“More than anything, be humble” Surf activist Belinda Baggs on how to connect with nature

I grew up on Awabakal Country in Newcastle, New South Wales. Most of my childhood was spent there, surfing with my dad. All I ever wanted to do was paddle out, far into the surf, beyond the breakers, and stay there as long as possible.

But sometimes the weather would be too rough, and I remember walking along the shoreline instead, picking up bits of rubbish, in the hopes that Mother Nature would reward me with one glossy, perfect, offshore day.

I think that was the beginning of my relationship with the ocean. From the start, I realized it couldn’t be an extractive one. I didn’t want to just take, take, take. I needed to give something back too.

For the next 30 years, I traveled the world, surfing different waves. And I started to see things change over time. I’d visit reef breaks and see these flourishing marine ecosystems, bright coral everywhere. The next year, I’d come back, and they’d be slightly bleached. The year after that, some of them would be gone completely. All that’s left is a desert underwater.

I think surfers have a unique take on climate change. We experience it first-hand every day. We’re connected to the ocean. We take its temperature, feel its pulse, and we can see it degrading over time.

This is partly why I started working with Patagonia in 2005. I began testing gear and then joined their storytelling and impact team; I became their version of an ambassador, which is focused on global sports activism. This work has really opened my eyes to the scale of the climate crisis, and also the role that corporations can play in trying to fix it. As Yvon Chouinard says, “There’s no business to be done on a dead planet.”

But you know what gives me hope? It’s seeing the boundless opportunities of the climate crisis: The way it’s pushing humanity to look for alternative ways of living, of doing business, reinventing systems beyond blind profiteering. I remember marching through the streets of Sydney, before COVID-19. It was one of the largest-ever global climate strikes. I was holding my son’s hand, feeling this immense energy and spirit all around, and thinking, We’ve got this. We’ve really got this.

Of course, the implementation of nature-based solutions and new systems is always complicated, but that’s no excuse not to try. These solutions already exist. The technology is out there. The fires, the floods, the coral bleaching and collapse of marine environments—they’re all warning signs of drastic things to come… Things that will happen if we don’t act immediately.

I think the answer lies in getting out there in nature—connecting to these wild places. The mountains, the lakes, the ocean. We need to start falling in love with these places again because you tend to protect what you love. That’s our way out of this.

And most of the time, solutions are pretty simple, if we’re willing to give up short-term gain for long-term benefit. More than anything, we need to be humble. As a surfer, nature always has a way of putting you back in your place. When you’re out there, you feel so vulnerable. You realize you’re this very small part of this very powerful system.

We all have a place in that system, and most of the time, that place is simply staying out of the way. Learn to flow with nature. Let it do its thing. Mother Nature has the answers to the climate crisis. We just need to let her work, help where we can, and give her the best chance she’s got.

As told to Taryn Stenvei

The theme for Earth Day 2023 is ‘Invest in Our Planet.’ Find out more about how you can take action for Earth on the Earth Day website.