Members of the Maui Sea Cadets pose for a photo while cleaning up a section of the Maui Veterans Highway. For their service, the group has been honored by the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

The Maui Sea Cadets have earned the No Ka Oi Highway Hui Award from the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Maui District, for their service to the Adopt-A-Highway Program.

Officially named the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Maui, NAS Puunene Division, the Maui Sea Cadets is a development program for youth from 10 to through 18 years old. Since 2024, the Maui unit has helped to clean a two-mile section along Maui Veterans Highway.

“This is a veterans’ highway, and we are Sea Cadets and we like to honor our veterans. That’s what we do,” said Mitsue Okamura Eldredge, administrator of the USNSCC Maui Division.

Supported by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, the program works to build character and self-discipline and offers insights into military life through hands-on training. Learning activities include sailing, aviation, robotics, medical training and SCUBA, as well as community events.

“(Adopt-A-Highway) taught me in particular that the littlest removal of trash can make a big difference,” said Cadet Damon Ramos, an eighth grade student at Lahaina Intermediate. “You can just start by picking up trash wherever you can — in the park, on the highway, on your own. Eventually, your work will not go to waste.”

Adopt-A-Highway is a public service program that works with volunteers to remove trash from along Hawaii’s state highways and help prevent litter and other pollutants.

“We thank the Maui Sea Cadets for participating in Adopt-A-Highway as part of their broader mission to foster leadership, good character and skill-building in youth,” said Ty Fukuroku, program manager of Environmental Management, Highways Maui District. “It’s gratifying to see these young cadets recognize that their public service makes a difference, and that their volunteerism for the Maui Veterans Highway is a way of demonstrating their respect for our nation’s veterans.”