Why did you join Surfrider?
My parents taught me a deep respect for the environment for as long as I can remember. When I started surfing it was a natural attraction to become a paid member of Surfrider. Then when Upham was destroyed and there was no group protesting the destruction I knew I had to get involved.
What are your favorite Surfrider activities?
Hands down protests, it’s empowering to let your voice be heard. A close second is action alerts; it feels great to write a local politician about an issue that’s important and get an actual personalized letter or email back. I’m not sure if many people realize that sometimes it really only takes a few letters/emails/phone calls to really make a difference.
What can you recommend to others on how to be more Ocean Friendly?
If you own a home adopt Ocean Friendly Landscaping. Surfrider has a good amount of resources to help show you how to implement changes that WILL affect the ocean. http://www.surfrider.org/ofg_cpr.asp Also on a local level IFAS has a great program that can help guide you http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/
Why should others get involved in Surfrider?
There are a lot of good organizations to get involved in, but the fact is if the ocean and beaches are let to go to hell the rest of the earth is screwed. Surfrider is driven by hard working volunteers, without the volunteers the organization would not exist.