This World Ocean Day and every day, the World Surf League (WSL) and its WSL One Ocean initiative are committed to protecting and preserving our one ocean for generations to come.
To celebrate World Ocean Day on June 8, and beyond, WSL launched the "Speak Up for the Ocean" campaign!
This campaign asks fans and partners to share their stories and sustainability initiatives through social media with the hashtag #WSLOneOcean and #SpeakUpForTheOcean. WSL is excited to leverage its platform to amplify the voices of people around the world who are taking action to protect our ocean and encourage others to do the same, with the goal of building a community of surfers, fans and ocean lovers around the world who are aligned with protecting our one ocean.
Every sustainable choice we make, no matter how small matters. As surfers and ocean lovers we have the power to ignite a wave of change when we unite! Here's how you can help:
GET INVOLVED
- Record yourself doing a sustainable action. Big or small we want to see it all.
- Post your video to your socials, tag @WSL and @WSLOneOcean and use the hashtag #WSLOneOcean
- Celebrate all the people, communities and initiatives who are collectively protecting our one ocean
TOOLKIT
- Linked here is a toolkit of assets
- Search "wsl one ocean" as a "GIF" on Instagram stories to add fun stickers to your posts
INSPIRATION
Need inspiration? Some tips we are seeing from our community are featured below:
- Volunteer with a local community group
- Eat local and embrace a plant-rich diet
- Rethink how you get around
- Save energy and look into renewable options
- Garden and compost
- Speak up
- Travel thoughtfully
- Shop with the environment in mind
OCEAN HERO SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW - SEPTEMBER HERO
We are thrilled to announce our SEPTEMBER Ocean Hero of our #SpeakUpForTheOcean campaign Reyanne Mustafa (@reyannemustafa)!
Reyanne Mustafa WSL One Ocean - WSL
Reyanne is a speaker, surfer, ocean enthusiast, artist, ecopreneur, movement coach and co-founder of @soul.much. She is obsessed with upcycling and uses her platform to share eco tips.
Hear more from Reyanne:
My work is to turn trash into treasure. Literally. I take what people call garbage and transform it into art that tells a powerful story about conservation and creativity, and it's my little way of raising climate awareness and saying thank you to the ocean.
What gets me pumped about protecting our oceans is the sheer magic of the underwater world, all of its vibrant colors, and the aliveness I feel when I'm catching a wave. If you want to dive into ocean protection, but you're feeling lost in the sea of options, here's my secret sauce. Find what makes your heart race and use it for good. Whether that's strumming a guitar, painting a canvas, or talking passionately about our ocean, use your unique gift to create waves of change. Let your passion be your guide.
My ocean heroes are the folks at Surfrider, Sungai Watch, and beyond. I really respect their ability to not only engage the community, but also work alongside governments to create change.
My dream is to host an exhibition that's not only showcasing my art, but of trash artists from around the world and inviting the ocean's greatest allies and policymakers to hopefully inspire them to craft more impactful conservation and sustainability policies.
It would mean the world to me if you supported my art by going to my social media pages and checking out all my sustainability tips there. And to all my fellow surfers out there, I want us to remember that waste is only waste if we waste it. We need to do the change that we wish to see and start looking at ourselves and use our unique gifts to propel the world forward.
OCEAN HERO SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW - AUGUST HERO
We are thrilled to announce our AUGUST Ocean Hero of our #SpeakUpForTheOcean campaign Relic Sustainability!
WSLOO - Hero - WSL
Hear more from Relic Sustainability:
"We grew up near the bay and saw the water quality deteriorating, so we started a project where we raise and restore oysters back into the bay for every item that we sell.
In the Northeast, our bays play a critical role in the health of our waters. Most marine life starts in these estuaries, and these areas have been impacted by coastal pollution and development. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, removing excess nutrients and algae from our waters, while also providing an important habitat for marine species.
Our advice to those who are looking to get involved in helping to protect our ocean is to get out there and get your hands dirty, start local, and remember that even big changes begin as small actions. Our greatest success has been a program we started called the Coastal Collaborative, where we've built cleanup stations at nearly 100 different beaches in New York. These stations provide beach goers with 100% recycled plastic baskets that turn typical beach walks into everyday cleanup opportunities. As surfers and ocean lovers, we hold the shared responsibility to preserve the spaces we enjoy.
