The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 83 chapters across the United States and Puerto Rico, with international affiliates in Australia, Europe, Japan and Brazil
The South Sound Chapter of Surfrider serves the Tacoma, Gig Harbor and the southern Puget Sound region. We are an entirely volunteer run chapter consisting of 6 Executive Committee members. We are surfers, beach-goers, paddlers, divers, and those who simply love our marine waters and beaches in Washington State.
We are always looking for volunteers and have volunteer opportunities available! Table an event, collect water samples, install an ocean friendly garden, help reduce single-use plastics in Tacoma, or clean up your local beach. Just contact us or check out our Facebook page for upcoming events!
| South Sound Surfrider March 2022 Newsletter Happy March! We hope you have been catching the insane Tacoma sunsets the past couple of days. Spring is almost here, and we could not be happier! Cheers, Stena, Lucas, Ranell, Riley, Maya, Ben, Trish, and Amanda The South Sound Chapter |
| February Recap |
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| đ Thanks to everyone who came out last month to our chapter meeting and a special presentation from Ken Campbell of The Ikkatsu Project. We also voted in two wonderful volunteers to our Executive Committee. Please join us in welcoming Amanda Campos, our new Volunteer Coordinator, and Trish Long, our new Treasurer, to our team. Special thanks to Justin and our friends at The Valley for hosting! đ Additional thanks and appreciation goes out to the 26 volunteers that came out to clean up Chambers Bay Beach with us. In the two hours we were there, we collected 255.15 pounds of trash. There was a ton of styrofoam and large chunks of metal that we were able to remove from the marine ecosystem. The ‘Most Interesting Piece of Trash’ Winner found a big stuffed monkey. Special mention to the volunteer that left before we announced the contest winner. They discovered a partially digested rubber chicken pulled straight from a dog turd! The beach at Chambers Bay was so dirty that we have decided to return again this month. Hope to see you there on Saturday, March 12th at 10 am. We will be meeting in the lower parking lot so look for the blue Surfrider tent and flag. |
| March Chapter Meeting & Blue Water Task Force Presentation Thursday, March 10th, 6:30-8 pm The Patio at The Valley, 1206 Puyallup Avenue, Tacoma |
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| Join us for our March chapter meeting. Our Blue Water Task Force Coordinator, Stena Troyer will give a presentation on our program. Our BWTF is one of our main volunteer-powered programs, and rain or shine our Citizen Scientists collect samples throughout the year at 11 South Sound sites to provide critical water quality information to protect public health at the beach, raise awareness of local pollution problems, and bring together communities to implement solutions. Our BWTF Citizen Scientists test for elevated levels of enterococcus, which is a is fecal bacteria generated by both humans and animals that is generally not harmful. However, when levels are too high, it can indicate the presence of more dangerous microorganisms and viruses. We partner and coordinate with the Washington Department of Ecologyâs Marine BEACH Program, Tacoma Science and Math Institute (SAMi)’s students and faculty, Metro Parks Tacoma, and Harbor WildWatch. This work is the perfect example of the effectiveness of community science. Come out for an informative and friendly discussion about the place we live and love, and how each of us can help to improve it. We meet on the second Thursday of every month, to share our work and how you can get involved. Each meeting typically will have a guest speaker so stay tuned for topics of interest. We will also have other fun updates including upcoming beach cleanups and events. Our meetings are open to the public. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING LOCATION: For COVID-19 safety reasons, we will be hosting this event OUTDOORS on the patio of The Valley and will be following all current Pierce County guidelines. |
| Chambers Bay Beach Cleanup Chambers Bay Beach Park, University Place (Look for the Blue Surfrider Flag in The Lower Parking Lot) Saturday, March 12th, 10 am-Noon |
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| Join us for a Saturday morning beach cleanup at Chambers Bay Beach Park. We will be meeting in the lower parking lot of Chambers Bay so look for the blue Surfrider tent and flag. Rain or shine, dress for the weather! We encourage you to bring your own bucket and gloves for the cleanup, but we will have some spares to share. Please be sure to wear boots or appropriate footwear, and bring hydration in a reusable container. Our cleanups are welcome to individuals of all ages, schools clubs, Scouts, friends, family, and coworkers. This is an excellent way for students to earn service hours. Beach cleanups are a fun and easy way to volunteer your time by helping to keep our beaches and oceans clean! See you at the beach! Location Note: The best address for the location we will be meeting at Chambers Bay is 6320 Grandview Dr. W, University Place, WA 98467. |
| Blue Water Task Force Update |
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| Every month, September through May, volunteers with the South Sound Surfider Chapter monitor water quality at local recreation sites in the area. Samples are currently collected at ten sites on the second Tuesday of the month to get a snapshot of enterococcus levels in our local waterways. AKA, if swimming in poo is not for you, take a look at this link for local water quality results. From this link, you can also download a full CSV file of the data taken over the years to look at trends. You may notice that if we get a high reading, the sites are retested. We sample on the second Tuesday of the month, so stay tuned for March results entered at the end of the week. And of course, a big cheers to the many volunteers who make this sampling possible including folks from the Harbor WildWatch team and the Science and Math Institute! Water Quality Results: https://bwtf.surfrider.org/explore/29 |
| LEADERSHIP POSITIONS |
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| We have several exciting positions opening up on our Executive Committee! If you’re interested in joining our Chapter’s leadership group and would like to contribute to our cause, please contact treasurer@southsound.surfrider.org and attend one of our upcoming chapter meetings or beach cleanup. |
Chair: OPEN Interim Chair: Stena Troyer sssurfrider@gmail.com
Co-Chair: OPEN
Treasurer: Trish Long treasurer@southsound.surfrider.org
Secretary: OPEN Interim Secretary: Lucas Drawdy sssurfrider@gmail.com
Volunteer Coordinator: Amanda Campos volunteercoordinator@southsound.surfrider.org
Beach Cleanup Co-Captains: Lucas Drawdy & Riley Haizlip beachcleanups@southsound.surfrider.org
Special Projects & Ocean Friendly Restaurant Coordinator: Ranell Nystrom OFR@southsound.surfrider.org
Blue Water Task Force Coordinator: Stena Troyer BWTF@southsound.surfrider.org
Chapter Meetings| Posted 02.02.21
Chapter Meetings| Posted 10.30.20
Chapter Meetings| Posted 10.19.20
Chapter Meetings| Posted 10.19.20
Pounds of Trash Removed
Volunteers
Beach Cleanups to Date