Sustainable Surfing Camps and Surf Lessons

To share our love of the ocean through surfing, mutual respect for land, sea,and each other.

Category Archives: sustainability


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World Ocean Day Beach Clean up at Baby Makapuu, mahalo to everyone who participated!

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This past Saturday, June 1st 2013, Ocean Girl Project volunteers began their morning organizing a beach clean up at a widely known surf spot and tide pool area called Baby Makapuu aka Cockroach Bay. This was a brilliant kick off to World Ocean Day activities in Hawaii!

We had many wonderful volunteers from the community including Ocean Training Awareness classmates (in an electric car!),  Punahou School, international visitors from Australia, Japan, France and Canada, local residents, long time fishermen, Ocean Girl Project Surf Camp Alumni, families and girls that will be attending our 2013 camp, former World Champion Surfing Professional Nancy Emerson and the hard-working Ocean Girl Project volunteers plus many others! The ages of our volunteers ranged from 70 to 7 years old.  Mahalo Doug Morton for being our awesome photographer!!

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We had a special talk by Aydee from Surfrider Foundation on “hold on to your butt” an Oahu Surfrider campaign. Important information: cigarette butt litter is a major problem at our beaches, in the ocean and butt-talk-beach-cleanup-ocean-girl-project-13throughout the watersheds which carry water, trash and debris to our beaches. Cigarette butts discarded in parking lots, along sidewalks and in street gutters miles from the coast inevitably make their way through storm drains, creeks and rivers to the beach and the ocean. Direct litter of cigarette butts at the beach adds to the problem, and they are the most pervasive form of litter at our beach cleanups. It isn’t just a matter of unsightly trash and litter. Toxins from cigarettes collect on the filter and are then washed out into our waterways and the ocean. Birds and sea mammals ingest the butts, thinking that it’s food, and a recent study showed that the toxins in the butts can be lethal to fish.  She brought us some cool prizes from Surfrider Oahu to give to the kids!! Mahalo Aydee and Surfrider Foundation we  support your worthwhile campaigns!!

anne-reef-talk-walk-ocean-girl-project-cleanup-13 Ocean Girl Project Surf Camp volunteer aka Mermaid Chairperson Anne Rosinski was our OGP team leader for the tide pools. She also gave kids and adults a talk on caring for and how to pick up rubbish near the reef.  Anne is a NOAA Hawaii Coral Reef Fellow, she is working in the Division of Aquatic Resources at the Department of Land and Natural Resources in Honolulu.

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Team Leader Billie Farrell took her troops all the way down the pier, wow! They found an old fishing net, it must have weighed close to 10 lbs and carried it back to camp – BTW definitely a Surfrider t-shirt winner move!!

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We had a great time and in 2 hours we picked up about 150 lbs of plastic, cigarette butts, marine debris and other objects. Mahalo to the efforts of everyone who came, participated and shared with us, you made a big difference to the ocean and our island..We enjoyed meeting you and greatly appreciate your support. Please check out the great photos taken by Doug!

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Let’s talk trash Hawaii, Saturday June 1st Baby Maks!

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Ocean Girl Project Beach Clean-up Event

Date:                Saturday June 1, 2013

Time:                8am-11am (join in anytime)

Where:             Baby Makapuu Beach

Participants:     All ages, bring the whole family!

Please join us! Beach clean ups enable us to care for our marine environment, show community support for our shared natural resources; and they are fun. Great opp to meet our Ocean Girl Project volunteer staff,  MAHALO!

Things to bring: hat-visor, work gloves, reusable bottle, sunscreen, snacks. Ocean Girl Project volunteers provide a shade tent, water station, buckets and large rubbish bags.

Special considerations: Since this is an outdoor and shoreline activity, be prepared for sun, wind or inclement weather. Please wear comfortable shoes (closed-toe or sturdy sandals suggested). We provide safety guidelines and tips for participants.

OGP volunteers set up early, please join us!

Directions from Waikiki: drive past the entrance to Makapu’u Beach and Sea Life Park – go a little further then turn right into the next driveway, follow driveway to the left, the parking lot and beach face the pier, look for OCEAN GIRL PROJECT surfboard signs. Baby Makapu’u has ample parking in the morning, bathrooms & showers near by, surf and the beach is a great area to explore and snorkel.

