More than 100 women are swapping the usual weekend surf scramble for three days of waves, workshops and climate action at Flat Rock this weekend.
The Water Women Campout, run by Surfers for Climate, begins today on Nyangbul Country at Skennars Head, bringing together surfers and ocean lovers for a beachfront gathering focused on changing surf culture and protecting the coast.
The program includes surfing, workshops, talks, wellness sessions, shared meals and a Welcome to Country smoking ceremony and cultural sharing with Nyangbul Elder Aunty Lois.
Surfers for Climate says the gathering grew from a desire to give women a stronger voice both in surfing and in environmental advocacy.
The organisation’s chief operating officer Caitlin Fine said the campout was partly born from the recognition that surfing had not always been a welcoming space for women.
‘To create care and protection for the ocean, I think we really need to focus on shifting the surf culture,’ she said in an interview about the program.
Ms Fine said women had become some of Surfers for Climate’s most active supporters.
‘It’s the women who are showing up, the women who are volunteering,’ she said.
The Water Women program has since expanded beyond the annual campout, with organisers saying participants have gone on to start clubs, build advocacy skills and bring First Nations cultural protocols into their communities.
Surfers for Climate co-founder and longboarder Belinda Baggs has previously said surfing gave her a strong personal connection to environmental action.
‘We’re not all 100 per cent green, but it doesn’t mean we can’t do something about this,’ she said.
The Water Women Campout runs at Flat Rock Tent Park from September 11 to 13.
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