Dear Friends,
As the festive season rolls in, we at the North Devon World Surfing Reserve extend our warmest wishes for a surf-filled Christmas and a joyous New Year! 🌟
Looking back at 2023, it's incredible to think that we were only recognised as the UK's first-ever World Surfing Reserve in May. The journey since then has been full-on, with so many challenges and achievements in preserving our unique and treasured coastline.
🌊 Here's a glimpse of what we've ridden together in the past six months:
1. Biodiversity Study Partnership: September saw us join forces with Citizens of Surf for our inaugural biodiversity study, including an eDNA sampling workshop. The insights, to be published in the new year, contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science.
2. Local Stewardship Council: Our heartfelt thanks go to the council, comprising local protection groups, environmental organisations, councils, and surf clubs, for their invaluable expertise and leadership. This is a truly collaborative effort, thank you.
3. Waves of Winter Competition: In collaboration with Saltrock, we've launched an exciting competition to celebrate the best of surf photography and surfing within the Reserve.
4. Lynmouth Sea Pool: We are fully engaged and are eagerly anticipating firm plans to proceed with appropriate wave modelling. We are stoked that Lynmouth local Nathan Spice is stepping up as our Rep in future meetings.
5. White Cross Wind Farm: Our insistence on wave modelling for the wind farm has set a precedent for future developments affecting the Reserve. We're awaiting final onshore cable details for comprehensive analysis.
6. Film Screening of 'Savage Waters’: Hosting the UK premiere of Mikey Corker’s film was a memorable highlight, made special by the presence of our local surfing community. We look forward to more community surf events in the future.
7. Grant from Save the Waves Coalition: This generous support will bolster our efforts in climate mitigation research and pilot projects in the coming year
🚀 Looking ahead to 2024:
- Water Quality Initiatives
Sewage: We're intensifying efforts with Surfers Against Sewage to tackle the challenges posed by South West Water, and this includes looking at ‘out-of-season' on data tracking.
Run-Off: In the New Year we are launching a new pilot project at Combsegate in collaboration with the National Trust to look at how to mitigate challenges with ‘run-off’. Look out for the ‘slow the flow’ campaign!
- Surfonomics Study: Understanding the economic impact of surfing in the Reserve is crucial. This new study in 2024 will further reinforce the need for coastal protection and strengthen our arguments with local decision makers.
- Mapping the Surf: The University of Plymouth's study using historic data since 1993 will establish a baseline and twenty-year trends on surf quality in the Reserve, and perhaps more importantly how factors, such as climate change, are changing surf quality
Your unwavering support has been the backbone of the Reserve. Together, with the expertise and engagement of various organisations and councils, we are committed to preserving and enhancing our precious coastline through scientific and evidence-based approaches.
Thank you for riding this wave with us. Here's to building a brighter future for our coastline and community!
Warm regards,
The North Devon World Surfing Reserve Organising Team 🌊🏄♀️🏄♂️🎄