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Audrey Gregg With the Cal Poly Student Club hiking in the jungle

10.23.24

Activist Spotlight: Audrey Gregg With the Cal Poly SLO Student Club

Q: How and when did your Student Club form?
Our student club was founded at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2016, but it truly came to life in 2018 under the leadership of Marissa Miller, past president of Cal Poly Surfrider and a passionate ocean conservationist. Marissa brought together a dedicated group of students, establishing a strong leadership team and cultivating an engaged membership base. With the ocean so close and a shared love for the outdoors, the Cal Poly community has provided the perfect environment for our Surfrider student club to thrive.

Q: Why did you want to start or join a Surfrider Student Club?
I wanted to join the Cal Poly Surfrider Club because I was a new freshman who was looking for an environmentally-conscious, outdoor-loving community. Cal Poly Surfrider caught my eye at our campus club showcase, where the students at the booth were incredibly welcoming and enthusiastic. I soon learned that Surfrider was a national organization dedicated to protecting something I love so dearly - the ocean. 

Audrey Gregg With the Cal Poly Student Club holding a Surfrider sign up

Q: What are some environmental issues that are affecting your local community?
San Luis Obispo is one of the most special places I’ve lived. The biodiversity in the surrounding areas and proximity to the ocean makes it idyllic. However, in recent years, SLO has suffered from the effects of climate change such as intense winter storms and flooding. Another result of climate change in SLO County is extreme heat, drought, and ultimately fires that are fueled by the dry, rolling hills. San Luis Obispo, being a gem of the Central Coast, is a relatively environmentally conscious area that takes many strides to protect the land.  

Q: What Surfrider projects has your club worked on?
At Cal Poly SLO, our club has been focused on student involvement and connection largely through our beach cleanups. Bouncing around the Central Coast, we coordinate fun pancake making and surf mornings before our cleanups to create more relaxed environments to just hang and enjoy.

This past school year we have branched out to collaborate with Cal Poly Garden Club to encourage Ocean Friendly Garden practices at work days. Our Education Team has made successful efforts to connect SLO’s Girl Scout troop with our college students at beach cleanup collabs. Our Ocean Friendly Restaurants team have continued to partner with local businesses on the coast to get their yearly certifications. It’s been a good year of growth centered around such a strong and welcoming community.  

Audrey Gregg With the Cal Poly Student Club wearing a wetsuit, sitting on the beach with a dog and surfboard

Q: Are there any projects that your club has worked on that benefited your community?
Our biggest event of the year is called Make Waves Film Festival that we host every year during Earth Week. This special night gathers students, the SLO community, and local artists who want to display their passion for sustainability, the ocean, and outdoors. We had a beautiful range of art displays from sustainable jewelry to outdoor photography prints.

This year's festival was different from the rest, because we dedicated it to our dear friend and fellow core team member, Kenneth Taylor, who suddenly passed away earlier in the spring. Driven by immense amounts of love and grief for our friend, the community came together that night to hold each other up and raise $1800 to donate to the Big Sur Land Trust, a place that Kenneth loved dearly. This Make Waves will forever be one of the most special things I have ever been a part of, and I am grateful we could honor Kenneth in such a meaningful way. 

Q: What has been the highlight of your club's Surfrider experience?
I feel incredibly fortunate to have so many meaningful experiences to share, all centered around the theme of community. When I joined Cal Poly Surfrider, I was eager to find a group of like-minded individuals, and hopefully make new friends. What I found was even more than I had hoped for; I gained what we call our “Surfrider Family.” It sounds cheesy, but it's true!

One of the standout moments during my time as co-president, alongside my amazing co-president Kelsey Byrne, was our Make Waves Film Festival. That night we brought together multiple communities that our friend Kenneth had been a part of. Kenneth's deep passion for the outdoors was evident in the turnout - surfers, climbers, mountaineers, and environmentalists all came together in his honor. It was truly a special night.

My personal highlight of being a part of Surfrider has been attending INC-4, the fourth session of the development of a treaty, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme. In April 2024, I was given the incredible opportunity to be a student representative and witness the progress towards the agreement of a legally binding plastic pollution policy in Ottawa, Canada. Seeing Surfrider's impact on an international stage and witnessing global efforts to tackle plastic pollution was both inspiring and empowering.

Audrey-Gregg-2

Q: Do you have any personal experiences or campaigns/issues that your club is passionate about where the social justice and environmental movements have intersected? 
With the guidance of Cal Poly SLO professor Dr. Lydia Herbling, our Surfrider club has deepened its understanding of the powerful connection between social justice and environmental movements, particularly through the lens of Indigenous rights.

One campaign we are especially passionate about is supporting the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region (YTT Tribe). This work involves raising awareness within our club and the broader community about the tribe's efforts to reclaim their ancestral homelands at Diablo Canyon. Our club has focused on amplifying this movement, emphasizing the importance of recognizing Indigenous knowledge and rights in the fight for a more just and sustainable future.

To read more on how to support the YTT Tribe, click here!
 
Q: What is the most important thing you tell others about Surfrider?
The most important thing I share about Surfrider is how incredibly welcoming, passionate, and grounded the community is, both in San Luis Obispo and beyond. What stands out most is how our shared love for the ocean brings together people who genuinely care for both the planet and each other. It’s a community united by a deep commitment to environmental stewardship and a strong sense of camaraderie.

Q: Why is being a part of the Surfrider ocean conservation community important to your club?
Being part of the Surfrider ocean conservation community is crucial to our club because it aligns perfectly with the values and passions of the San Luis Obispo community. We are fortunate to live in an area where outdoor activities like surfing, exploring tide pools, hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing are part of our daily lives amidst pristine natural beauty. Surfrider’s mission to actively protect and care for our oceans and outdoor spaces resonates deeply with this local sense of pride and commitment. It allows us to actively contribute to preserving the very environment we cherish and enjoy.

Audrey Gregg With the Cal Poly Student Club looking at a map while hiking