Protecting Oceans, Waves and Beaches
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
The non-profit environmental organization Surfrider Foundation just marked an incredible milestone – its 1,000th victory in the protection of the world's oceans, waves and beaches.
It's fitting that the victory comes at a spot that holds a special place in the hearts of California surfers: Ventura's Surfers Point, a stretch of coastline that had been crumbling, ignored and neglected for decades.
Surfrider's Ventura chapter spent years generating public support and working with governmental entities to restore the eroded shoreline to its original state, removing damaged infrastructure and using nature-based solutions to reconstruct the coastline with native plants, dunes, and a buried cobble berm.
Surfrider reached its goal of 1,000 victories through the determination and hard work of its grassroots network of volunteers. In 2025 alone, it logged 45 victories at local, state and federal levels. Protecting beaches and coastlines. Improving water quality. Reducing plastic pollution.
In 2025 more than 23,000 Surfrider volunteers removed over 120,000 pounds of trash from beaches.
More than 40,000 native plants were installed across 22 acres of coastal dunes and mangrove forests.
Volunteers showed people how to plant Ocean Friendly Gardens that conserve water and reduce pesticide runoff that pollutes waterways.
Restaurants got on board, too, as certified Ocean Friendly Restaurants using sustainable, environmentally friendly ways to source, prepare and serve food.
Since its inception in 1984 by a group of Malibu surfers that wanted to clean their beach, the Surfrider Foundation has been working to safeguard its happy place – the ocean. Now, it's riding a wave of energy and support that's bigger than ever...with many more milestones to come!
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