If you love the ocean, take some time to take care of it! Below are links to organizations that you can join to volunteer time to preserving the ocean and coastal habitats. These links also provide tons of information about how we can reduce our impacts to the oceans at home.
http://sandiego.surfrider.org/
http://www.sandiego.gov/thinkblue/
Even more importantly (in my opinion) is our behavior when we go to the beach and what we can do every time we go for a surf. Although most (if not all) of you know, there are some common sense things we can do to reduce our impact on the oceans. Here are just a few things I think of every time I go to the beach:
– If you pack it in, pack it out
– Try using reusable packaging instead of plastic bags
– Pick up trash you see on the beach and encourage others to do so as well
– If you see trash floating while surfing, stuff it in your wetsuit sleeve
– Try to reduce the amount of plastic you purchase and use overall. Plastic ends up in the oceans and eventually into the food chain. We have no idea how harmful the chemicals used to make plastics are to sea life and/or humans.
– If you can afford it, buy higher quality beach toys for your kids that won’t break after one season. Cheap plastic buckets and toys break easily and are often left on the sand to be washed out to sea. To be honest, I’m guilty of just not bringing sand toys for my kids to the beach…we often just bring a few toy trucks and share buckets, etc. with others. It’s probably time for me to buy something from one of the eco friendly toy designer websites below:
http://www.zoeborganic.com/made-in-usa/zoe-b-biodegradable-beach-toys-made-in-usa-eco-friendly.html