Surf Sisters for Science

The Problem

Mother Earth is shuddering, she is screaming, she is dying - faster than we realized. According to recent studies, the oceans have absorbed 60% more heat than previously thought. This means big trouble for our oceans and our planet. (link to full article source below.)

One thing is consistent about the changing climate - we consistently underestimate it. But the good news is that we also consistently underestimate the potential to re-stabilize the climate if we take action NOW.

As it turns out, we don't really know how much the oceans have warmed. That means we don't know the current threat level. However, we do know that even very slight fluctuations in temp kill them, setting marine ecosystems into collapse. This has a chain reaction felt globally, because our oceans regulate our climate. This is one reason why we must gather data from the waves- to determine the current level of warming. And this is why this work cant wait - it must happen now.

Despite the science of climate change, too many government officials either deny the existence of this crisis or refuse to do anything about it. We can not wait on change from above. We must inspire change at the grass roots level. It is up to us.


Our Solutions

We are Surf Sisters for Science raging against climate change from our surfboards, and you can help us do it. This is grass-roots guerrilla climate science and activism. This is about not waiting on someone else to get the job done. This is about surfers being citizen scientists and citizen journalists. This is women empowering women and celebrating our brother allies. And we are doing this work through two parallel projects.



Project 1: SmartFin Data Collection

There is so much that we don't know about the present state of our oceans. Until the creation of SmartFin, there has not been a way to effectively gather data in the wave break zone, because the instruments would get destroyed. So, the only way to gather this data in the wave break zone is....from a surfboard. The only way for a data sensor to withstand the pounding of the waves is to roll with it. Surf it. Move with it, instead of bracing against it. This is why SmartFin was created. Its a data sensor built into a surfboard fin. It is literally made to ride the waves!

Surf Sisters for Science are traveling the coast of Peru surfing with SmartFin tech to collect ocean data, and using a cool sea level rise impact projection technique to map out where these changes are happening and what it means for the future of our waves and our oceans. And we are sending SmartFins to our surf sisters and brothers around the world to do the same thing, and recruiting SmartFin Ambassadors. Join us in using this amazing tool to fight climate change!

SmartFin was developed by The Lost Bird Project in collaboration with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Future Fins.Learn more about how SmartFin was created, and the brilliant folks behind this awesome technology here: https://smartfin.org/2016/08/the-today-show-i-surfing-for-science/
https://smartfin.org/2018/05/bbc-

Stay tuned for details about our upcoming project - surfing the Peruvian Amazon!

Project 2: Citizen Journalism

How can we know what is happening if we don't ask?

Most people are aware of the science behind our changing climate, sure. But unless we give platform to the stories of people who are on the front lines of climate change, we won't understand the real, lived impacts of climate change. Until we combine these forms of knowledge, academic research and local testimony, we will not have the full picture. 

This is why Surf Sisters for Science is leading a Citizen Journalism project - collecting oral histories of the changing waves from those who know it best -- our local surf communities. We want to know how the lived experiences compare to the scientific data about climate change. 

Our Citizen Journalism project will combine the expert testimony of surfers with cutting edge data collection techniques and SLR projections. These local testimonies are being coupled with leading academic research on climate change, the state of our changing oceans, and environmental policy analysis to get a handle on what is happening to our planet, and what we can DO about it. The analysis of these two kinds of information will be compiled into an article series that will be published with the support of leading surf research organizations.

We will ask and answer three questions: 

1. What is the current state of the coastal waters of Peru? 
2. Are the current conditions unusual or different than conditions in the past? 
3. What is expected to happen next?


Will you help us tell this important story?

It is the story of our oceans.

It is the story of Us. 



Fundraising Goal

We have a fundraising goal of $3,000. This amount of money will cover research equipment (surfboard fin box conversions, interview tools), transportation to collection sites, and shipping to send SmartFins to surf communities around the world to collect this important data. 



Surf Sisters for Science: the new wave of Water Warriors.

Join the fight.



Warming Oceans article referenced above:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46046067?fbclid=IwAR26JCN3CWqh_DbOdLpkXl1qC1AVg942es5_bYdiH-GAUIWe4ZRObNVRPL4



Our Team



Trace Lane is an American social scientist and writer who studies water, climate change, and surfing. Trace came to Peru for her doctoral research and to surf, and loved it so much she decided to stay and complete her PhD in Peru and launch Surf Sisters for Science. Trace holds a bachelors degree in psychology, a masters degree in political science and public affairs, and a second masters degree in international social welfare policy and administration with a focus on the human right to water. Trace is a doctoral student at the University of Washington where her research is focused on surfing and water contamination, and a Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation Fellow at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Trace is a learner, a maker, a citizen journalist, and a passionate water warrior who travels the world defending the human right to water. 



Amelia Rose is 24 years old Venezuelan living at Perú since a couple of years ago! Amelia is a model, photographer and circus artist. She loves animals, nature, art, astrology and learning about all the cultures that compose our wonderful planet. Amelia is fluent in Spanish and English. 



Chris Haynes is co-founder of La Luna del Amazonas Ayahuasca healing center, located in the Peruvian Amazon. Chris studied Spanish at santa Rosa junior college and Sonoma state University. He is a proud husband to Myriam and and proud father to Chrisito. Chris is a Surf Sister ally, and will be surfing with us for our upcoming Amazon project. Stay tuned as we surf the Amazon!