HONOLULU (KHON2) — Students involved in the Kaimuki High School W.O.R.M.S club tossed more than two thousand Genki Balls in Oahu waterways to celebrate Earth Day.
It’s part of the W.O.R.M.S club’s effort to turn trash into treasure. The program calls for the use of worms and composting machines to create fertilizer and other biomediation products like Genki Balls.
“I think the first thing is just raising awareness for the students so they realize what’s happening and how they can make a difference,” said KHS W.O.R.M.S club advisor Chu Hong. “So that’s kind of the most important thing for me.”
The ultimate goal is to help degrade organic contaminants in the Ala Wai Canal and Manoa Stream.
“These are bioremediation products and so the effective microorganism in the Genki Balls can actually help the sludge. It’s been working, so this is kind of a neat thing,” Hong added.
The event started around 11 a.m. at the Kaimuki campus where students tossed one thousand Genki Balls in the Manoa Stream behind the school parking lot.
Once this part of the event was completed, the fun moved over to the Ala Wai Canal to toss the remaining balls.
The Genki Balls are formed in KHS’ lab that features “eight LOMI machines, a dozen worm bin towers, bokashi bins and tumbers to compost over 500 pounds of food per month” into fertilizer.
The W.O.R.M.S. club sells both their fertilizer and Genki Ball kits on their website. Proceeds from sales go directly towards the club’s scholarship fund and purchasing equipment.