mission andprinciples

The Surfrider Foundation is a nonprofit 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.

The organization was started in 1984, by a group of visionary surfers from Malibu, California. Today, the organization maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide. Surfrider Foundation chapters and international affiliates are now established throughout the United States, Australia, Europe, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico and Canada. Our global headquarters is now based in San Clemente, California.

Globally, Surfrider is involved in a variety of campaigns and programs aimed at protecting our coastal ecosystems, based on the parameters outlined in our mission statement. Our campaigns and programs are developed to support our strategic goals/initiatives: Clean Water, Beach Access, Beach Preservation, and Protecting Special Places. The Surfrider Foundation chapter network works on a diverse set of coastal problems ranging from water quality, to single-use plastics in our marine environment, to shoreline armoring and the protection of surfing areas. However, the common thread is that all of these efforts are direct action organizing campaigns, in other words volunteer driven.

The San Diego Chapter is currently involved in a variety of local campaigns and programs including Rise Above Plastics, Ocean Friendly Gardens, Know Your H2O, Hold Onto Your Butt, No Border Sewage (No BS) and Beach Preservation.