www.surfridersd.org
Organization Type:
Non-Profit
Mission:
The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education.
Surfrider Principles
Represented by 25,000 members and 45 local chapters in the U.S., the Surfrider Foundation also has affiliations in Australia, Japan, France, and Brazil. The Surfrider Foundation has adopted the following principles to guide and govern the activities of the organization.
- SURFRIDER recognizes the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the planet’s coasts are necessary and irreplaceable. SUFRIDER is committed to preserving natural living and non-living diversity and ecological integrity of the coastal environment.
- SURFRIDER promotes the right of low-impact, free and open access to the world’s waves and beaches for all people. SURFRIDER acts to preserve this right of access.
- SURFRIDER is dedicated to enhancing wave-riding opportunities in ways which will not adversely impact nearshore ecosystems.
- SURFRIDER believes environmental education is essential to the future health and well-being of the planet. SURFRIDER seeks to develop and utilize educational materials that are informative, factual, proactive, synergistic and fun.
- SURFRIDER strives to be accurate and nonpartisan in its communications with its members and the general public. In-addition, SURFRIDER will express the unique values inherent in wave-riding - individualism, camaraderie, non materialism, and an appreciation for human kind’s historic relations with the Ocean.
- SURFRIDER is a grassroots organization effective through the participation of its members. SURFRIDER activities emphasize the value of an involved membership.
- SURFRIDER encourages all commercial enterprises to adopt the Valdez Principles. Their determination to do so will favorably influence SURFRIDER’s willingness to provide support. SURFRIDER will not permit sponsors to divert the Foundation from its mission or projects undertaken.
- SURFRIDER does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin for any reason. SURFRIDER promotes the healthy enjoyment of the coastal environment for all people.
- SURFRIDER and its representatives, affiliations and chapters agree to abide by these principles and all rules and regulations governing non-profit organizations.
Contact:
Bill Hickman, Chapter Coordinator
Scott Harrison, Chair
San Diego Surfrider Foundation
P.O. Box 1511
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Phone: (858) 792-9940
Fax: (858) 755-5627
info@surfridersd.org
Geographical Focus:
Local
Counties Served:
San Diego
Activities:
Research, Education, Advocacy, Policy, Conservation, Restoration, Regulation, Water Monitoring, Water Pollution Prevention
Topic:
Wetlands, Beaches, Rocky Intertidal, Wildlife, Watershed Hydrology, Habitat Restoration, Endangered Species, Water Quality/Storm Water Runoff, Bay & Estuary Habitats
Educational Resources:
Curriculum, Activity/Learning Kit, Outreach Programs, Website, Speaker/Lecture Series
Education Programs:
Our presentations include:
Kids for Clean Water (Elementary Level)
This is a hands-on presentation that educates elementary-age children about the effects trash has on marine life. They will learn about storm drains and the effects that pollution has on animals in the ocean. They will learn ways of preventing this, and that their actions can make a difference.
Pollution Solutions (Junior High-High School Level)
This presentation allows active participation from the students, and teaches the differences between point source and nonpoint source pollution. Students will learn ways to minimize urban run-off and other types of pollution, and how to be part of the solution.
Keepers of the Coast (High School-Adult Level)
This presentation includes a 30-minute video that educates viewers on the water cycle, beach erosion, urban run-off, and specific projects that Surfrider has done and is doing worldwide. This is a great introduction to Surfrider.
All presentations run about 50 minutes, but can be modified to fit your needs. Remember that we are an all-volunteer organization, so the earlier you send us your request, the easier it will be for us to accommodate your needs.
Target Audiences:
K-12, Adult, Teacher, Non-Formal Educator, General Public
Other Languages:
Spanish: Our presentations can be directed towards any size group if given notice ahead of time. Please note that we come to you; we do not have facilities that can accommodate groups of people.
Volunteer Opportunities
We are an all-volunteer organization, so there are many different ways individuals, families or community groups can get involved locally.
One of the best ways to get involved is to attend our monthly chapter meeting. These meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month at 7pm in Forum Hall, a meeting room above the Wells Fargo Bank in the UTC shopping center parking lot. Everyone is welcome and we love to see new faces there! If you have more questions, or want to get involved before our next meeting, volunteers can contact us at info@surfridersd.org or call (858) 792-9940.
We Need Volunteers to Help With:
Informational Booth Staffing:
Help us staff our booth at special events and outdoor fairs. Educate the public about environmental problems and solutions and help distribute information.
Beach Cleanups:
Assist with our bi-monthly beach cleanups on the fourth Sunday of each month. Every month we choose a different beach or street to cleanup. Volunteers are always needed at these events, and it is a good event for families too. If you would like to coordinate a clean-up at your favorite beach, or just come out and help at one that is already planned that would be great!!
Administrative Assistant:
Provide office support by answering phones, working on our database, filing and doing a variety of office tasks.
Graphic Design:
We need volunteers to help us with our newsletter layout and creating new brochures and event materials.
Events:
If you know of an event coming up in your community that we might like to participate in or have an idea for a new event, please let us know. We are always looking for new ways to recruit volunteers and get information out into the community.
Newsletter:
We are always looking for new issues and topics to include in our newsletter. If you would like to submit an article to our newsletter editor, please send it to info@surfridersd.org. Make sure to include your name and contact information so that we may contact you.
Legal Issues:
We are constantly involved in many different legal projects. Unfortunately, because of the hectic pace, we don't do a lot of "coordinating" in the normal volunteer coordinating sense. Often, those who get involved on the legal and policy end of things do so because they have the time during the day to go to meetings of city councils, regional water boards, or other agency gatherings regarding the issues the individual is interested in. There are a million issues going on at all times, so if you have the time and commitment, there's almost always something to do. If you want to know more, feel free to contact us for more information.
Programs:
• Respect The Beach is our education program which consists of volunteers going into the community and teaching ocean and surfing safety, marine ecology and coastal area stewardship to K-12 students and community groups.
• Street Team actively catches polluters in the act. We have a team of trained volunteers that hit the streets in order to catch businesses, restaurants and others committing storm drain violations. We file an incident form with the city and notify the polluters that their actions are being monitored.
• Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is our coastal water quality monitoring program. This program is based mostly in our High School Clubs but is available to all our volunteers. This program raises public awareness of local coastal water pollution levels.
As we said before, we are an all-volunteer organization, so there are a lot of things that volunteers can do. We hope to see you at our next general meeting or at one of our next events and look forward to meeting and working with you!
Internship Opportunities
The San Diego Surfrider Foundation offers an array of internship opportunities. Every internship is customized to incorporate each intern's strengths and interests. Internship possibilities include fundraising, legal issues, education, event coordinating and more.
If you are interested in applying for an internship position, please mail or email us a brief description of what aspect of Surfrider you are interested in focusing on, what you envision yourself to be doing during your internship, the expected length of the internship and a brief description of yourself and any past experience or training that may be relevant to your internship.
Please understand that we are not able to accept all the applications we receive for internships, and that we are an all volunteer organization, so paid internships are not available.
If an internship position is not available, please come and volunteer. Our main goal is preserving our waves and beaches, and we could not continue without dedicated volunteers like you.
