KAILUA (KHON2) — With trash bags in hand, neighbors came together in Kailua to clean up Hamakua Marsh.

“It’s really sad how people just dump things in the canal, but at least we can get it all out,” said Sidney Westley, organizer.

The nonprofit, Healthy Climate Communities, hosts the cleanup twice a year as part of its ongoing restoration. Volunteers picked up over 1,000 pounds of trash from the previous event in July. Nearly 100 volunteers worked along the shore or in the water for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

“We started off in the water, so we were in small canoes and we tried to lift some stuff up and almost fell over,” said Reagan Donegan, a volunteer.

Hamakua Marsh is a wildlife sanctuary home to three endemic and endangered birds.

“It’s a big deal to us to get all these extra hands to help us do something big,” stated Rep. Lisa Marten.