For more information, please contact:

Colleen Kudo

colleen@oceangirlproject.com

Facebook.com/oceangirlproject/events

ocean_girl_project_Kamilo_Beach_litterocean-girl-project-hawaii-surf-campsSeriously, a microwave??? Mahalo Jerry!ocean-girl-project-reef-fish-hawaii

BASIC BEACH CLEANUP GUIDELINES
Remember, SAFETY FIRST.
1. Wear gloves when you are picking up trash and have hat/visor, clothing and sun-block to protect from the sun.

2. Be cautious and aware of the ocean waves; never turn your back on the ocean.

3. Always stay in teams of at least two. All children need to be supervised by an adult at all times.

4. Don’t touch or pick up dead animals, or attempt to move injured animals. Instead, contact the responsible authorities:

a. Report stranded, entangled, or injured marine mammals (whales, dolphins, and seals) by calling the NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Hotline at 1-888-256-9840.

b. Report stranded, entangled, or injured marine turtles by calling the Marine Turtle Research Program at (808) 983-5730

Learn More: http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/pdf/plastic.pdf


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2013 Surf Camp Dates changed to July 22-26

Ocean Girl Camps are all about surf and fun!

Who: Girls ages 09-14, max (10)  girls per camp

When: JULY 22nd-26th – correct dates

Times: Mon-Fri 9am-2pm

Requirements: Beginner swim level

Where: South Shore area, details upon contact

Special: Reduced Fee and full Scholarships are available upon request contact us

Join us!

Join us!

Sign up: Begins with submitting 2013 form, or just send an email if you need more info.

Contact: Camp Coordinator: colleen@oceangirlproject.com

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.


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Standup for the Cure

Standup for the Cure Hold Second Annual Award-Winning Breast Cancer Fundraising Event in Newport Beach;

Expects to raise $125,000 to fund 1,000 Mammograms

Organization Set World Record at Inaugural Event; Anticipates Increased Attendance

  • Guinness World Record Set at Inaugural Event in 2012 – More than 700 participants were involved in The World’s Largest Stand Up Paddleboard Clinic.
  • Standup for the Cure named Top Philanthropic Effort of 2012 by “SUP The Magazine”. The award honors a person or organization that exemplifies the Standup Paddleboard Industry’s ability to impact people’s lives in a positive way.
  • SUFTC had 700 participants and raised more than $60,000 in 2012.  anticipating more than 1,000 this year
  • 2013 event is an event for everyone – Kid’s race, 5K fun paddle, live music, industry expo, SUP Lessons and Demos as well as a silent auction are scheduled.
  • $35.00 entry fee includes Ruth’s Chris Lunch, Kona Brewing Company/Barefoot Wines happy hour, Victory KoreDry Jersey and a goodie bag and more.
  • Cancer screenings – Breast, Colon and Skin cancer screenings available on-site.

On Saturday, May 4, 2013  Standup for the Cure will hold its second annual fundraising event at Newport Dunes in Newport Beach, California to support the Orange County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®– every $125 raised will potentially save a life by enabling a mammogram. Entry fee for the event is $35 per person. The fundraiser is from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with a clinic by top International paddleboards instructing the attendees, including the organization’s ambassador Zane Schweitzer. Irvine’s Ruth Chris Steakhouse will provide lunch and a Barefoot Wines and Kona Brewing Company will sponsor a happy hour that will have live music by Wheeland Brothers and Crimson Crowbar.

“We were thrilled with the success of the first event that raised more than $60,000 for our organization and are honored to have the event continue. Mammograms are vital for identifying breast cancer at an early stage, so this event really is a lifesaver,” said Lisa Wolter, Executive Director of the Orange County Affiliate of Susan G Komen for the Cure.

The event will take place at Newport Dunes, visible from Pacific Coast Highway, and will have a paddling course that will wind through the scenic harbor with a sea of pink paddlers.

“We’re expecting an even bigger crowd this year and have added new events that will appeal to participants of all ages including a kids’ relay, pet costume parade, and a sandcastle competition along with free life-saving cancer screenings. We’ll have beer and wine at happy hour with two bands – Crimson Crowbar and Wheeland Brothers,” said Judie Vivian, volunteer and founder of Standup for the Cure. “We truly will ‘Have Fun and Save Lives!” she continued.

Whether you’re a novice or an expert, Standup for the Cure events offer something for everyone. The event set a world Record at its 2012 inaugural event with more than 700 paddlers taking a Standup Paddleboard clinic led by Zane Schweitzer. Additional participating experts include Matt Hughes, Brendon Light, Jayson Campbell and Daniel Hughes.

