Surfrider’s first-of-its-kind Love Your Beach Tour was an epic success! The San Diego to Humboldt County road trip saw incredible support across every stop — Imperial Beach, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Samoa Beach, Marin, San Francisco, Davis, and Sacramento.
The tour's goal was to visit cities in the Golden State to seek support for the Coastal Act, signed into law in 1976. Enforced by California’s Coastal Commission, the longstanding legislation ensures that Californians enjoy unimpeded beach access as well as a shoreline that is protected from harmful development. At each stop, the LYB distributed postcards and a digital action alert addressed to Governor Newsom, which Friends of the Ocean could sign to show support for this crucial law.
By the time we reached Sacramento, the LYB team had gathered 1500 signatures from advocates living across 100 different California districts! We then hand-delivered the signatures to assemblymembers and state senators on California Ocean Day, May 6.
Saturday, April 19
As it turns out, Southern Californians indeed love their beaches! The tour’s first stop with Surfrider San Diego in Imperial Beach couldn’t have been better. The historic San Diego beach has received a lot of attention in recent years and is the focal point of one of Surfrider’s most dedicated campaigns, Clean Border Water Now. As the state agency most responsible for the coast, California’s Coastal Commission has been a steadfast supporter of efforts to solve the sewage crisis.
Jennifer Jones Wilson is the Surfrider club mentor at High Tech High Chula Vista. As a twelfth-grade humanities teacher, she has firsthand experience seeing how healthy beaches impact the lives of her students.
“I’ve had students write about why it's important to have clean beaches for their college essays, Jones Wilson said. “The school’s Surfrider club has come up numerous times in their personal statements. They are already thinking about how they can make an impact on their communities. They can see things aren't quite right and that they can go and have a positive influence.”
Sunday, April 20
Following San Diego, the LYB crew headed up to Newport Beach for an Easter morning cleanup under clear blue skies. Rather than seeking plastic eggs, the North OC Chapter sought plastic pollution instead, and was quite successful! One particular highlight was meeting Kayden Brenna Tokarski, a young actress, who expressed her appreciation for Surfrider’s work and the Love Your Beach efforts in particular.
“If there are more people that are inspiring and encouraging others to come to the beach and help out, I think we can get more people to instigate change,” Tokarski said. “Change is important, and it doesn’t happen unless you use your voice. I think my generation might feel like we don’t have a voice or that we are naïve. But we’re not — we do have our power, and our power is our voice.”
Monday, April 21
Next, we made our way up to Los Angeles, where our L.A. chapter hosted a meet-and-greet event with California Coastal Commissioner Dayna Bochco at Blueys Kitchen in Mar Vista. (Highly recommend the lavender latte!) Later that afternoon, we headed to UCLA where we spent a few hours tabling with the university’s student club. Dozens of passing students stopped to read our posters and stayed to sign postcards. For some, this was their first political action ever!
Bella Vargas, President of Surfrider UCLA Club, was impressed by the day’s turnout. She was not surprised that students wanted to sign postcards because since January 20th, there has been a growing interest from students about joining.
“It’s been interesting to see how the club has changed since President Trump was elected,” Vargas said. “We received a lot of messages on our Instagram from students asking about how they can get more involved. People, especially students, have felt helpless in seeing these big news headlines about what the administration is doing on our coasts and in our waters. Because of that, there’s been a lot more passion around activism on campus.”
Surfrider Los Angeles and Dayna Bocho at Blueys Mar Vista
Tuesday, April 22
From L.A., we wound our way up Pacific Coast Highway to Ventura, where we met up with Surfrider’s Ventura County Campaign Coordinator Paul Jenkin for a walking tour of Surfers’ Point, an incredible example of what coastal restoration can look like. Despite the gray sky and stiff breeze, nearly 40 people turned out for the tour and to sign postcards at our tabling station. Afterwards, we set up at Topa Topa, a nearby brewery and longtime Surfrider supporter, where members of the crowd took a break from line dancing to speak up in support of coastal access!
Paul Jenkin discusses Surfers’ Point Phase 2 (tap photo above for more info).
