Some figures on our activities this year
We're delighted to report that 2023 was another successful year for the Act! with Surfrider team! Over the course of the year we carried out 193 operations, an increase of +48% in the number of activities compared with 2022 (130 activities).
There's no doubt that the famous waste collection (on foot, by kayak or electric boat) remains the most popular activity in our catalog, accounting for 58% of our activities. However, we also delivered ten themed modules (recycling and its limits, maritime transport, etc.) and a number of masterclasses on plastic pollution and the link between climate and the ocean. We also offered climate and ocean frescoes in companies. A number of DIY (Do it yourself) workshops were organized in companies' own offices. Last but not least, we organized two events for small and medium-sized businesses with a tailor-made offer.
Alongside these offers, we wanted to further diversify the activities we propose, both to make employees want to try something new with us, and to attract as many new people as possible to raise awareness while having fun! (We'll tell you all about our new offers below!).
OUR IMPACT IN FIGURES
We estimate that these operations have enabled us to raise awareness among more than 10,818 people through Act! with Surfrider activities. Of these, 4,929 were company employees and 5,889 were members of the general public, who were made aware of the issue during activities open to all, organized with Surfrider's partner companies, such as MAIF (during Sport Planète events) or Okaïdi (during the beach tour organized during the summer of 2023 on European beaches).
FOCUS ON THE BEACH TOUR 2023 WITH OUR PARTNER OKAÏDI
In 2023, Act! with Surfrider organized the second edition of the beach tour in collaboration with Surfrider's partner brand, Okaïdi. This was the first year of the beach tour with a European dimension: we went to 5 countries and 12 cities.
This children's clothing brand wanted to raise awareness among children & families during a beach tour in the summer of 2023. So we co-created a stand with tailor-made animations adapted to different ages. We eco-designed new educational tools such as a memory game with eco-gestures, and an ouîe workshop to discover marine sounds. Over 1,800 children and parents took part in the Beach Tour, during 20 days of beach events. The beach tour was launched on July 5 in Biarritz, then made 2 stops in Spain, before moving up the Atlantic coast (Sables d'Olonne, Dinard) then to De Panne in Belgium. Then it was on to the mountains to raise awareness of the inland: we stopped for 2 days on the shores of Lake Geneva in Lausanne. Finally, we made 2 stops in Italy, then the beach tour on the beaches of Marseille on August 6 and 7, 2023. Many thanks to all the animators involved and to Okaïdi and its teams for their confidence in this major project.
FOCUS ON THE “COASTAL RISKS” CONFERENCE ORGANIZED WITH MACIF
In November 2023, we also co-organized with MACIF a conference in La Rochelle for MACIF members, on the subject of challenges in Charente-Maritime around coastal risks (coastal erosion and submersion). Our project manager for climate change adaptation and coastal development, Adeline Adam, spoke alongside Patrice Belz, Rivages Centre Atlantique delegate for the Conservatoire du Littoral. Over the course of an evening at the Stade Rochelais, they were able to enlighten the fifty or so participants on the stakes involved in these issues, starting from a macro scale (explanation of these phenomena and their impacts on a European and then French scale) and ending with the stakes for the area around La Rochelle. In parallel with the conference, local artist Yves Salaün exhibited his photographs of a coastline in motion and in danger.
A climate-themed Escape Ggame!
A Surfrider exclusive, a life-size role-playing and mutual aid game! Your employees are locked in a room and have to solve a mystery in a limited time. The plot focuses on the ocean and its ecological issues.
Synopsis: Anna Barrera, a climate researcher, has been kidnapped. Her work threatened industrialists who planned to kidnap her. She managed to thwart their plans, but the police estimate that Anna is only 45 minutes ahead of her opponents. The police will do everything in their power to find Anna and bring her to safety, but they believe the best way to protect her is to make her work public.
Immerse yourself in Anna's office and go in search of the manifesto!
A screening of the 3D documentary “Wonders of the Seas
Because we protect what we love, wonder is an important step in raising awareness. That's why we're organizing a private screening of the documentary Merveilles des Mers 3D (Wonders of the Sea 3D), directed by Jean-Michel Cousteau and Jean-Jacques Mantello, and produced by Arnold Schwarzenegger and François Mantello.
You can invite your colleagues and partners. The screening can be followed by a question-and-answer session with co-director Jean-Jacques Mantello, or a session to raise awareness of ocean conservation with a member of our team. It's also possible to combine the two!
Waste collection in electric boats
In collaboration with “Marin d'eau douce”, we offer waste collection directly on the water, with an original solution that's a change from canoe-kayaks: on license-free electric boats. This activity is available in Paris at the Bassin de la Villette, as well as in Boulogne, Levallois and Meaux in the Paris region, and in Strasbourg and Lille. Working in groups and equipped with landing nets, employees can collect waste floating on the water.
The children's format
For weekend or vacation formats, companies can invite their employees to come along with their children and families. For this purpose, we have devised tailor-made activities for employees' children. Children even leave with an “Ocean Ambassador” diploma! We adapt the games and awareness-raising activities to suit the age of the children, and promise a fun and enjoyable time, while doing a good deed for the environment.
"Clean tag” operations
During a waste collection or even for a customized event, we can introduce your employees to “clean tags”: temporary ecological tags. How does it work? We supply a stencil and a can of ecological paint, to write a message near the manhole covers: “To throw on the ground is to throw into the sea”.
This year we carried out several clean tags, notably in collaboration with the Gradignan town council and Le Bon Marché stores in Paris.
Thank you to all the corporate event organizers who have made 2023 a great year for Act! with Surfrider and for the Ocean!
