Surfrider would like to encourage everyone to come out and support extreme stand-up paddle boarder and world record holder Tom Jones on his quest to raise awareness and funds for the Plastic Free Ocean Campaign. Tom is on a voyage from Key West to New York City to raise awareness to what is probably the biggest threat to our oceans. This organization does everything, from:

• Raise public awareness about the great risks to human health, and threats to wildlife and the environment from improper and excessive use of plastics, and the breakdown of plastic in the world’s oceans.
• Educates consumers and businesses about safe and economically practical alternatives to plastics for products, packaging and everyday living.
• Funds research to develop methods to recover, process and reuse or safely dispose of the millions of tons of plastic waste that already pollutes the world’s oceans.

Tom will be at the Wyndham Vacation Resorts Towers on the Grove in North Myrtle Beach (2100 N. Ocean Blvd) on Saturday, July 10 at 3:30 as he surfs in to the beach to meet reporters and supporters. Everyone is encourage to stay for a fundraiser cocktail reception afterwards from 5-7.  There is an invitation and RSVP if you want to attend.  Call Angie Ranck at 407-626-6916 or email her at Angie.ranck@wyndhamvo.com.

For more information on Tom or the Plastic Free Ocean campaign, check out the following web sites:

http://www.plasticfreeocean.org/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plastic-Free-Ocean/110805885624301

The new Flying Fish Restaurant in Barefoot Landing (beside Alabama Theater) has teamed up with the Grand Strand Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation in an exciting new venture. Flying Fish is a new restaurant owned by the TBonz Group, who is leading the way in our area in environmentally-friendly business practices including using eco-friendly to-go containers and cups, recycling of cardboard and fryer oil for biodiesel, a no-styrofoam policy, and a policy of using sustainable fish allowing them to be an initiative member with South Carolina Aquarium.

Along with these green policies, FF also wanted to team up with our chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and proposed naming one of their entrees and one of their specialty drinks in honor of Surfrider for our work in helping to protect our oceans and beaches.  Flying Fish have offered to donate $1 for every one of these entrees and drinks sold, to our chapter of Surfrider.  They chose the “Low Country Steamer Feast” entree and the “Hang Ten” specialty drink.  The restaurant also proposed that we display information regarding the Surfrider Foundation and our mission in the lobby area of the restaurant.

Flying Fish had their soft opening weekend on April 17 and 18 and allowed Surfrider to set up an information table in the lobby.  All food was free to patrons, but they did ask them to donate $5 to our chapter on the way out the door.  Surfrider received over $1,000 from Flying Fish for the weekend event.

Surfrider is very excited about our future relationship with the Flying Fish and appreciative of their generosity.  We encourage everyone to visit them at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.

Volunteer Cindy Goode maintaining the Surfrider booth at Flying Fish

Join the City of Myrtle Beach and Surfrider in a Withers Swash sweep and reef build! Bring gloves and sturdy shoes, we’ll provide pick up sticks, bags, gloves, building materials, and drinks! Sat. May 15th from 2-5 p.m.

Two recent articles from the Myrtle Beach Sun News tell of new plans for helping to give oysters a new home in the Withers Swash.

Community group making a home for oysters

The Myrtle Beach Downtown Redevelopment Corportation gots its first inside look at The Withers Estuary Community Collaborative this afternoon as the nonprofits leaders presented their plans for new oyster homes in Withers Swash.

Collaborative director Neil Chambers, Keith Walters, a marine science professor at Coastal Carolina University, and Janet Wood, with Myrtle Beach Public Works Department, accepted the redevelopment agency’s invitation to appear, hoping to generate some excitement for their project.

Chambers, an architect who works with InFORM Studios here in Myrtle Beach, has been working on designs for the 4.8-mile Withers Estuary for about a year now, thinking about how to improve water quality, the ecosystem and the surrounding park space and neighborhoods to make the area into an amenity for the city.

“We saw it as a potential place for a park, but when I saw what was going on down there, I really thought we could make a difference,” Chambers told the redevelopment board.

It starts with oysters.

They are filter-feeders that can each clean four gallons of water an hour, making them are a critical first step to restoring the pond’s habitat.

Chambers, Walters and others will lay down smashed concrete underwater near the Kings Highway-side banks of the tidal pond behind the KFC just south of Third Avenue South, then cover the concrete with dried, cleaned oyster shells.

Then they’ll wait for the baby oysters to come swimming in to the pond in May and June, and find their suitable new habitat. The baby oysters, they hope, will latch on and begin building their own shells.

Chambers hopes to start more reefs, then work on the natural pollution filters healthy shoreline ecosystems provide for stormwater, begin to restructure how stormwater flows into the swash and out into the ocean, expand and remodel Withers Swash Park and — someday — work on redeveloping the neighborhood around the park and swash.

But to get people to buy in, he said, the group has to begin to show results.

That’s part of why Chambers and others decided to start with the oysters. They will be able to show residents how something as simple as oyster-bed restoration can start to restore the whole area, and will help when the nonprofit group applies for grants.

