Too Enthusiastic? How to Find Your Place in Ocean Action

Do you ever feel disconnected from ocean action? You sign petitions, you donate, you share the post. And still, it doesn't feel like you're doing the work.

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. And there's a way off the sidelines.

"I'll do it for free"

When Andrew first got into ocean work, he was all in. Even after finishing his undergrad, he'd walk into every conversation saying the same thing: I just want to help. I'll do it for free.

He couldn't find a job right away, so he started emailing people. He offered to run statistics, help with fieldwork, whatever they needed. Most of the time, nobody wrote back. When they did, there were hoops to jump through before anything could happen.

It took him a while to understand why. Taking on a volunteer isn't free for an organization. Someone has to bring you on, get you into their systems, and sometimes show that they're giving something back. And they don't know you. You're a stranger in their inbox who likes what they do, and there's a fair chance you'll leave the moment you land a paying job.

Even once he was working, Andrew didn't always feel like he was having an impact. He did good science with great people, but he kept asking how to make sure his work actually mattered for the ocean. That question is what led him to science communication.

There's no obvious way in

When people ask Andrew how to get involved, the same problem comes up. There's no obvious door.

Big organizations do great work, but their ask is usually to donate or sign here. If you don't have a marine biology degree, you probably can't work there. Maybe you're thinking you don't even live near the ocean, or you don't surf or dive.

But anyone who cares about the ocean should be able to contribute in a real way. And right now, finding your people is harder than it should be. Many of us work remotely and spend our days on screens. Outside work, there isn't much connection. And talking about the environment online can get you attacked.

Lilly's story

Lilly Woodbury, who joined the podcast yesterday, knows that wall well.

She finished an environmental studies degree at the University of Toronto in 2015. In the whole program, there wasn't a single course on plastic pollution. She knew litter was bad. Nobody had taught her what plastic actually is or why it pollutes.

After graduating, she did what a lot of us do: volunteered everywhere, trying to get a foot in the door. Groups would let her show up and do a task, but nobody helped her grow.

Then she heard about a Surfrider meeting in Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. She'd never heard of the organization, but she surfed, so she figured these were probably her people. At the meeting she stood up, said who she was and what she wanted: to make a big difference. That night, the chapter chair, Michelle Hall, sent her an email that ran several paragraphs. She saw something in Lilly.

Lilly joined as a volunteer in February 2016. A year later, she became the chapter's first paid staff member. She was 23, and terrified. Was she an imposter? Was this really the right path for someone with her degree?

Ten years on, she's the campaigns and storytelling director for Surfrider Foundation Canada.

Follow your curiosity, not your passion

School shows you a narrow set of careers, mostly the ones your professors and TAs know. Nonprofits, consulting and the smaller corners of the field often don't come up. So you graduate wanting to make a difference, with no idea what's actually out there.

"Follow your passion" doesn't help much if you don't know what your passion is, or how it could turn into a paying job. That pressure stops people.

Curiosity is easier. It only asks you to show up. Lilly was curious about a Surfrider meeting, so she went.

Andrew has found the same thing. A few years into the podcast, he went to a science communication conference in Miami in 2013 and finally met people he'd only known online. Before that he'd been working alone, with no feedback and no sense of what anyone thought of the show. The people he met there kept him going. Earlier this year, while working in software, he went to the World Ocean Summit in Montréal out of curiosity and came home with a job.

You never know what happens when you show up.

Look for groups that invest in people

When you do show up, pay attention to how a group treats newcomers. Some just need people to fill tasks. The ones worth your time help you build skills. That's what Surfrider did for Lilly.

And you don't need to be an expert in anything. You don't even need to surf to join Surfrider. Most members don't.

Come for the impact, stay for the people

Picture a beach cleanup where everyone around you thinks about the environment the way you do. Maybe your friends and family aren't into it and don't want to talk about it much. This group does, because they're out there doing something together.

That's the pattern Lilly described: people come for the impact, but they stay for the people. Then come the film nights, the art workshops, the cleanups, and a shared identity. That's how culture around the ocean starts to shift.

Where's your community?

Andrew lives in Ontario, and he's been asking himself the same question. Surfrider Foundation Canada has chapters on the BC coast and in Atlantic Canada, plus student clubs at universities in BC, Nova Scotia and Ontario, but there's no community chapter in Ontario yet. With his last season of coaching hockey wrapping up, joining or starting one around the Great Lakes might be in his future.

Your action this week

Find one local group and go to one event. You don't have to speak. Just listen, maybe talk to a few people, and see how it feels.

If you like organizing, think about starting something. To start a Surfrider Canada chapter, you need:

1. A small team. Five to nine people to form the volunteer executive committee.
2. Some seed money. A few thousand dollars, raised through donations, for your first programs.
3. A relationship with the local Indigenous nation from day one. Ask about their priorities for the water, and seek a letter of support.
4. A local problem to solve. Clean water, plastic pollution, beach access, ocean or lake protection, or coasts and climate.

The head office covers IT, bookkeeping and compliance, and can issue charitable tax receipts. Students can start a club at their high school, college or university. Details are at canada.surfrider.org/get-involved. If you're in the US or elsewhere, Surfrider has chapters and affiliates around the world.

Why it's worth the step

Plenty of people complain that the environment isn't doing well and never do anything about it. Without a next step, nothing changes. The helplessness stays. You scroll through bad news until you start tuning it out, and the problem doesn't go away.

Take the step instead. Find your people, learn new skills, and you'll see a real change, for the environment and for your own life. You'll probably be a lot happier for it.

Takeaways

• Volunteering is harder than it should be because organizations need trust and capacity to take people on
• You don't need a degree or a surfboard to contribute in a real way
• Follow your curiosity; one meeting or event can change your path
• Look for groups that invest in people and help you build skills
• People come for the impact and stay for the community
• Your action: find one local group and go to one event this week

Sources

• Surfrider Foundation Canada: Get involved
• Surfrider Foundation Canada: Student clubs
• Surfrider Foundation Canada: Expanding across the country with the Atlantic chapter
• Surfrider Foundation (March 2022): New Canada affiliate announcement
• SEJ: ScienceOnline Oceans, University of Miami, October 2013
• Plymouth Marine Laboratory: 13th World Ocean Summit, Montréal, March 2026