This is the Way
The Flow TripSurfers Working to protect and conserve the world's oceans
The age-old adage of no two waves being the same continues to ring true (except in the face of wave pools), but can we talk about how different each surf session is from one another? From wildlife to weather to one’s own emotions, each day in the water heralds vast differences. And in that, we are in the hands of Mother Nature, enjoying a sliver of the massive ecosystem where wind blows waves across vast stretches of ocean to deliver us to our joyous rides. As surfers, we have infinite responsibility to protect and preserve what we love most, and use our voices as shepherds of the sea.
The beauty of traveling the world to sample the fruits of surfing is that you meet such impassioned people who love nature and radiate knowledge and care for the sea. Focusing on three people on three very different missions, you start to see how the ocean brings us all together, and how our collective responsibility is necessary for a bright future.
Chad Neslen | CEO of The Surfrider Foundation
Dr. Chad Nelsen is the CEO of the Surfrider Foundation. He has worked with the organization for 28 years and been involved in hundreds of campaigns to protect our ocean, waves, and beaches.
Explain the mission of Surfrider and how it's grown since its inception.
The Surfrider Foundation’s mission is the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches, for all people, through a powerful activist network. Over the past 42 years, our reach has expanded from Southern California to across the entire country, including Alaska, Hawai'i, and Puerto Rico, with 250 chapters and student clubs.
In the beginning, we were really focused on surf spot protection, but now our mission has five key initiatives — clean water, reducing plastic pollution, addressing the impacts of climate change on our coasts, ocean protection, and ensuring full and fair beach access for all to enjoy.
What is the greatest challenge you face as an environmentalist and educator?
I think there are two primary challenges. One is fighting off industries that seek to exploit our ocean and coasts, whether it’s inappropriate coastal development or extractive industries like deep-sea mining and offshore oil drilling.
The other challenge is awakening and enlivening the public. With the constant deluge of bad headlines, it’s easy to feel defeated and become complacent. But the antidote to that feeling is connecting with community and engaging in collective action for a common cause. That’s where Surfrider shines — we have an amazing network of volunteers
and tens of thousands of activists in coastal communities across the country, but we would love to see more people get involved. For example: less than 2% of surfers are members of Surfrider. If we got that number to 10%, we would be a force to be reckoned with.
What is the most exciting thing you have learned along the way?
Solutions exist to all of the environmental challenges we face. We have the know-how to make sure pollution doesn't enter our waterways after it rains. We can clean up our wastewater infrastructure problems. There are nature-based solutions to coastal erosion driven by sea level rise and climate change. We can power the world with renewables instead of fossil fuels.
I think one of the things that is most exciting is that we can actually overcome the problems that we are facing, it's just a matter of creating enough urgency and public will.
Whats next for Surfrider?
Our biggest threat is defending our coasts from offshore drilling. Currently, the federal government is proposing to open up California, Alaska, and the Gulf to new offshore oil and gas exploration. We need to stop that and other extraction threats, like deep-sea mining, on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
On the flipside, we are doing some really innovative coastal adaptation work in places like Surfers Point in Ventura, San Onofre, and the Great Lakes. We are using nature-based solutions to rebuild beaches and make them healthier and more resilient. Protecting our ocean and beaches so the next generation has the same opportunity to enjoy these amazing natural resources will continue to be our guiding principle.
Titouan Bernicot | Founder & CEO of Coral Gardeners
Titouan Bernicot harnesses his youth and social media prowess to take the world by storm, showing how caring for such small, delicate pieces of the ecosystem is both a critical mindset and the most important step in ocean preservation. Beyond his organization’s principal mission is the inspiration he shares with the world.
Tell us about the mission of Coral Gardeners.
Coral Gardeners is the project of my dreams. I started planting corals in my backyard with a few island friends back in 2017, and today it’s grown into a global organization that blends science, tech, and culture, on a mission to revive coral reefs and revolutionize ocean conservation.
We want to give anyone the power to garden the ocean back to life. That starts with empowering the locals to restore their reefs in their own backyard, using advanced restoration methodology and tech that we’re developing through CG Labs to make our work faster, scalable, and accessible to more people. We’re also leveraging media to inspire millions and creating immersive experiences to create a movement and bring conservation into culture.
What has the growth and attention to the organization been like?
There’s been a lot of growth over the last nine years. Today, we’re 80 people working across three branches and we have planted over 220,000 corals. We’ve expanded our sites across French Polynesia, Thailand, and Fiji, and made some amazing connections and dream partnerships along the way. We’ve got 1 million people following the journey on Instagram, where it all started, got recognized by TIME100 and Forbes 30 Under 30, and even had "coral gardener" recognized as an official job by the President of French Polynesia.
We’re also lucky to have the support of ambassadors like Jason Momoa, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Sylvia Earle, as well as brand partners like Rolex, National Geographic, and Prada, all helping us to get the word out, grow the movement and the expansion of more gardens.
What are your future plans for the organization?
The plan is to expand globally, more corals, more gardeners, more locations. We’re already exploring new regions, like the Mediterranean, while refining our blueprint and methodology.
Growing more locations and gardens takes a lot of resources, so we’re working on exciting new projects and ways to scale faster, advance the science behind our work, and fund more nurseries and reef restoration around the world.
What is one thing everyone can do to help? And one thing everyone should understand about the ocean?
