It was an early start at 7am, with more than 30 girls from Bali coming together with local Indonesian actors and celebrities, Nadine Chandrawinata & Westny DJ and the conservation group #MangroveMobBali to clean the mangroves at the Wisata Hutan Mangrove (the mangrove tourist walk). They also planted new coral and participated in a fun day of surfing at the Rip Curl School of Surf in Sanur.
Public relations at Rip Curl, Gamelia Carbery told The Beat, “We’ve collected 276 kgs of rubbish and only eight kilograms were recyclable. This rubbish destroys our mangroves. We worked together with Plastic Bank, Ocean Gardener, Sea Trees and Sea Soldiers to spread the news to the girls in Bali about plastic pollution and how this rubbish and plastic destroys our mangroves and corals.
“We all realize that plastic pollution is a real problem here in Bali and we invited Nadine Chandrawinata and Westny DJ to give extra voice to this event and encourage the girls to follow their lead in the fight against plastic trash. We want to help solve this problem and collaborate with people who truly care about the environment.”
Rip Curl Planet is about giving back. It’s about taking the joy we get from the ocean as surfers, and turning it into momentum to help keep our ocean healthy and clean for years to come.
According to the experts, mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs are often found together and work in unison. The trees trap sediment and pollutants that would otherwise flow out to sea. Seagrass beds provide a further barrier to silt and mud that could smother the reefs. In return, the reefs protect the seagrass beds and mangroves from strong ocean waves. Without mangroves, this incredibly productive ecosystem would collapse.
“It’s an amazing day planned for all the ladies attending this Girls Go Surfing day. I’m super stoked that we are able to support so many worthy environmental projects and by using this Girls Go Surfing day event to educate, bring awareness to the participants and others through social and other media to what it really means to be a surfer; respecting the oceans,” said Jonathan Morisson Deaker from Rip Curl School of Surf.
“Well done Rip Curl and all the team involved,” he added.
President Director of Rip Curl Indonesia, James Hendy also said, “As surfers we are all responsible to be the caretakers of the ocean. The Girls Go Surfing Day provides the perfect opportunity to not only get more girls surfing and enjoying the ocean, but it’s also a great platform to educate and influence others about the pollution threats and protection of our most important marine ecosystem, the mangroves and coral reefs.”
Rip Curl has a strong determination to be environmentally responsible and encourage our crew to participate in achieving this and we salute that.
If you want to get involved, please follow and partake in the activities of Plastic Bank (@plasticbank), Balian Water (@balianwater), Ocean Gardener (@ocean_gardener), Sea Trees (@sea.trees) and Sea Soldiers (@seasoldier_).