Riviera Paddlesurf, Yolo Board, Rogue SUP, Starboard and others will supply loaner boards and demonstrations for new paddlers. Sponsors for Standup for the Cure’s 2013 event include: Riviera Paddlesurf; Maui Jim; Kona Brewing Company; Barefoot Winery; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; Ocean-Minded and Victory KoreDry

 “Standup for the Cure’s May 4 event is an excellent opportunity for families, friends and survivors to get together, have a great day filled with fun while raising money and ultimately save lives by doing something they love,” said event director Dan Van Dyck, whose mother is a 39-year breast cancer survivor.

Events include:

  • STANDUP PADDLEBOARD CILINIC taught by world-class Standup for the Cure ambassador including Zane Schweitzer. Other illustrious teachers include Matt Hughes, Brendon Light, Jayson Campbell and Daniel Hughes.
  • SILENT AUCTION: Presenting Sponsor, Riviera Paddlesurf, has donated one of the limited edition Standup for the Cure paddle boards. Other items include SUP boards from Starboard, Boardworks and JP Australia and Pink paddles from Quickblade along with Maui Jim sunglasses, Disneyland tickets and Facial Laser Treatment.
  • MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT (2 Bands):
    • Wheeland Brothers — Two Southern Californian brothers who grew up in Orange County. They combine the cool attitude and summertime energy of reggae with the down-to-earth, organic honesty of acoustic rock and ukulele lullabies. In 2012 Wheeland Brothers released their first album along with the music video for their first single, “Sand in My Sheets”
    • Crimson Crowbar — Band member Frank Sims has recorded, toured and co-written songs with Mick Jagger, Stevie Nicks and David Lee Roth, among others and was a double Grammy nominee with Don Henley.
  • FREE CANCER SCREENING: Screenings for the three potentially treatable cancers are available during the event – Breast, Skin and Colon. Cancer specialists from UCI Cancer Center and Komen supported Clinics will perform the screenings on-site.
  • YOGA PADDLEBOARD CLINIC: The hottest yoga style is on a paddleboard—a yoga practice carried out on paddleboards in the water. A combination of standup paddling and yoga is known for giving the body a “core” workout because of the added challenge of having to maintain one’s balance while performing yoga poses. The clinic will be demonstrated by the Paddleboard
    Bliss team from Orange County.
  • FOOD AND DRINK: Irvine’s Ruth’s Chris Steak House will provide lunch; Happy hour with live music will be presented by Kona Brewing Company and Barefoot Wine to wrap up the day.
  • NEW ACTIVITIES: The 2013 agenda include a Kid’s Relay, Sandcastle Competition and a Pet Costume Parade.
  • “PINK” ATTIRE: Participants that register by May 1 will receive a complimentary custom Pink SUP Jersey from Victory KoreDry.
  • PARKING: All day parking is available at Newport Dunes for $5 per vehicle
  • “Dry” participants can take part in all festivities without getting on the water if they prefer

In support of the cause participants can sign up as a team or individual through the Active Giving Portal at 
http://www.active.com/more-sports/newport-beach-ca/standup-for-the-cure-2012
.

More information can be found at 
http://www.standup-for-the-cure.org/
; via Twitter at @StandUp4TheCure; and on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/StandupForTheCure

To be a sponsor or exhibitor, please contact Dan Van Dyck at info@standup-for-the-cure.org. For press/media information please contact Elaine Marshall of Empowered Public Relations at Elaine@EmpoweredPR.com or 562-498-8450.

Media Contact:

Elaine Marshall Principal
Empowered Public Relations
Elaine@EmpoweredPR.com
562.498.8450 office
949.466.6303 mobile
2892 N Bellflower Blvd, Suite 424
Long Beach, CA 90815

Media Page – Standup for the Cure « Standup For The Cure.


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What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

I thought I would share these simple steps,  I use this formula when creating in general and projects, camps, workshops, life, art, etc.

Amazingly simple step are both brilliant and effective.  They have staying power and make sense across the board. For me, simple is powerful.

I was honored to be given a similar soulful guide like this many years ago and yes,  it altered  my entire life.   There was such an awakening of what I truly wanted to accomplish in my life and a huge wave of passion and adventure began.  My sense of life direction like the tides turned, I so love the ride and am so very grateful.

So, ask yourself:  “What Will YOU Create that Will Make the World Awesome?”   Lovely steps below..

The link to the full article where these steps originated is below, mahalo Greg McKeown. Though I  brazenly did a bit of my own edits….everything brilliant is Greg’s.