Wednesday, April 23
After Ventura, we continued to Santa Barbara for an event with one of Surfrider’s longest-running student clubs, UCSB's Isla Vista Surfrider. True to form, they filled a room on campus and gave us the chance to present on the Coastal Act and the threats to it and the Coastal Commission. Then, they took action in real time — we left with more than 100 new postcards and another 62 signatures on our petition to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Photo: Arianna Meei at Daily Nexus
Friday, April 25
We kicked off the weekend at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, for the Make Waves Film Festival, an annual event organized by the school’s Surfrider Student Club. It was golden hour when the LYB crew arrived at the Plant Conservatory, and the film festival’s setting couldn’t have been more picturesque. Not only were student films slated to be shown, but there were also local organizations, vendors, and musical talent present as well.
Saturday, April 26
We started the day at dawn with the goal of getting to Santa Cruz by 10 am for the annual Big Stick Surfing Association LogJam! contest. Perfect conditions awaited as we pulled up to Pleasure Point — the swell direction, minimal wind, and sunny sky was ideal for competitors, who were following the contest’s only rules of riding vintage boards without a leash.
Despite the beautiful start, as the morning progressed the clouds arrived, bringing with them some light pockets of rain. However, that did not deter attendees from visiting with Surfrider’s Santa Cruz Chapter and LYB crew. Among those were one of Surfrider Foundation's co-founders, Dan Young, and the first female professional surfer, Margo Oberg.
To Oberg, public beaches are “the center of the universe; the most important thing in the world.” As a child, surfing was a tool for her and her friends to calm themselves, which kept them out of trouble. Even back then, she did her part to conserve the natural spaces she enjoyed.
“Sports, surfing being one of them, are the best thing in the entire world,” Oberg said. “Eventually you get your own style of surfing — dancing on the waves — and you meet a lot of good friends. We used to pick up seashells, and trash, and just take care of the beach because it was our playground.”
California Policy Associate Director Jennifer Savage and Sr. Student Club Network Coordinator Carolyn Curtin pose with the world's first professional female surfer, Margo Oberg.
Young remembers well when the Coastal Act was passed in 1976. Since then, he’s seen how important it is to Californians, who are all entitled to free, public beach access. He recalled one of many instances when Surfrider fought for access in Malibu:
“People have always wanted to close off the coast to everybody,” Young said. “Surfrider had a big fight with the film producer David Geffen. There was public access to the beach near his house, and he closed it off. That fight proved that someone might have millions of dollars, but they can still lose when it comes to trying to privatize a beach.”
Sunday, April 27
After an early-morning, blustery surf at Gazos Creek State Beach, we continued up to Half Moon Bay. There, the LYB crew linked with Sufrider’s San Mateo Chapter, who was hosting a beach cleanup at Poplar Beach. Despite the strong, chilly winds, there was an epic turnout. Not only that, but local band Frankie and the Pool Boys filled the air with classic surf rock.
Renowned editor, author, and Half Moon Bay resident Steve Hawk was present to show his support for the Coastal Act, which he feels is “the most important piece of coastal protection legislation ever passed in America.” As a surfer and environmentalist, he is grateful that the Coastal Commission is around to ensure equitable access to California’s beaches.
“I think that the Coastal Commission has, in this age of rampant deregulation and anti-government sentiment, gotten a bad rap,” Hawk said. “The Coastal Act has saved miles and miles of coastline and kept beaches open for the public in ways that never would have happened otherwise.”
Thursday, May 1
As the sun descended, so too did the temperature as the clouds rolled over Samoa Beach, just across from Humboldt Bay. Despite the windchill, we had a great turnout, with many Eureka and Arcata residents arriving to show their support for coastal access. As a thank you, we provided warm veggie burritos to keep everyone nourished during this fight to preserve our rights.
Peri Escarda did her part to attract attendees with her ingenious signage. Having lived in the community for her entire life, as well as having raised her family there, her wish is that future generations can enjoy the same privileges she did. Not only that, she was excited to see the youth writing postcards to their elected representatives.
“It's very important that everybody has access to the beach because I got to do that as a child,” Escarda said. “My kids got to do that, and I want my grandbabies to be able to do it too. Young people are so fired up these days to make change, and they are really leading the way for the rest of us. The beach is for young people, old people, everybody.”
