Pacific Northwest Surfrider Activist Training Conference 2001

Chateau Westport, Westport WA

28-29 April 2001

Conference goal: Develop an outreach campaign, esp. to help gather volunteers.

Surfrider received a grant to have a PNW coordinator! Yippee! This will help us achieve our goals, increase volunteers, without us having to put in a lot more time. We will have a coordinator, yippee!

Seattle Chapter

Bellingham

Straights/ Port Angeles

Olympia

Westport

Washington plans to maintain a central (state-wide) executive committee made up of one representative from each chapter and a few members-at-large.

Would like to see 4-?? chapters-

Portland

Eugene

Salem

Bend

Newport

South coast

4 chapters along the coast

We have a central oregon volunteer.

Concider mapping out regional chapters, now.

Outreach to a whole broader range: beach goers, snowboarders, hanggliders, kayakers, windsurfers, volleyball tournament,.…

"Valley" vs "Coasties"

-we need to keep a link

Money and votes are on the I-5 corridor.

Cascade mountains – east and west

Develop locally, "earn the right" to have a voice. Get involved in the community, then can get big, bigger issues, heavy issues…

Diversify – we’re not just surfers anymore, we need to open up and gather all beach/ocean lovers inorder to increase our membership

Clear message, that addresses everyone in our membership audience.

Legislative voice

How do we relate to issues that are presently being worked on by other environmental organizations.

We want to truly be the voice of the coast for Oregon, Washington…

Would be helpful to have someone who can be our voice, currently have folks but they have a conflict of interest.

Need to identify folks in our chapters who can be a voice, be dedicated, and able to pass on the torch when they leave. Coordinator can maybe be a transition person, but their key focus is to be a coordinator.

ID consistant volunteers

Implementation

Prioritizing for chapter

A niche in middle school/high school programs?

Clubs in the schools? A flat club fee for membership to students?

A page dedicated in Making Waves to younger members, school kids. A voice, a forum.

Especially on the coast how we will get increased coastal membership and volunteers.

TO DO ALL THIS….WE NEED PROACTIVE MEMBERS!!

• "Littoral cells"
• Interesting long term idea, organize a campaign in the next year?

• Education/Alternatives
• About seawalls
• Make sure message is clear: It is all water, and it goes out into the ocean.

• Vessel traffic issues
• Oil spills
• Research
• Lack of coastal environmental data
• Beachscape
• Gap analysis of existing data
• Partnerships and collaborations with others gathering data

• Litter
• A great way to get non-surfers involved, no one likes to see trash on the beach
• Oregon has SOLVE doing a huge clean-up every year, perhaps we can pick a few well chosen beaches and organize there.

• Marine Debris
• Respect for the environment
• A heart for the environment
• Education

• Estuary habitat water quality
• Fishing…

• State/Local government partner
• We clean beaches/areas – and government puts up a sign that says this area clean courtesy of surfrider,…

• Water quality/quantity
• Marine protected areas as a tool for marine conservation
• Monitoring of marine biology
• Clearly define and maintain Surfrider’s niche within MPA initiatives
• Energy issues? Electricity?
• Dams…
• Salmon…
• Possible National Board of Directors policy on this issues to insure us being proactive, as well as providing a clear position with regards to this issue for our chapters.

• Offshore oil drilling
• Visibility
• We want more people to know we are here.
• How to be more visible

EDUCATION

How do we educate the pacific northwest?

We need to educate more, in order to get more members.

Being part of surfrider is more fun! This is why we get members. Our culture.

WA – 5 new chapters

Identify new constituents

Identify possible coalitions

Recruit diversified membership

Hire regional coordinator

Develope PNW capacity campaign

Meet with chapter chairs

• Increase educational/community outreach
• Implement programs for community involvement
• Develop a clear message
• Our niche within broader enviromental scene

• Beach access
• Coastal erosion
• Water quality
• Coastal habitat
• Nearshore/marine eco-health

1. Beachscape – map specific features on the beaches

• Manual

1. Blue water task force – volunteer water quality testing
2. Respect the beach – eduactional programs

• new units/videos

1. State of the beach report – 2000/2001

- includes who is responsible at the states level

2. EIT/LIT

• westport

Campaign planning

Recruitement

Multi-level programs

Volunteer coordinator

Ties programs to environmental campaigns

What do we need to make it happen…

Volunteers (local)

$ - to pay for gas, stipends for non-local beachscape volunteers

Thoughts on who to help out?

High schools

Retired

Door to door on coast – also builds awareness

ID existing info

Adopt-a-mile

Compile/use info

To map on one specific day, all up and down the coast – brings awareness.

Resource – Kevin Ranker

Intern Adam Stein – is building a marine protected map for west coast, will be able to get off of the website.

Units for 5^th – 8^th grades

Two sections.

Last year: Beachology

This year: Watershed work

Build a watershed in your tub

Very hands on and visual.

Can find teachers who are interested

Or give SR spiel in the classroom, and then teachers can take over.

Video that ties into the units – snowboarding à skating à surfing

Some chapters get a grant with SR, and have the program implemented into the school district.

We will get 2 in the mail, can order up to 10 after that, then if we want more than that it costs $5/ unit. Available on the internet. Need one set per teacher (not student).

Collect samples and take to a centralized lab – difficult to do with such a spread out chapter

Try to do it through high schools?

National will help build a website where we will post the data with a map

2001 will be released on May 23rd

This year there will be an executive summary and will be on the web page

Environmental issues team

Legal issues team – lawyers.

Westport – seawall issue

It is a group of experts who comment on issues.

Or a lawyer who will volunteer to help out.

Get on SR foundation listserve. Questions, dialog, national perspective. You will get innendated.

Two listserves: activists (and EIT.)

EIT: Only if you are a EIT member, chapter chair, or enviromental professional – EIT is ok, otherwise get on the activist list.

Surfrider is in a very well placed position to help protect and preserve and support marine protected areas, marine habitat, conservation zones…

We, better than most other environmental organizations understand the waters, and have the language and experience to have discussions with commercial and recreational fishermen. "Who wants to be the one to catch the last Salmon?"

Off-shore dumping: are folks who are doing what they are supposed to do, potentially harming our marine protected areas?

Connections

MPA’s – education, the public does not look at the ocean and see a nature/marine preserve… we need to bring awareness to these areas and importance of these areas.

We all want a healthy intact marine envirionment.

Membership diversifications are key, people who enjoy walking on the coast, hiking, fishing, are concerned with the marine environment and these protected areas.

MPAs

Can take two approaches…

• areas that need to be restored. Restore and reinocculate… support and healing.
• removal of bulkhead, hope that species will be recovered. Removing obstical to cure.

Surfriders role in MPAs-

Community outreach and education with regards to marine/nearshore ecosystem health/ threats and why MPA our a tool for conservation.

Volunteer opportunties

This is not a new big responsibility for us, rather it is somewhere to put our volunteer efforts.

For kimmie: …. THE RED, THE WHITE, AND DON’T FORGET THE BLUE!