Step 1: Sketch Your Career. It is so easy to get consumed by activities in our lives and careers. We get so caught up in living our lives that we don’t stop to think sufficiently about our lives. We are reacting instead of being strategic. When I find this happening, I use this simple tool to get a broader perspective. You start on the left at the beginning of your career and end on the right hand side (today). You draw a single line up if you were enjoying the experience and down if it was unfulfilling for you. Write down where you were working, what you were working on, and any other factors that shaped your experience.   It also works if you paint, or make a collage, or write a song, or a poem!!!

Now Breathe, no, c’mon really slooow breathe!

(See the original Harvard Business Review piece What Will You Create to Make the World Awesome? to see/use the sketch template for Step 1 and 2).

Step 2: Connect the Dots. Use the sketch from Step 1 as a launch pad into being an anthropologist of your own life. Go somewhere quiet. You might think of it like a strategic offsite for your own life and career.

Ask: When was I truly happy and why? What activity or theme do I keep coming back to? What is my gravitational pull? When was life and work effortless for me? What isn’t working for me? When do I seem most like myself? When was it meaningless and why? When was work meaningful and why? Don’t rush the process. Pause long enough to really listen. Write the answers down as they come so you can reflect on them later. I am visual so I started a simple collage to represent these happy things and ended up doing THREE monstrous collages that blew my mind. It not needed it!!!!

Step 3: Ask, “What Will I Create that Will Make the World Awesome?” This is WONDERFULLY wild question ( I LOVE IT!) but an essential element of strategy is, to state the obvious, thinking about what we want to create in the future.

Ask: What would I do if I could do anything? What would I do if all jobs paid the same? If I could only achieve one thing in my career, what would it be? What do I really want? Again, these are big questions. But my experience is that people spend far more time worried about their job than in creating a vision for their career and how they can uniquely contribute to the world.

(If you are looking for a pep talk, this three minute video from “Kid President” does a brilliant job challenging us to figure out what we can do to make the world awesome). Brilliant!!!!

From Greg: Many years ago I followed a process not at all unlike this one and, without exaggeration, it changed the course of my life. The insight I gained led me to quit law school, leave England and move to America to start down the path as a teacher and author. You’re reading this because of that choice. It remains the single most important — and strategic — career decision of my life.

It’s a simple process. But it can help us to break down some complex questions. Like the poet Mary Oliver’s beautifully haunting question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Link to Greg’s story: What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? | LinkedIn.

Someone brilliant who is changing the world..

Greg McKeown Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum


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Odina Surf, at one with the earth, the ocean and supporting Ocean Girls in Hawaii!

Odina Surf

BIG Mahalo to Odina Surf for the donation of the amazing sustainable bathing suits for Ocean Girl Project!!

Odina is a clothing company that focuses on making fashionable and functional swimsuits that are also friendly to the environment. The Odina lifestyle is at one with the earth, the ocean and the future.  Our company strives to be 100% eco-conscious in all of our decisions yet we place equal value in performance and fashion.  Odina means divine creative inspiration and our inspiration lies in creating fashionable, functional and high quality swimwear from recycled plastic fabrics and reclaimed fabrics.

The idea began a few years ago when a designer of swimwear for many years, came together with a young eco-enthusiast. Their mission was to make swimsuits that not only complimented a woman’s figure but also her passions. They worked with surfers, not models, to get feed back on fit and function; with women that are exploring the world, surfing jaw-dropping waves and helping the planet that they love, to test their product. Through the process the Odina team tested a number of sustainable fabrics and a variety of recycled fibers before finding one that met their demands. The various styles underwent the same testing, with many success stories. The result was a suit that not only looked great, but rose to any challenge and Odina was born.

Typical of the blend of function and style is the In the Curl bottom. The Brazilian style bottom with banded sides and T-strap top is a favorite with the surfers for its great Island style and exceptionally good fit, whether In the Curl or on the land.

Setting the standard in eco-swimwear, Odina has put thought into every aspect of production. From the thread to the tags, every step involves rethinking the standard practices of the garment business.  All suits are manufactured in the U.S.A..

An Odina girl lives her life to the fullest but respects the earth and all its inhabitants.  An Odina girl loves adventure but also loves her home.  Above all, an Odina girl just loves living life and looking great doing it!

Hang Tags:

Printed on recycled paper from FCS certified sources.

Banners and other Marketing Materials:

We have done prints ranging from Wood to recycled Polyester made from water bottles. Are efforts are to be environmentally conscious with every footprint.

Website: http://odinasurf.com/

Hosted on a 100% Wind Powered Server in Northern U.S.A.

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