Surfrider Foundation
| Surfrider Foundation | |
|---|---|
| legal form | 501 (c) organization |
| founding | 1984 |
| sales | $ 7,267,265 (2016) |
| Website | www.surfrider.org |
The Surfrider Foundation is a non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting coastlines and waters. This goal is pursued through educational work, research, lobbying and mobilization. Originally founded in the USA, the Surfrider Foundation now forms a worldwide network with chapters on every inhabited continent, including in Europe and Germany.
mission
According to its statutes, the Surfrider Foundation Europe is a non-profit organization dedicated to the defense, rescue, improvement and maintenance of the oceans, coasts, waves and the people who use and enjoy them. This is done in a sustainable way through education and awareness-raising, research, lobbying against pollution, lobbying against coastal construction, local actions, public mobilization and protests, as well as the manufacture and sale of products of the non-profit organization's brand.
history
In 1984 surfers in Malibu (California) decided to take active resistance to preserve the endangered local surf spot . After several years as a loose association, an official organization was finally formed and the Surfrider Foundation brought into being. The three-time surfing world champion Tom Curren founded the first chapter of the Surfrider Foundation Europe in Biarritz (France) in 1990 . From there, the SFE expanded and is now represented in several European countries.
Surfrider Foundation Europe
The Surfrider Foundation Europe is an independent organization with headquarters in Biarritz (France). From there, the activities are coordinated and supported across Europe. The majority of the chapters are located on the French Atlantic coast with its numerous surf spots . Other countries with active groups are Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Spain and Austria. Across Europe, around 5,000 members, 1,000 volunteers in 40 chapters and 15,000 supporters are committed to the Surfrider Foundation.
The Surfrider Foundation in German-speaking countries
There are currently five active chapters in Germany, Baden-Palatinate, Berlin, Hamburg, Lake Constance and Dresden. The chapters are committed to the coasts, seas, rivers and lakes in Germany. The Bas-Rhin chapter is based in Strasbourg, the Swiss Lakes chapter in Richterswil on Lake Zurich.
Initiatives and programs
The Océane initiative organizes cleaning campaigns on the coasts of oceans, lakes and rivers or in the forest on the first weekend in spring every year. The aim is on the one hand to improve the local situation, but above all to draw public attention to the increasing pollution of water . In 2012, 2,500 m³ of garbage were cleared from 2,150 km of coastline at 1,200 locations with 50,000 participants.
In the Keepers of the Coast program , a network is being built that goes beyond the chapters and members of the Surfrider Foundation. Residents and users of all surf spots are supported in advocating their preservation on site and taking action against water pollution or construction. If network members point out such abuses, they receive support in areas such as scientific research, lobbying or communication.
The foundation maintains laboratories as independent scientific institutions that collect information on the water quality on the coast and monitor it. Potential problems should thus be discovered and remedied promptly. So far there are laboratories in Marseille, Biarritz and Bilbao, and more are to be built in the Netherlands, Toulouse, Le Havre and Brittany in the next few years.
The educational program aims to educate children about environmental issues and make them aware of the importance of an environmentally conscious lifestyle . For this purpose, appropriate materials are made available to teachers and parents in various media and facilities are visited by volunteers from the Surfider Foundation.
Web links
- Surfrider Foundation Europe (English)
- Surfrider Foundation (English)
- Surfrider Foundation Northern Germany
- Ocean Initiatives Program (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Articles of Non-Profit Organization of Surfrider Foundation Europe . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) (PDF; 110 kB) Statutes of the Surfrider Foundation Europe. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
- ↑ Surfrider Foundation Europe: Local Chapters , accessed November 25, 2019.
- ^ Initiative Océane ( Memento of December 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Official homepage of the Surfrider Foundation Europe. Retrieved September 12, 2013.