Ventura, Calif. was the location for Surfrider Foundation’s West Coast Summit. There were 170 dedicated Surfrider activists from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Texas and Hawai‘i who attended the summit. Hawai‘i sent 16 representatives, including four from Kaua‘i — Barbara Weidner,
Ventura, Calif. was the location for Surfrider Foundation’s West Coast Summit. There were 170 dedicated Surfrider activists from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Texas and Hawai‘i who attended the summit. Hawai‘i sent 16 representatives, including four from Kaua‘i — Barbara Weidner, Lori Stitt, Dr. Carl Berg and Dr. Robert Zelkovsky. It was a three day summit — the first night was a Hawai‘i State meeting hosted by State Chair Stuart Coleman. The recent plastic bag bans, upcoming possible Styrofoam ban and the Japan tsunami debris were among the topics discussed.
Keynote speaker for the Surfrider West Coast Summit was Dr. Marcus Eriksen who spoke about the Japan tsunami debris and the plastic in the five gyres (circles) floating in the five major oceans that he described as “a large toilet bowl of plastic that never flushes.” Other topics included shoreline erosion, student recruitment, plastic debris, ocean friendly gardens, the process of recycling surfboard and packaging foam for reuse and how to run an effective chapter. From Kaua‘i Surfrider, Berg gave a presentation on Blue Water task force and ocean and stream water quality testing and Zelkovsky gave two presentations on video production use for the media. The following week, an East Coast Summit took place in Long Beach, New York.
The mission of the Surfrider Foundation is the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. Free and clear access to clean oceans and beaches. There are more than 50,000 members in 80 chapters worldwide. Each island in the state has a chapter. Surfrider National has several campaign programs, including “State Of The Beach,” Rise Above Plastics, Know Your H2O, Ocean Friendly Gardens and Blue Water Task Force.
Local chapters have their own individual issues and campaigns. On Kaua‘i, people are challenged by beach erosion, stream and ocean pollution particularly after heavy rain events, derelict fishing nets, beach access and the Japan tsunami debris arrival.
To learn more about Kaua‘i Surfrider visit www.kauai.surfrider.org. Monthly meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at Cafe Coco at 5:30 p.m.
