Local communities know their coasts better than any outside expert ever could. As climate change transforms our beaches more rapidly than ever before, lasting solutions should be shaped by working with the people who call these places home, and have the most at stake.
Resilient Coasts and Communities is Surfrider's large-scale nature-based coastal adaptation framework that centers community knowledge and values at the forefront of our coastal planning efforts. We're partnering with coastal communities, land managers, and local governments to co-create adaptation strategies that don't just react to climate impacts — they proactively reshape how we plan for and protect our shores for generations to come.
What Makes This Approach Different?
Traditional coastal planning often happens in isolation. Technical professionals and agencies develop solutions without meaningful input from those most affected.
We intend to flip the status quo.
Our Approach
Centers Lived Experience We recognize that community members hold invaluable knowledge about local coastal dynamics, cultural significance, and what truly matters. Their stories and experiences should inform projects.
Facilitates Durable Participation Beyond obscure check-the-box public meetings, we strive to create sustained engagement processes where community voices have ample opportunity to actively shape outcomes.
Uncovers Barriers Not everyone with a stake in our coasts has equal access to them or to planning processes. We actively seek out voices often left out to ensure coastal planning is fundamentally inclusive of all who are affected.
Adaptation at Scale
Resilient Coasts and Communities operates at a broad community scale. We connect local community leaders across Surfrider's nationwide network to share strategies, refine approaches, and build on each other's successes — ensuring that lessons learned in one place accelerate adaptation efforts elsewhere.
Places We’re Deeply Engaged
Surfers Point
Ventura, CA Complete!
A globally recognized model for managed shoreline retreat, Surfers Point in Ventura, CA, transformed a hazardously degraded shoreline by moving infrastructure inland and restoring dunes and habitat, proving that “managed retreat” can protect both waves and public access.
The San Onofre Shoreline Resilience Project addresses accelerating erosion threatening beach access, using coastal science and nature-based design to chart a more resilient path forward at one of California’s most iconic and heavily used state beaches.
The North Shore Coastal Resilience Working Group is a multi-stakeholder initiative advancing a coordinated approach and policy solutions to adapt to chronic erosion and shoreline change across Oʻahu’s North Shore, one of the most surf-rich and dynamic coastal environments in the world.
On the wild coast of Oregon, this innovative coastal resilience project focused on restoring natural creek and shoreline processes to reduce flooding and erosion risk while supporting habitat and long-term coastal function.
Other Active Resilient Coasts & Communities Priority Projects
San Diego Coastal Resilience Master Plan, San Diego, CA Los Angeles County Regional Coastal Strategic Adaptation Plan, Los Angeles, CA The Great Highway Project, San Francisco, CA
