(Santa Cruz, CA) Nonprofit Save The Waves Coalition has launched its second-ever Dirty Wave Challenge, a worldwide competition encouraging everyday beach-goers and surfers to report trashed and threatened beaches. The prize? A $5,000 grant that gives back to the winner’s coastal community.
The international surf-focused organization is hosting the challenge on its Save The Waves App – a mobile tool to report, track and tag coastal threats in real-time.
Save The Waves is asking users to participate in the Dirty Wave Challenge by reporting threats – ranging from plastic pollution to water quality – on the app. Posts submitted between September 15th and November 15th are eligible for consideration.
The prize is a $5,000 Stewardship Grant. The winner awarded these funds will get to work alongside Save The Waves to solve the issue and help protect their submitted break.
“This challenge is not only an open invitation, it’s an opportunity,” said Save The Wave CEO, Nik Strong-Cvetich. “We strongly encourage passionate individuals, local surf clubs and other grassroots organizations to enter. This is a chance to speak up for your favorite surf break and then do something about it.”
The Dirty Wave Challenge first launched in 2018 and found its winner in Fijian surfer Hannah Bennett, who went on to use the prize money to plant mangroves, install trash bins, organize cleanups and rally her community around waste management.
“Activism shouldn’t just be a notion, but the duty of our everyday lives in order to become impeccable stewards of our environment,” says Bennett.
The Save The Waves App allows users to tag and report coastal threats, such as pollution, oil spills, erosion, and illegal development. Their interface makes it simple to engage with three steps: take a photo, select a threat, and tag your location. These same easy instructions are all that’s needed to enter the competition within the two-month range.
The app was recently relaunched in June 2021, with updates including new threat subcategories, educational information and additional language accessibility in French, Spanish and Portuguese. The launch was supported by Kona Brewing, Kelly Slater, Patagonia and others from the surf and environmental industry.
To learn more about the Dirty Wave Challenge, click here.
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