Henke, sent me these pictures:

Thank you, Brilliant Star.

We are going to continue with our Restoration of the Lighthouse on September 21 and September 23. On Friday the 21st we will finish scraping and priming; on Sunday the 23rd we will apply the final coat of paint.

I hope you can join us!

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!

Another Milestone

Today we planted our 100th Flame Tree of the 2007 rainy season!

Considering that we only planted 22 Flame Trees last year, this is a very significant number.

It took several groups and individuals collaborating to get these trees in the ground. We started way back in February. I asked Brad Doerr, a Mariana Island Nature Alliance member, to start growing Flame Trees for me. I told him that I didn't have money to pay him then, but by the time the trees were ready to plant, I would have figured something out.

We came up with an Adopt-a-Flame Tree program. For $20, anyone in the world could have a Flame Tree planted in their name. We sold trees at the Flame Tree Arts Festival, the MINA Annual Meeting, and online.

Over 100 trees were adopted.

We started planting on June 19, the one year anniversary of Beautify CNMI's first tree planting. Then each weekend we would plant a few trees. We've had help from MINA, Marianas Resource Conservation & Development Council, Rep. Cinta Kaipat's Office & Family, Isa CNMI, Friends of the Mariana Islands, and a few dozen community volunteers.

We're not finished, but a big thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this milestone!

Making Koblerville Beautiful

Today we planted 28 more Flame Trees and 10 Plumeria in and around the Koblerville Youth Center. These 38 trees are in addition to the 36 trees we planted last week. Wee also continued removing little, picking up trash thrown out of people's car windows.

Seriously, can we stop throwing things out of the window as we drive? How hard would it to be to hold on to that beer can?

The Flame Trees planted today are part of our Adopt-a-Flame Tree program. We finished planting in front of the Youth Center, then planted a row in front of Koblerville Elementary, and then planted a row along Monsignor Martinez where it intersects Koblerville Road.

Cinta took a lot of pictures; look for her post!

Steve and Miwa Nguyen adopt a Flame Tree!

Steve and Miwa are moving to Texas next month. They adopted a Flame Tree and planted it on Beach Road. Their tree is the seventh Flame Tree planted in 2007. Their tree can be found at:

N 15' 11.557
E 145' 43.073

Thanks for adopting a tree, Steve and Miwa! We are sure going to miss you guys!

Julian Aguon and John Griffin adopt a tree!

Julian Aguon and John Griffin are both visiting Saipan this week. Julian is from Guam and John is from Pennsylvania. When they heard about our tree planting this week, they both decided to adopt a tree. We only had five trees at our kickoff event, so they decided to plant it together.

Later in the rainy season we will plant another tree for them.

They also decided to call their tree JJ. JJ can be found at:

N 15' 11.851
E 145' 43.109

Thanks, Julian!

Thanks, John!

Joyie Lam and Rika Matsumoto adopt a tree!

Joyie Lam came to this morning's tree planting after reading about it on one of the many Saipan blogs. She decided to adopt a tree.

Her tree can be found at:

N 15' 11.856
E 145' 48.107

Joyie, who is entering her third year at Pepperdine University, planted this tree for her and her best friend, Rika, who is currently attending college in Japan. Rika is the daughter of Aya, who has also adopted a Flame Tree.

Aya Matsumoto adopts a tree!

Aya Matsumoto of ISA CNMI adopted a flame tree and planted it on Beach Road. It can be found at:

N 15' 11.780
E 145' 43.109

Thanks, Aya!

By the way, we made Aya dig her own hole:

Captain Carl Brachear adopts a tree!

Captain Carl planted his tree on Beach Road. It is located at:

N 15' 11.776
E 145' 43.100

Thanks, Carl!

Ken Kramer adopts a tree!

Ken Kramer was the first person to plant an adopt-a-Flame Tree! His tree is located at:

N 15' 11.747
E 145' 43.105

Thanks, Ken!

Tree Planting: One Year Later

On June 19, 2006, Beautify CNMI and our partners planted four Flame Trees on Beach Road. Over the course of the next several months, we planted over 2000 trees.

Tomorrow is the on year anniversary of that day, so we are going to plant four more Flame Trees on Beach Road. The ceremony will take place at 10 AM near the 13 Fishermen Memorial.

Hope to see you there!

First Tree Planting!

Yesterday morning I helped coordinate the first tree planting of the 2007 Rainy Season. Using coconuts gathered from my late father's house in Fina Sisu and volunteers from the District Boy Scout Camp going on this week, we planted 115 trees.

One of the most rewarding things about my life on Saipan is working with kids who want to learn. The boy scouts were totally attentive as I spoke to them about the importance of planting trees, ecology, and such.

It was a great event. I even got to participate in the flag raising ceremony:

DEQ Cleanup Brigade

Division of Environmental Quality coordinates a beach cleanup once a month at different beaches around our island. This program has been going on for more than seven years.

This month, DEQ will be cleaning up Jeffrey's Beach in the Talafofo area. This beach is one of the few beaches on Saipan that has not been visited by DEQ or the army of Beautify CNMI volunteers in recent months, so we really need your help on this one!

The cleanup will take place at Jeffrey's Beach on Saturday, June 16, 2007 at 8 AM. To get to Jeffrey's Beach, turn down the road next to Esco's Bakery in Capital Hill. This is the same road that leads to Kingfisher Golf Course.

Several government agencies, businesses, and community groups coordinate beach and road cleanups as part of the Beautify CNMI campaign every single weekend. For a list of upcoming events CLICK HERE.