Stoked to protect Washington's ocean, waves, and beaches, for all people!
Earth Month is upon us!
It's Earth Month, and you know what that means - an excess of environmentally themed events and cleanups and all manner of tree-hugging, wave-loving activities! As we head into Earth Day, let's take a moment and celebrate everything chapters, volunteers, and partners have already accomplished this year - from launching new chapters and programs, to meetings with state and federal leaders to advocate for clean water and healthy beaches for all, to collaborating on ways to make our coastal communities more resilience to climate change. It's been a busy few months, and we're just getting started!
~ Liz Schotman, Washington Regional Manager
Pete Steelquist, Washington Policy Manager
Washington Coastal Cleanup Day draws nigh!
Every year, chapters across the state participate in Washington Coastal Cleanup Day, our annual coastwide cleanup event that coincides with Earth Day (well, the weekend closest to Earth Day). Wasington Chapters are hosting 7 cleanups across the region, and our amazing partners at Washington Coastavers are helping coordinate cleanups all up and down the outer coast and Olympic Peninsula, led by local organizations and groups dedicated to keeping their beaches beautiful. Click on the button below to see when and where each chapter's cleanups are!
Way back in 2022, Surfrider Foundation published our new strategic plan that lays out a pathway for our organization to make a quantum leap to protect our coasts. A critical part of that strategic plan is to grow our network (currently ~200 chapters and student clubs) to over 120 Chapters and 400 Clubs. We are stoked here in Washington to be leading the charge with the addition of the Grays Harbor Chapter! Currently based out of Ocean Shores, the chapter plans to expand to the greater Grays Harbor area, including Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Westport in the coming years. Right now, their focus is on plastic pollution - raising awareness through outreach and education, hosting beach cleanups, and getting an Ocean Friendly Restaurants Program up and running.
Fun fact: Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the continental US combined! Over 6000 miles of it - that number jumps to well over 30,000 if you include the 2600+ islands. Needless to say, it just seems right that Surfrider establishes a presence along the rugged, untamed shores of The Last Frontier. Enter: The Kenai Peninsula Chapter! The KPC got its origins when Marcy Melville, former event coordinator for the Seattle Chapter, moved back to Homer two summers ago. Since then, she's been busy laying the groundwork for Surfrider Alaska to come into being, and that work's paid off - the KPC has been busy this winter! Not only have they hosted multiple local film screenings and chapter get-togethers, and have already completed seven beach cleanups and counting, but they've signed up the first-ever Alaskan Ocean Friendly Restaurant, the Honey Bistro, and just completed the first-ever Alaska Coastal Recreation Hill Days!
Speaking of Coastal Recreation Hill Days, this year's federal advocacy effort was a huge success! Every year, volunteers and ocean advocates from across the country participate in Surfrider’s Coastal Recreation Hill Days. This year our fly-in was virtual in order to reduce our fossil fuel use, cut down on costs, and make it easier and more accessible to participants. Apparently, it worked, as this was the highest ever attended Hill Days - in just two days, 163 attendees from 68 Surfrider chapters and clubs hosted 142 Congressional meetings to demand action to fight plastic pollution, protect clean water, and address climate change.
The fight to pass Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Washington will continue into next year as our two bills didn't survive despite strong leadership from Rep. Liz Berry (LD 36), the bill's prime sponsor, and incredible support from the Plastic Free WA / WA Sin Plástico Coalition's network of grassroots activists. That activism included a hugely successful Lobby Days that involved speakers, a march on the Capital, and dozens of meetings that brought concerned citizens and students together with their Representatives and Senators to advocate for plastic reduction policy. Although we're bummed the bills didn't pass this year, we made solid progress and are well-positioned to push this important policy through in 2025!
The climate continues to warm, the seas continue to rise, and storms are growing in frequency and severity. Managing these threats is complex - between the confusing mosaic of land ownership, multi-agency permitting, local priorities and values, socioeconomic landscapes, data availability, access to accurate oceanographic forecasting, and more, it takes a proactive and collaborative approach to address these issues on a regional scale. That is why the Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub (CoPes Hub) recently convened a two-day workshop in Astoria focused on Navigating Coastal Hazards in the PNW. I recently had the privilege of attending this workshop, and it was jam-packed with the latest science and research as well as numerous opportunities to brainstorm with researchers, agencies, and decision-makers to prioritize future research, funding, and solutions going forward.
Everyone loves a good origin story. The history of Surfrider Foundation is a great example of local activists working to protect the places they love, as well as the power of grassroots to tackle important issues and grow into large movements with big impacts. We're in the process of documenting the history of Surfrider here in Washington and we need your help. If you've got some anecdotes, tall tales, myths, or legends, please send them to us! To share your stories about our early days, chapter formation, rad retro photos, and more, please fill out this short survey. Shout out to everyone who's already shared some choice anecdotes and incredible grainy photos!