Relic is just getting started intaking direct act against coastal pollution. We feel that the clothing you wear should represent what you care about, and we couldn't be more excited to keep connecting our community back to protecting our ocean.
To learn more about our future plans and to check out our designs, visit us at relic-design.com and follow along on Instagram at @relic_sustainability.
OCEAN HERO SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW - JULY HERO
July Ocean Hero - WSL
We are thrilled to announce our July Ocean Hero of our #SpeakUpForTheOcean campaign Carla By The Sea!
Carla is a photographer, content creator and passionate surfer from the Canary Islands. Carla is creating content to raise awareness around ocean conservation and to inspire everyone inside and outside of her community to take action.
Hear more from Carla:
The ocean is the place where I feel free and where I feel myself. I want to protect something that gives me so much each and every day. I am a photographer and a content creator and I spend a lot of time in the ocean. In light of this, I create videos that can inspire others to protect the ocean.
I am a part of the surf community here in the Canary Islands and the ocean is really important for us. The community is passionate about protecting our ocean and reef and like to remind everyone to do their part in helping to preserve this special place.
My advice to other people who want to start protecting the ocean is to start with little things you can do every day. Small actions can be truly meaningful and help create ripple effects of change. A place to start is trying to replace single use plastic items with reusable items such as water bottles, tote bags, and cutlery or you can remove trash from the beach or from the ocean after you go surfing.
We have a lot of people in the Canary Islands doing great things for the ocean, like Pablo Dive or Felipe Ravina. My heroes are everyone who cares for the ocean and who join us when we want to do something together to create awareness. Those people who share our educational videos, are all my heroes.
If you want to follow my actions and to follow my everyday life, you can find me on Instagram at Carla by the Sea (@carlabythesea)
OCEAN HERO SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW - JUNE HERO
We are thrilled to announce the first Ocean Hero of our recent #SpeakUpForTheOcean campaign. Escuela de Surf Cuyagua (@escueladesurfcuyagua) showed us what it means to protect our one ocean, and their unwavering commitment and positive impact on our planet really left a mark on all of us here at WSL One Ocean. Over the years, Escuela de Surf Cuyagua developed a new vision for what it means to be a surf school. They teach people to surf and to participate in national and international championships and tournaments, but they also contribute to the development of sustainable tourism in Cuyagua.
Congratulations to Escuela de Surf Cuyagua our June Ocean Hero for showing what it means to protect our one ocean! - WSL
Hear more from Escuela de Surf Cuyagua:
A few years ago, we decided to create a surf school in Cuyagua, our home, given the excellent conditions of the place for practicing it. And over the years we grew and gave a new vision and today the Cuyagua Surf School has many followers and students who are preparing day by day to also offer you a different way of seeing life from the Waves, transforming the lives of children, adults and their communities.
At the Cuyagua Surf School, we train children, young people and adults in the area, in the discipline of surfing to participate in national and international championships and tournaments, but they also accompany us and contribute to the development of sustainable tourism in Cuyagua.
If you are determined to experience Life from the Waves, you can locate us on the beach, or through our Instagram account or WhatsApp, to book any of our plans that range from 1 to 8 hours of fun. We offer a Personalized plan with an instructor, who has initiation equipment, and will guide you with information such as: parts of the board, stopping technique, handling of the board and balance, knowledge of the sea and waves, to then accompany you to the water to put what they have learned into practice.
The plans include a photo or video session, or a combination of both, so that you can share your experience through your social networks, since we have the equipment and qualified personnel for it. Every time you hire our services you are supporting a school child.
As surfers, the ocean is our sanctuary and our playground. Getting involved in protecting and conserving the ocean is critical for us today and for future generations. Join the "Speak Up for the Ocean" campaign and show us what you are doing to protect our one ocean by posting on social media and tagging @wsl @wsloneocean and #WSLOneOcean #SpeakUpForTheOcean. LEARN MORE in the Speak Up For the Ocean press release.