“It’s predominantly white, and we need to start diversifying that.”Īmong the organizations represented at the event was Un Mar de Colores, a local non-profit organization that works with youth in North County. “There’s always been this gap in surfing and environmental activism,” Bell said. Bell, from Mission Valley, is also the founder and executive director of Paddle for Peace, a group that started in 2020 and organized a paddle to support the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a welcome difference from past events, said Risa Bell, board member of the Surfrider Foundation. In addition to its activism in the water, this year’s event also strived to include community organizations that encourage Blacks, Indigenous people and people of color to surf and get involved in environmental issues. (KC Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) “Īlly Senturk of San Diego Coastkeeper chats with others after the 29th Annual Surfrider Foundation San Diego County’s Paddle for Clean Water in Ocean Beach. “This will continue as long as we depend on fossil fuels. “It really underscores the work we’re doing and the need to move from fossil fuels to clean energy,” said Mitch Silverstein, chapter manager of the Surfrider Foundation in San Diego. The oil spill is just the latest example of why they are doing what they are doing. The event began as a protest in the 1990s against border sewage, but over the years it has grown into a water quality awareness gathering as well as a fundraiser for the Surfrider Foundation, organizers said. “What do we want? Clean water!” they chanted. But as the first reports of the damage from the spill surfaced, the message of the event seemed particularly relevant to many of its attendees. The 29th annual Paddle For Clean Water event, hosted by the County Chapter of Surfrider Foundation in San Diego in each of the past 30 years except 2020, was not held in direct response to the leak of oil discovered this weekend on an oil pipeline that passes near Huntington Beach. The day after authorities announced an oil spill discovered off the coast of Orange County, hundreds of people gathered at Ocean Beach Pier to raise awareness of issues affecting San Diego’s waters.

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