Summer’s here, and it’s beach time! Surfrider chapters are staying active, and we’re happy to highlight their great efforts. July 1 through August 31 is the Chapter Membership Drive with great prizes for chapters that recruit the most new and returning members. Membership levels start with a $5 donation, so choose your local or favorite chapter to support during the drive.
The Humboldt Chapter celebrated World Ocean Day and World Ocean Month by getting out in their community at the Eureka Friday Night Markets, rallying a crew for an International Surfing Day beach cleanup, and building excitement for a community event with Catherine Breed at one of her first stops along her 900 mile swim down the coast of California!
The Marin Chapter held their annual Surfworks camp to introduce surfing to kids who might not otherwise get the chance. During the 4 day program, kids from the San Geronimo Valley Community Center, Hamilton School, and Bolinas all came together for some surf, stoke, and community connection.
The San Francisco Chapter continued their regular beach cleanups and water quality monitoring to keep their community clean and informed, led a dune restoration workday with San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department to protect the newly planted native dune grass at Ocean Beach, and supported the 4th Annual Queer Surf Switch Exhibition which brought queer, trans, and non-binary surfers together for a community celebration and good waves in Pacifica, CA.
The San Mateo County Chapter was busy in their community; they teamed up with the Pacific Beach Coalition to hold a beach cleanup on International Surfing Day, tabled at the Kahuna Kapuna surf contest, and were out at the beaches conducting their weekly water quality testing so people could decide where to get in the water each summer weekend!
The Santa Cruz Chapter welcomed 56 people for an engaging conversation about the future of coastal resilience and the power of nature-based solutions with Professor Michael Beck as part of their Education Speaker Series! Blue Water Task Force co-leads Mike Zatzke and Tico Andrea were featured in the national Surfrider Activist Spotlight for their great work with the chapter!
The Monterey Chapter was busy in June with another installment of their Salty Speaker Series, a Lover’s Point beach cleanup for International Surfing Day, and a Blue Beers bingo night social event. Check out their June chapter updates blog (!!) for all of the details.
The Santa Barbara Chapter hosted a fun and productive beach cleanup at East Beach. Volunteers picked up a surprising 132 pounds of litter. The chapter established a beach cleanup schedule for every other month on the first Saturday at East Beach from 9-11am. They also have a new volunteer interest form and encourage new people to get involved with the chapter.
The Ventura Chapter stayed active in June with their three monthly beach cleanups, a dune restoration event, and working on a Blue Water Task Force project to survey and bio-assess the Ventura River at recreational sites for benthic algae growing in the river that might release cyanotoxins that under certain conditions might cause freshwater waterborne illness.
Paul Jenkin, Ventura Campaign Coordinator for Surfrider, and Jeff Palmer, staff to Supervisor Matt LaVere, led a group of 45 people to tour Matilija Dam. They were joined by representatives from the Matilija Coalition and the local Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians. Paul and Jeff talked about the past, present, and future of the dam and the challenges facing the removal, slated for 2035. Check out the chapter June recap blog (!!) for all of the details.
The LA Chapter joined with partner organizations to mark International Surfing Day with a Paddle Out to Protect the Coast. The Southern California Coast is under threat from the Trump administration's plans to expand offshore drilling, and people are standing up and paddling out to show their opposition to offshore drilling.
The South Bay Chapter celebrated Pride Month with a beach cleanup in collaboration with the South Bay LGBTQ Center and the City of Hermosa Beach Mayor Detoy.
The Long Beach & North Orange County Chapters hosted a collaborative beach day in honor of International Surfing Day. Chapter members gathered at Bolsa Chica State Beach to enjoy good food, good company, and the beautiful beach they work so hard to protect.
The South Orange County Chapter celebrated World Ocean Day with an Ocean Protection-themed Chapter Meeting featuring a presentation from the founder of Entangled Whale Response Orange County. They also hosted the second San O Community Assembly, where members of the public got a first look at real design concepts for Surf Beach and got to weigh in on what they want the future of San O to look like.
By Bill Hickman
As Surfrider's Central California Regional Manager, Bill helps chapters tackle pollution issues that are affecting the marine environment. Before covering the area between Ventura and Santa Cruz, he worked with the San Diego Chapter for five years.