Saturday, May 3
After spending Friday driving, we were excited to meet the folks at Proof Lab in Mill Valley to kick off the weekend. Not only is Proof Lab an epic surf shop, but they share a parking lot with Equator Coffee and Hook Fish, one of Marin’s (and Ocean Beach’s) best seafood spots.
Caryl Hart, who serves on the Coastal Commission, notes that Surfrider’s advocacy for legislation such as the Coastal Act has been crucial for protecting California’s coast and beaches.
“Without the Coastal Act creating the Coastal Commission and its partnership with Surfrider, public access — and the protection of — our coast would be completely different than it is today,” Hart said. “We are so lucky to have the support of Surfrider as well as the laws that protect what is so meaningful both to the public as well as to the economy of California.”
Sunday, May 4
The following morning, the Love Your Beach crew collaborated with Surfrider San Francisco, who was hosting a beach cleanup at Ocean Beach. Although it was a typically blustery morning, volunteers turned out once again with the majority of attendees signing postcards before hitting the beach to pick up trash.
Local resident Bob Battalio is a professional engineer with 30 years of experience in coastal ecology restoration, flood and erosion hazards, and sea level rise resilience and adaptation planning. Along with Chase Davenport, a research fellow at UC Santa Cruz, member of Surfrider’s San Francisco Chapter, and founder of Ocean Beach Institute, the pair led a walking tour of the Ocean Beach dunes. According to Davenport, he noticed that attendees were curious about what is happening at their local beach and how they can get involved to protect it.
“The importance of an organization like Surfrider is that they know how to take the questions and the needs of people in the community and channel them towards making a concrete difference,” Davenport said. “I think that is what we are trying to do here today; we are figuring out the community’s needs and supporting them in getting those messages to decision makers.”
Bob Battalio and Chase Davenport by Guru.Foto
Dr. Kate Huckelbridge, executive director of the Coastal Commission, was inspired by the community coming together for the greater cause of protecting their local beach.
“We are here because people value their beaches and want them to stick around,” Huckelbridge said. “It's a hard time at the moment and I think we all need to find ways that we can be proactive, speak out, and protect the things that we love and care about. The Love Your Beach tour is a great way to do something, to act.”
Monday, May 5
After a busy weekend, we made our way inland for a morning of tabling with UC Davis’ Student Club. Despite being located nearly 80 miles from the coast, the club has a robust following. We set up on campus and engaged with a wide variety of students and professors, all who were eager to take action to protect their coastlines. Of the advocates that stopped by, we heard many personal stories about their connection to the ocean.
From left to right: UC Davis students, California Policy Associate Director Jen Savage, UC Davis Surfrider Student Club President Dara Farnoush, and Sr. Student Club Coordinator Carolyn Curtin.
Tuesday, May 6
The next morning, everyone was in good spirits as we made our way towards the Capitol building for California Ocean Day. The morning started with a meet-and-greet, followed by a press conference. Then, our team jumped into legislative meetings with lawmakers. At our annual Ocean Day Beach Party lunch – hilariously in the Cactus Garden – we got some last-minute signatures. After adding those to our organized stacks, we were ready to hand-deliver to legislators.
Jenese Girgis, Program Coordinator at Surfrider Los Angeles, was super excited to attend California Ocean Day for the first time. She felt grateful to have the opportunity to speak with legislators, who often don’t feel accessible on a day-to-day basis.
“Assemblymembers want to hear from us,” Girgis said. “It’s their job to listen to the citizens of California, so it’s really nice that they gave us their time to learn what we are passionate about. Ocean Day is a great opportunity to have dialogue with these people who feel removed from your everyday life.”
At the completion of the Love Your Beach tour, we gathered 1,500 signatures across 100 legislative districts! We want to give a huge shout out to the chapters and student clubs that we collaborated with along the way. Not only that, we are indebted to YOU, as Friends of the Ocean, for coming out to support public beach access and protecting California’s coast.
One of dozens of offices we visited to hand-deliver postcards to assemblymembers and state senators!
There is still time to take action! Please sign our petition to Governor Newsom to let him know you care about California’s Coastal Act and the beaches it protects