Redevelopment board President Bert Anderson wanted to know how his group could help.

Chambers said he hoped his group and the redevelopment agency could help each other by partnering up and redeveloping downtown using green and sustainable principles.

“Green isn’t the future, it’s more the now,” Chambers said. “We want to show the community there are ways to do this that don’t have to be really expensive or involve a lot of engineering and can improve the community.”

To get involved with the Withers Estuary Community Collaborative, call Neil Chambers at (917) 592-8242.

[ Lorena Anderson, Myrtle Beach Sun News ]

Oysters get move-in aid in Myrtle Beach

Some people look at the tidal pond commonly thought of as Withers Swash and see a polluted mess.

Others see the pond as a home – for oysters, that is.

It’s almost oyster-spawning season, and before May rolls around, the Withers Estuary Community Collaborative hopes to have the foundations laid for some new oyster homes.

“They’ll attach to about anything,” said Keith Walters, a marine science professor from Coastal Carolina University.

He and collaborative director Neil Chambers and fellow member Janet Wood presented the group’s intentions to Myrtle Beach’s Downtown Redevelopment Corp. at the redevelopment group’s Wednesday board meeting, hoping to generate some excitement for their project.

Chambers, a green – as in ecologically focused – architect who works with Inform Studios in Myrtle Beach has been working on designs for the 4.8-mile Withers Estuary for about a year, thinking about how to improve water quality, the ecosystem and the surrounding park space and neighborhoods to make the area into an amenity for the city rather than a place many shy away from.

“We saw it as a potential place for a park, but when I saw what was going on down there, I really thought we could make a difference,” Chambers told the redevelopment board.

The collaborative has joined with the city of Myrtle Beach, Coastal Carolina University, Street Reach, Inform, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Horry County, the Surfrider Foundation and others, including local businesses, to start cleaning up the water and improving the area.

It starts with oysters.

The city and several other groups have donated most of what the collaborative needs to start an oyster reef, and because oysters are filter-feeders that can each clean 4 gallons of water an hour, they are a critical first step to restoring the pond’s habitat.

Chambers, Walters and others will lay down smashed concrete underwater near the Kings Highway-side banks of the tidal pond behind the KFC south of Third Avenue South, then cover the concrete with dried, cleaned oyster shells.

Then they’ll wait for the baby oysters to come swimming in to the pond during May and June and find their suitable new habitat. The baby oysters, they hope, will latch on and begin building their own shells.

It takes about two years for an oyster reef to become noticeable, but Chambers, Walters and Wood, with the city’s public works department, said they are confident the reef will take hold. They’ve tested the water and found oyster larvae there, and this week found small reefs near the tidal pond’s banks.

Now they need to get more oyster shells – from a recycling program they’re working on with local restaurants, they hope – and get them in the water in late April.

They hope the effects will ripple from there.

“I hope that people along the waterways that feed into the swash will begin to request reefs or at least give us access to their property so we can start them,” Chambers said. “I hope the community will get involved.”

He wants to start more reefs, then work on the natural pollution filters that healthy shoreline ecosystems provide for stormwater, begin to restructure how stormwater flows into the swash and out into the ocean, expand and remodel Withers Swash Park and – someday – work on redeveloping the neighborhood around the park and swash.

But to get people to buy in, he said, the group has to begin to show results. That’s part of why Chambers and others decided to start with the oysters. They will be able to show residents how something as simple as oyster-bed restoration can start to restore the whole area, and will help when the nonprofit group applies for grants.

“I grew up swimming, fishing and crabbing in the swash before it got so polluted,” redevelopment board member Jay Bultz told Chambers during his presentation Wednesday. “Now it’s the first place in town to get the [S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control] warnings, where they tell people not to swim 100 or 200 yards from the swash.”

Redevelopment board President Bert Anderson wanted to know how his group could help.

Chambers said he hoped his group and the redevelopment agency could help each other by partnering and redeveloping downtown using green and sustainable principles.

“Green isn’t the future, it’s more the now,” Chambers said. “We want to show the community there are ways to do this that don’t have to be really expensive or involve a lot of engineering and can improve the community.”

[ Lorena Anderson, Myrtle Beach Sun News ]

Surfrider’s great success with the “I’Caretta” books continues to grow.  The hard-back covered book about the life and struggles of the loggerhead turtle was written by the 4th Grade class at Myrtle Beach Intermediate School and their teacher, Staci Williams. The class also produced the illustations for this book, which was coordinated by local artist Kim Clayton, using her unique style of creating art with recycled materials.

This book has been wildly popular with young students, and have been big sellers with schools, museums, children stores, book stores and parks.

All proceeds from the sell of this book goes toward the Myrtle Beach Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and the Sea Turtle Program at the Myrtle Beach State Park. Your contribution is a non-profit tax-deductible donation.  E-mail us at mail@surfridergrandstrand.org, or if you’re old fashioned, call the Myrtle Beach Intermediate School (Julie Farmer) at (843) 626-5831.

