Surfrider Foundation

Surfrider Foundation is an international organization, based in California, dedicated to the protection of our world’s oceans and beaches. With almost 70 chapters including 4 overseas, Surfrider works with local communities on local issues.

The Isla Vista Chapter

Isla Vista is a predominantly college student town perched on one mile of blufftop north of the UCSB campus in Goleta, CA. The IV Surfrider chapter is unique in its make-up in that it has nearly entirely college-aged participants. The chapter creates both a social network as well as a program in which young people can take personal responsibility for the environment they inhabit and make a difference in their unique local community.

Although we don't all surf, we all love the ocean and are dedicated to our local coastline. And although we do encourage people to become members of Surfrider National, there are no requirements to participate in our activities.

Concert for the Coast

The Concert for the Coast is an annual event put on by the Isla Vista Chapter of the Surfrider foundation. It is a free concert. The main goal of the event is to promote the education of our local and global aquatic resources. Each year, we highlight a local issue to educate the community.

The event consists of great live music, crafts, local merchandise, educational tables, new Belgium beer and prizes! We usually host several local bands in addition to some bigger, more known bands. We always have sponsors for the event who hook us up with prizes available through a raffle. New Belgium beer donates fat tire beer for the event, which we sell at the event. It is always a big success and all the money is donated.


Save Naples
In 2007, we focused on the preservation of Naples, a stretch of the Gaviota coast just a few miles north of UCSB which is threatened by a large planned development.

To learn more about Naples please visit http://www.savenaples.org/


Surf films

Isla Vista Surfrider foundation makes an effort to cater to the local surf culture by premiering and showing new surf films. The films are usually shown in Isla Vista Theater and preceded by live music. We usually suggest a donation of $2 to $3 to support the cost of the event and to raise money for future coastal related events and projects. We are always stoked for these films and the vibe can be felt inside the theater.
We recently premiered TRILOGY, a surf film by Taylor Steele. The turnout was awesome and we look forward to the next film.
Surf and fun trips

Isla Vista Surfrider loves to make trips to various destinations to surf, hike, kayak, enjoy the environment, and most of all enjoy one another's company. Trips are sometimes well planned out and sometimes spontaneous; it doesn't really matter because they are always fun! Popular destinations include: The Channel Islands, Big Sur, Baja, Jalama, and the mountains for some winter excitement, skiing or snowboarding!

Water Monitoring

When you venture into the water, will you get sick as a result? Closed beaches due to sewer spills and the appearance of beach health advisory warning signs due to pollution from urban runoff continue to be much more too frequent.

The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is the Surfrider Foundation’s water quality monitoring, education and advocacy program. It is utilized by our Chapters and members to alert citizens and officials in their communities about water quality problems and to work toward solutions. BWTF has demonstrated success by raising public awareness of coastal water pollution levels and precipitating the establishment of state and local government water quality monitoring programs in many communities where the program has been implemented.

Beach Clean-ups

Our local beaches are constantly being trashed. This garbage is both aesthetically unpleasant and harmful to the coastal wildlife. This project will feature several beach clean-ups and a county wide beach clean-up scheduled for May. This is an easy way to get involved and brings a lot of personal satisfaction.

The IV Surfrider chapter meets weekly at 8 pm Wednesday nights in the Graduate Student Lounge upstairs in the Multicultural Center (MCC) on campus at UCSB. The meetings are fun and informal, but that doesn't mean we don't get stuff done. We often have food and a guest speaker and discuss and plan upcoming events, projects and trips.