Volunteer Activities For Visitors to Maui
Visiting Hawai’i is an incredible way to spend your vacation and can truly be a trip you will never forget. There is something magical about this place, and as such, it deserves to be protected. When planning your Maui vacation, consider how you can do your part to protect the island’s delicate ecosystems and preserve it for the future through voluntourism. Maui has some amazing volunteer opportunities that will educate you about the people and places you’re visiting, and offer a deeper, more meaningful connection to the island.
If you want to add a volunteer activity to your vacation itinerary, here are 6 ways to volunteer while visiting Maui:
Collect Marine Debris with The Pacific Whale Foundation
Marine debris is probably one of the toughest environmental challenges facing island and coastal communities, including Maui. Ocean currents and tides can bring marine debris into coastal ecosystems, damaging coral, endangering fish, birds, and other wildlife, and leeching poisonous chemicals into the water. If you’re interested in helping to clean up this debris, potentially saving hundreds of marine animals, protecting the ocean’s health, and helping preserve coral reefs, the Pacific Whale Foundation allows you to get directly involved in marine debris removal. You can even help catalog and chart the debris, which helps the Pacific Whale Foundation and other foundations design better preservation protocols for the future. For anyone interested in regenerative tourism, this is a great place to start!
Protect Native Wildlife with Hawai’i Wildlife Fund
The Hawai'i Wildlife Fund works to identify at-risk native wildlife and design unique protection protocols for each species. While visiting Maui, you can volunteer to protect nesting sea turtles and their eggs, clean marine debris and other landscapes, protect monk seals, humpback whales, or other important at-risk species on the island. Remember, protecting these species and cleaning up human trash doesn’t just help them. It also protects coral reefs and entire ecosystems on and around Maui. Ready to help keep Hawai’i wild? Programs change seasonally, so check back often for new opportunities to protect Maui wildlife.
Take Care Of Hawai’i Malama Hawai’i with Redline Rafting
Redline Rafting has many different opportunities to Malama Hawai’i (protect Hawai’i). In support of Malama Hawai’i, Redline encourages visitors to leave the islands better than when you arrived by providing tote bags and tools for voluntourists who want to participate in trash cleanup throughout Maui. To make a difference, stop by the Kihei Boat Ramp from 6 am to 12 pm to pick up your own tote bag and trash grabber. Filling even one bag of trash can make a huge difference in the environmental health and resilience of the local ecosystem.
Participate in Maui Beach Clean-ups with The Surfrider Foundation
Maui’s spectacular beaches are part of the island’s unparalleled appeal, but the resulting high traffic from visitors also makes these beaches vulnerable environments. Registering for a beach cleanup with the Surfrider Foundation can not only help minimize the impact of your visit to Maui's beaches but also teach you more about how to protect those beaches for future generations of visitors to enjoy. What’s more, the Surfrider Foundation provides data cards that help track information about the kinds of trash and pollution present on the beaches, which can then inform future conservation efforts.
Volunteer With Animals with Leilani Farm Sanctuary
A place where dogs, cats and rescued farm animals at Leilani Animal Sanctuary can always use helping hands and hearts. When you volunteer, you give back to the community on Maui while learning about different farm tasks, the animals in the rescue, and how to maintain the landscape in harmony with the animals. Projects include gardening, cleaning barns, fence installation, animal grooming, and more. Volunteers with a specialized skill can even help Leilani Farm Sanctuary with a key project!
Go On a Volunteer Hike with The Maui Sierra Club of Hawai’i
Hikes with the Sierra Club of Hawai'i are focused on education while enjoying the breathtaking beauty of Maui. Learn how to work together to preserve and protect the island on hikes that may include planting and replanting native species or removing litter and trash. You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how building better hiking habits can help in environmentmental preservation.
Planning a Maui Vacation?
These Maui volunteer activities are just a few of the transformative and effective ways you can form a deeper and more meaningful connection with the places, ecosystems, and communities you visit.
If you’re planning to visit Maui any time soon, we can help you schedule your vacation, find the best vacation homes, and connect with local resources and volunteer opportunities on the island.Contact us today! Vacations@HawaiiLife.com | 855.447.3685