Inside are some tips for a greener, cleaner Christmas.  They were compiled by the First Church Environmental Stewardship team in November 2006.

The words of Bill McKibben written almost 20 years ago still ring true.

We’ve gotten used to spending more money to make Christmas special, he writes. “But if money’s no longer as valuable as time, we’re offering each other a devalued currency.”

Far from asking people to stop giving, McKibben simply asks that they put forth things that matter: time, attention, memory, whimsy.
“We run short on these things in our lives, even as we have an endless supply of software, hardware, ready-to-wear,” he writes.

Below are some tips for a greener, cleaner Christmas.  They were compiled by the First Church Environmental Stewardship team in November 2006.

• One of the recommended potted house plants that help clean the air (dracaenas, palms, ferns, English ivy, peace lily and spider plants)
• Time is often a bigger gift than money. Create coupons that offer free babysitting, house cleaning, pet sitting, car washing, gardening for a month, cooking a meal, etc. Offer to teach someone a skill you have.
• Re-usable canvas shopping bag filled with earth-friendly cleaning supplies, compact fluorescent light bulbs, etc.
• Instead of exchanging unwanted items with coworkers or extended family, suggest donating to a charity as a group.
• Gift basket with natural face and body products and a low flow or AAA rated shower head
• South Carolina State park passes (half price for senior citizens)
• Rechargeable batteries and charger (remember to properly recycle old batteries)
• Bird feeders and bird houses (especially those made from recycled materials)
• Home made baked goods in a basket with instant spiced cider, fair trade coffee, cocoa, or tea. Add some of your favorite recipes.
• Make a donation to a local charity in someone’s name.
• Put together a photo album full of fond memories
• Make an audio or video family tree. Using a tape recorder or a video camera, interview elderly relatives about their childhood, courtships, and other precious memories.
• Give a membership to an environmental organizations such as the Surfrider Foundation, Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation
• Bicycle and accessories (to promote alternative transportation)
• Adopt an endangered animal through a donation to World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlife.org)
• Educational books dealing with nature and our environment make good presentsDon’t forget to share your books with family and friends. Not only does it give you a topic of conversation but it is good for the environment.
• Help your children develop a love of nature not only through books but by taking them camping, fishing or hiking. Children are tomorrow’s environmentalists.
• Gardeners will love an assortment of seeds, bulbs, gardening books or catalogs presented in a new planting pot.

• Consider cutting back your list, choosing cards made of recycled materials, or even buying them from a charity that benefits the environment. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 30,000 cubic yards of paper.
• Send e-greetings to family, friends and business associates who are online.
• Maybe a personal telephone call would be more meaningful to that person living far away.

• Use re-useable gift bags
• Select uncoated gift wrap that can be recycled and/or burned safely.
• Save gift wrap and bows for reuse
• Make gift tags from last year’s holiday cards.
• Most gifts boxes can be flattened and reused throughout the year for other items. Recycle boxes that can’t be reused.

• Put outside Christmas lights on a timer and set them to turn on only when it is dark and turn off before you go to bed.
• Don’t forget to recycle your cut Christmas tree.

The Surfrider Foundation recently received permission from the City’s Beach Advisory Committee to post sea turtle awareness signs at several beach accesses up and down the beach.

The signs are 12″ X 16″, 8-guage aluminum signs paid for by the sales of “I’Caretta”, a book created by students at the M.B. Intermediate School. The artwork for the sign was created by Surfrider member Al McWhite, and provides a list of do’s and don’t if sea turtle tracks, nests or hatchlings are spotted.

Fifty signs have been created so far, which will be posted within the city limits of Myrtle Beach. More signs will be created after these initial signs are posted. Surfrider plans to expand on this program for the entire Grand Strand area.

Staci Williams, a fourth grade teacher at Myrtle Beach Intermediate School, has received the State Superintendent’s Service Learning Award. Williams and her students were chosen for the award based upon their work to promote environmental awareness regarding the dangers to sea turtle populations in our area.

Staci Williams, a fourth grade teacher at Myrtle Beach Intermediate School, has received the State Superintendent’s Service Learning Award. Williams and her students were chosen for the award based upon their work to promote environmental awareness regarding the dangers to sea turtle populations in our area. After doing research, students decided that the best way they could help would be through educating the public in ways to protect this species. Their goal was to raise funds so that they could place public service announcements along beach accesses and in hotels along the Grand Strand, paying particular attention to nesting areas. To raise money the students created I, Caretta, a book detailing the life cycle of a loggerhead sea turtle. The book is written entirely in haiku and contains turtle protection facts on each page. Students enlisted the help of Kim Clayton, a local artist, to help the class with the illustrations. The students successfully raised $6,000 to publish hardcover editions of the book and donated the proceeds from book sales to the Myrtle Beach Surfrider Foundation, which will use the funds to educate the public about protecting sea turtles and nesting sites. Williams will be recognized by State Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum and the State Board of Education on September 14 in Columbia.