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CONTACT: Laura Ingalls (laura.ingalls@worldlearning.org) in Washington, 1.202.464.6973

SIT Study Abroad alum presents research on sustainability of surfboards at major surf industry conference

BRATTLEBORO, VT (March 3, 2007) -- Written by Sean Sullivan
SIT Study Abroad
Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action

After spending two years at Bowdoin College studying Art History and Italian, it was easy to decide where I should study abroad.  It wasn’t Italy.  Instead, I chose to head to Byron Bay, Australia with SIT: Sustainability and the Environment.  I hadn’t taken any Environmental Sciences courses at Bowdoin, but had studied 'green architecture,' and was eager to explore sustainability issues in depth.  After a month long surf trip in New Zealand with friends before the program began, I met up with my group of 15 with whom I would spend the next 3 months.

From orientation along Seven Mile Beach outside of Byron Bay to meetings with permaculture gardeners and renewable energy engineers, I adapted with ease to the field training style of learning.  We didn’t learn about a tree by looking at pictures in a book and memorizing its Latin name, we picked up the Ti leaves, smelled the oils and ran our fingers through the soil at its roots.  Throughout the semester, there was always an emphasis on action and experiential learning.  The biggest lesson I learned wasn’t taught to me formally, but ran as a theme throughout the semester; it was OK to combine academics and fun.  This may seem foolish, but it had never been as apparent to me as it was under the example of our academic director, Peter Brennan. 

When it came time to decide on an independent study project to spend the last month of my semester researching, I decided to study the current efforts by the surf industry to produce a more environmentally friendly surfboard.  Now, at first glance, I thought my parents and college at home might find this a bit too flakey – but Peter assured me it was an issue worth exploring and that there was no shame in pursuing a topic outside the bounds of normal academia.  A longtime surfer himself, we had spent hours talking about the sport we share a passion for throughout the course of the semester.

I spent the next month living in Byron Bay, where I logged long hours doing what I loved: I surveyed a wide spectrum of surfers on the beach to assess market awareness and interest in a sustainable surfboard, I arranged interviews with shapers along the east coast of Australia to assess their opinions, and dedicated myself to networking with every possible contact I could find in the surf industry.  I analyzed the chemical make up of the modern surfboard and researched the history of its construction.  I sat in shaping bays and watched surfboard "shapers" (builders) perform their craft.  I literally and figuratively "immersed" myself in Byron’s environmentally-aware surf culture.  The one thing I didn’t do was go to a library, not because I didn’t want to, but because I realized early on that I was the first person to seriously research this issue. 

I’ll admit, I caught quite a few waves in that month, but I never imagined that I’d also be making waves in the future.  I produced a substantial research paper on the issue of sustainable surfboards, and soon after I finished, I was contacted by Australia’s biggest surf website (http://www.coastalwatch.com/) who offered to publish my findings as a permanent link on their homepage.  Since publication, the topic of sustainable surfboards has become an increasingly important concern for the surf industry and many articles have now addressed the issue. 

Recently, I was invited by the Surfrider Foundation and organizers of the Noosa Festival of Surfing to give a keynote speech on sustainable surfboards during the Tropicsurf Summit, a major surf industry summit.  I could not resist the (expenses paid!) opportunity to meet the legends of surfing and offer my expertise to them.  After a practice speech to some friends at college, and the long flight back over to Australia (which I offset through carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree Surfing initiative), I gave a speech on my findings to an audience of the biggest powerbrokers in the surf industry.  I was the keynote speaker in front of the top executives from Billabong, Quiksilver and Ripcurl (the biggest three surf co.’s in the world) and the head of the world’s largest surfboard manufacturing company, GSI, not to mention the biggest collection of surfing world champions ever assembled in one room.  My speech was followed by a forum discussion where all the influential people present discussed the issues surrounding sustainable surfboards.  The forum was the most highly anticipated event of the week and my presentation effectively laid the groundwork for a heated debate.

Although I don’t think one of the Big 3 surf companies is about to throw millions into the research and development of a sustainable surfboard, this was not my intention.  It is safe to say the surf industry is now addressing the environmental and health impacts of the modern surfboard more than ever.  In this sense, I have really achieved what I set out to do.  My independent study project for SIT was intended to act as a catalyst towards positive change in the industry, and with its publication and my subsequent presentation – the surf community is taking the initial leaps towards sustainability.

Sean can be contacted at sullivanmsean@gmail.com.  His ISP report "Sustainable Surfboards," can be accessed on http://www.coastalwatch.com/ or thru a google search.