Surfers
Make Waves at Paradise Point
Sunny
Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to the following copyrighted
material. For permission to reprint or excerpt it and/or link it to another
website, contact them at
The surfers gathered on Friday night in the beachside
cottage at San Diego’s Paradise Point Resort were eager for Surfrider’s California
Conference to begin.
As everyone was socializing…
and swapping stories about their favorite surfing spots…
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel noticed a
beautiful quilt draped over the sofa.
Event Coordinator Nancy
Hastings came over and said, “Let me show you what this is.” Holding up the
quilt, she explained that her mother-in-law, Betty Hastings, had made it for
her from 25 of her old Surfrider T-shirts.
“There are a lot of moments here,” Nancy said, pointing
to the earliest T-shirt from 1995.
It seemed fitting that Nancy’s quilt should have such a
place of prominence in the room since quilts bring separate pieces of fabric together
to tell a story and to create something lasting.
This is what the Surfrider Foundation does – bringing independent-minded surf activists together in a
strong coalition to make a lasting environmental difference.
Surveying the room, host chapter San Diego Chairperson Roger Kube was stoked “to be surrounded
by all the passionate and dedicated Surfrider volunteers. It moves and
motivates me.”
**********************
The first morning of the conference after everyone had breakfast...
Nancy Hastings and
Co-Chair Sarah Damron were ready to
welcome the 123 conference attendees from around the world – Canada, Australia,
Europe, Jamaica and Japan.
Coffee cups in hand, there was a buzz in the air that
came from more than the caffeine.
Tony
Soriano and Connor
Chilcott, from the Huntington/Seal Beach Chapter, were both excited to be
at the conference. “It’s always an
exchange of fresh ideas,” said Tony.
“It’s inspiring to see all the activism,” added Connor,
an Environmental Science major at Golden West College.
For Craig
Cadwallader, South Bay Chapter Chair, it was his fifth conference and he
was looking forward to seeing friends again. “I love these conferences.”
**********************
Keynote
Speaker, Surfrider CEO Jim Moriarty didn’t waste any time in outlining the organization’s mission:
“The
protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches
through
a powerful activist network.”
With the threat of eroding beaches, rising tides,
polluted oceans, and endangered wave breaks, Moriarty made it clear that there
is much work to be done.
To accomplish Surfrider’s mission, he said that we need
to focus on five points:
1. Mission Impact
– winning key environmental victories.
2. Network
Evolution – building a field-based network. “Our goal isn’t to be big,”
Moriarty emphasized. “It’s to be formidable.” His plan includes the development
of a Chapter Advisory Council.
3. Deeper
Connections – finding ways to connect with the public on multiple media
platforms to tell Surfrider’s stories.
4. Metrics –
Measuring and monitoring what supporters are doing and donating.
5. Complete
Coverage – Determining where to put our resources in order to have the
greatest impact. “Surfrider’s goal is to make a difference in all the
communities where it has a presence.”
**********************
Stephanie
Sekich, Surfrider’s California Policy Manager, continued this
theme of targeting resources, noting “we need to determine which issues to
fight or support.”
Sekich called on each state to set up a “network of responders” – people standing
by to attend public meetings and speak out on environmental issues.
The
Top Environmental Issues Facing California
Plastics
Pollution – Rise Above
Plastics Campaign Coordinator Bill Hickman said
32 million tons of plastics are used each year in California. But, only 3
million tons are recycled.
Oil
Drilling – Sekich pointed
out that there are 32 oil drilling projects off California’s coast, putting the
state at risk of oil spills and other environmental damage.
Coastal
Protection, Sea Level Rise, Climate Change – Mark Rauscher, Surfrider Coastal Preservation Manager, warned that
by 2100 California’s sea level is predicted to rise 3 – 5 1/2
feet. This would result in erosion and flooding.
Wave
protection – Julia Chunn
and Amanda Vegter, of the San Diego
Chapter, said their chapter uses video cameras to document the number of
surfers, types of waves, and lengths of rides to analyze changes in the wave
break.
**********************
During lunch everyone talked about the different projects
they’re working on.
Jeff
Coffman announced that the H/S Beach Chapter started an Adopt a Channel program with Huntington
Beach, OC Public Works, Disney, and renowned marine artist Wyland to focus on
cleaning the Santa Ana River.
After lunch and some lively roundtable discussions…
everyone was ready to hear our Guest Speaker …
Michael
Blum,
Stewardship Chair of the Malibu Surfing Association.
Blum’s talk, presented against a backdrop of vintage
Malibu Beach photos…
told about the “death of Malibu” and how water pollution
and an altered wave break are ruining one of California’s iconic beaches.
Rallying conference attendees to take action to prevent
this and similar occurrences in other areas, Blum said “a shared responsibility
is needed to ensure that these places are protected.”
**********************
The day’s events gave SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti
much to think about.
At the party that evening…
seeing all the different T-shirts people were wearing
from their chapters, reminded us of Nancy Hastings’ quilt.
United together, we are creating an environmental legacy
for future generations:
a
world of clean oceans and beaches
Please post your comment below.
Comments will appear the next day.
