Surfrider’s first-of-its-kind Love Your Beach Tour is well underway! The San Diego to Humboldt County road trip has seen incredible support from the first five stops — Imperial Beach, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara.
The premise is simple: Visit coastal communities in the Golden State to seek support for the Coastal Act, signed into law in 1976. Enforced by California’s Coastal Commission, the longstanding legislation ensures that Californians enjoy unimpeded beach access as well as a shoreline that is protected from harmful development. At each stop, the LYB team connects with the community and distributes postcards which, when signed, will be submitted by hand to state legislators in Sacramento on California Ocean Day, May 6.
Saturday, April 19
As it turns out, Southern Californians indeed love their beaches! The tour’s first stop with Surfrider San Diego in Imperial Beach couldn’t have been better. The historic San Diego beach has received a lot of attention in recent years and is the focal point of one of Surfrider’s most dedicated campaigns, Clean Border Water Now. As the state agency most responsible for the coast, California’s Coastal Commission has been a steadfast supporter of efforts to solve the sewage crisis.
Jennifer Jones Wilson is the Surfrider club mentor at High Tech High Chula Vista. As a twelfth-grade humanities teacher, she has firsthand experience seeing how healthy beaches impact the lives of her students.
“I’ve had students write about why it's important to have clean beaches for their college essays, Jones Wilson said. “The school’s Surfrider club has come up numerous times in their personal statements. They are already thinking about how they can make an impact on their communities. They can see things aren't quite right and that they can go and have a positive influence.”
Sunday, April 20
Following San Diego, the LYB crew headed up to Newport Beach for an Easter morning cleanup under clear blue skies. However, rather than seeking plastic eggs, the North OC Chapter kicked off the morning with a well-attended beach cleanup. One particular highlight was meeting Kayden Brenna Tokarski, a young actress, who expressed her appreciation for Surfrider’s work and the Love Your Beach efforts in particular.
“If there are more people that are inspiring and encouraging others to come to the beach and help out, I think we can get more people to instigate change,” Tokarski said. “Change is important, and it doesn’t happen unless you use your voice. I think my generation might feel like we don’t have a voice or that we are naïve. But we’re not — we do have our power, and our power is our voice.”
Monday, April 21
Next, we made our way up to Los Angeles, where our L.A. chapter hosted a meet-and-greet event with California Coastal Commissioner Dayna Bochco at Blueys Kitchen in Mar Vista. (Highly recommend the lavender latte!) Later that afternoon, we headed to UCLA where we spent a few hours tabling with the university’s student club. Dozens of passing students stopped to read our posters and stayed to sign postcards. For some, this was their first political action ever!
Bella Vargas, President of Surfrider UCLA Club, was impressed by the day’s turnout. She was not surprised that students wanted to sign postcards because since January 20th, there has been a growing interest from students about joining the student club.
“It’s been interesting to see how the club has changed since Trump was elected,” Vargas said. “We received a lot of messages on our Instagram from students asking about how they can get more involved. People, especially students, have felt helpless in seeing these big news headlines about what the administration is doing on our coasts and in our waters. Because of that, there’s been a lot more passion around activism on campus.”
Surfrider Los Angeles and Dayna Bocho at Blueys Mar Vista
Tuesday, April 22
From L.A., we wound our way up Pacific Coast Highway to Ventura, where we met up with Surfrider’s Ventura County Campaign Coordinator Paul Jenkin for a walking tour of Surfers’ Point, an incredible example of what coastal restoration can look like. Despite the gray sky and stiff breeze, nearly 40 people turned out for the tour and to sign postcards at our tabling station. Afterwards, we set up at Topa Topa, a nearby brewery and longtime Surfrider supporter, where members of the crowd took a break from line dancing to speak up in support of coastal access!
Ventura resident Brian Reilly thoroughly enjoyed the walking tour and listening to Jenkin speak. As someone that has followed Surfers’ Point’s progress for decades, he knows how important the Coastal Act is when it comes to preventing poorly-planned development projects.
“Think about it — we live on the edge of a continent,” Reilly said. “How unique is that? The beach and the coast bring so much joy and entertainment to so many people on so many different levels. You don't have to be a surfer to enjoy the beach. Protecting it is a cause worth fighting for.”
Paul Jenkin discusses Surfers’ Point Phase 2
Wednesday, April 23
The final stop on the SoCal portion of Love Your Beach brought us to Santa Barbara for an event with Surfrider UCSB Club, one of Surfrider’s longest-running student clubs. True to form, they filled a room on campus and gave us the chance to present on the Coastal Act and the threats to it and the Coastal Commission. Then, they took action in real time — we left with more than 100 new postcards and another 62 signatures on our petition to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Luisa Hegewald is an Environmental Studies major that feels lucky to have her circle of friends that are equally passionate about protecting the environment. That support, from the larger Surfrider network as well, makes her feel like her voice matters.
“It’s nice that Surfrider staff came to us — it makes us feel like we are part of something a lot bigger,” Hegewald said. “Forming these communities is the best way to feel like you have a voice; it’s because I have these like-minded people with me,” she said.
Photo: Arianna Meei at Daily Nexus
At time of writing, we’ve acquired nearly 500 postcards and we still have nine more stops to go. We will continue to provide daily updates on our @Surfrider_California Instagram and here on the blog. If you live near one of our future stops, please come out to say hello and show your support!
If you can’t make it, but still want to take action, please sign our petition to Governor Newsom to let him know you care about California’s Coastal Act and the beaches it protects. And to support the tour directly, please donate here.