Q: Why and when did you get involved with the Surfrider Foundation?
My first meeting was in 2012 when I first moved to Oahu from Germany! I think the first thing I noticed when I moved here was that there’s only one public trash can for everything and I am used to at least 3 compartments. Together with seeing all the plastic debris washed up on the shorelines you start asking yourself what the connection between the two is. I just felt this urge to learn more and do something, so a friend took me to a Surfrider Meeting and the rest is history.
Q: What are some local issues that are affecting your ocean, waves and beaches?
Our plastic covered beaches are a daily reminder that the waste system we believed in doesn’t exist. It’s heartbreaking to go snorkeling and run into turtles all wrapped up in fishing nets, walk on remote beaches and see all the micro and macro plastics that wash ashore from all over the world. The insane amount of single-use takeout containers used in Hawaii are contributing to the problem even more!
Q: What Surfrider projects have you worked on?
I started going to beach cleanups, building ocean friendly gardens, helping with the annual fundraiser, the John Kelly Awards, and now I am co-coordinating Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Restaurants program in Hawai’i and trying to ban plastic straws at University of Hawai’i at Manoa as the vice-chair of the Surfrider Club.
Q: What has been the highlight of your Surfrider experience (i.e., campaign, program, victory)?
If I would have to pick one, then it is probably the feeling of getting involved in civics and fighting together to pass a plastics bill or protect a special place. Thanks to the great team effort of so many environmental groups and supporters from all over, Maui and the Big Island banned polystyrene food containers last year. Oahu is still working on the ban of styrofoam, but this year we were the closest ever to pass the bill. Fingers crossed for next year!
Q: What is the most important thing you tell others about Surfrider?
Get involved! You might think you can’t change the world by yourself, but I think every little bit you do on a personal level to protect our precious ocean makes a BIG difference!
Q: Why are you a Surfrider coastal defender (or why is being a Surfrider coastal defender important to you)?
The ocean gives me so much joy and I promised to return the favor!