I think the most important thing to understand about the ocean is that everyone is connected to it, no matter where you live. Half the oxygen we breathe comes from it, it’s the reason we can live on this planet. So we need to take care of it, and give back.
One way to do that is by gardening to restore life and color to the ocean. You can support our efforts by adopting a coral on our website at coralgardeners.org, and you’ll get to follow the journey as it grows and helps revive the ocean.
Anna Ehrgott | Founder of Sagebrush Bags
Anna Ehrgott is the quintessential professional surfer, artist, mother, and adventurer who, along every step of the way, learns how to better herself and practice utmost mindfulness.
[sirf shot]
What came first, your interest in surfing or your care for the ocean and environment?
My love of the ocean. It gave me everything I ever dreamed of, which led to me wanting to pursue a reciprocal relationship and pursue any avenue of protecting the predominant surface of our planet.
As you evolved as a surfer, traveler, ambassador, and now mother, what have been the biggest changes you've noticed in the broader landscape?
Feeling more interconnected to people, the planet, etc. And also unapologetically chasing joy. I want my daughter to be surrounded by people who have found what they love in life and aren’t afraid to pursue passions and chase dreams. Myself included. I don’t think it’s selfish to have solo pursuits as a parent and also love sharing camping trips and beach days as a family. I think there’s a balance to be found in filling one’s cup and being able to spill over into others.
How have you strived to maintain your goals, stick to your values, and be conscious of the environment?
This can be tough as the most mainstream ways to make an income as a surfer involve promoting and selling products. Some of those are essential, like wetsuits and surfboards, but some definitely lean towards overconsumption. I personally try to limit my own footprint, utilize secondhand options, and support my community. Perfection scares people away from trying, but if we can all live 1 percent more sustainably or even regeneratively, between billions of people, it adds up. I vote with my dollar and opt to support local, organic, friends, and women whenever I have the option.
[bag shot]
What are the simple things we can do to help make our footprint smaller while keeping our dreams as big as yours?
I think grassroots and community support is overlooked and also some of the most important ways to help. Start with something you love and find ways to help, like planting trees, donating produce to crop swaps, teaching kids to surf, volunteering to do trail work, picking up litter off the beach. Even just learning about the birds or wildflowers in your area is an act of love that can’t help but trickle into protection.
Tim Silverwood | Cofounder of Take 3 for the Sea
Tim Silverwood is a man who took the concept of a beach cleanup and reduced it to a daily mantra, one that everyone should live by: Every time you visit a body of water, pick up and take away three pieces of trash. His message is a microtransaction in one’s day, and now has global reverberations.
[head shot]
How was the idea for Take 3 for the Sea born?
There are three people involved in the establishment of Take 3 for the Sea, and each of us had our own unique backstory. For me, it began with growing up in an environmentally conscious household in a beautiful part of Australia’s east coast. My connection to nature and the ocean as a surfer led me to study sustainability at both high school and university.
Then, in 2009, I spoke at an event where someone in the audience connected the dots and introduced me to Mandy and Roberta, who had already developed the idea of Take 3 - A Clean Beach Initiative. The concept was powerful: Encourage everyone to actively participate in addressing the problem by taking three pieces of rubbish whenever they leave a beach, waterway, or natural place. That simple action struck me as a powerful platform for bringing awareness to the emerging problem and empowering people to become part of the solution.
The three of us got straight to work. We officially launched the organization in 2010 with a strong focus on our local community on the Central Coast of New South Wales, and in particular the surfing community. Once Take 3 was established we began working closely with schools, local governments, and community organizations like surf clubs.
What is the greatest challenge you face as an environmentalist and educator?
There are many challenges that come with being an environmentalist and putting yourself forward to help address an issue as complex and deeply embedded as plastic pollution.
Much of it comes down to perseverance. You’re effectively dedicating yourself to solving problems that are so large and interconnected that they may never be fully resolved within your lifetime. If you’re not able to think pragmatically or see the bigger picture, that reality can become disheartening.
That view is fundamentally misaligned to our long term success on this planet. If we want a long and prosperous future for our species, we must recognize that we are only one species among millions. The biosphere that supports all life has limits. We absolutely can prosper, innovate and thrive, but not at the expense of the natural systems that sustain us. The longer we ignore that reality, the more we risk colliding with environmental limits that care little for short-term human ambitions. Being an educator and environmentalist isn’t for everyone. It can be challenging, frustrating and emotionally demanding. But for me, it’s exactly where I’m meant to be.
[bag sh0t]
What has been the most exciting thing you've learned along the way?
Being involved in the ocean conservation sector has been the single most exciting experience of my life. Growing up as a surfer, you naturally develop a personal relationship with the ocean, and the most extraordinary thing about this planet is the ocean. Without it, none of this is possible. The interconnectedness between what happens at sea and how it affects life on land should be front and center in society’s thinking. We simply must bring the ocean into the heart of our decision-making and our collective vision for the future.
I’ve been fortunate to witness the incredible diversity of communities and cultures around the world and the unique relationships they each have with the ocean. No matter where I travel, the ocean remains a constant source of inspiration, grounding, and perspective. For me, the ocean is both a muse and a teacher. I feel incredibly fortunate that my work is dedicated to protecting the thing I love most. And as an added bonus, I get to spend as much time in the ocean as possible along the way. After all, isn’t that just market research?
[plastic shot?]
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