- When was the first time you had a profound connection with nature?

Was it a stroll through an urban park?

A hike with your family?

Or perhaps it was a field trip to a beach as a kid?

Experiences like this are important to get people to care about the environment.

But they're not accessible to everyone.

Studies show that people tend to care more about the environment when they have direct and personal experiences with it.

Essentially, the more someone experiences nature firsthand, the more likely they are to value and advocate for its conservation.

On top of that, research shows regular exposure to nature can improve mental wellbeing and even reduce stress too.

But access to nature can be limited by things like socioeconomic barriers and even public transportation.

Our Climate California team spoke with Mario Ordoñez-Calderon, the executive director of Un Mar de Colores, and Diandra Marizet, co-founder of Intersectional Environmentalist, about the role of representation in fostering environmental allies.

- Un Mar de Colores means an ocean of colors, and what inspired me to name the organization that was that the ocean can be an array of different colors on any given day.

Some days it's like bright purple, and bright orange, and bright red, right?

Depending on like the sunset and the hue that it gives it.

Or on cloudy days, you see it being gray, metallic blue, and things like that.

So as the ocean reflects an array of different colors, I wanted the surf lineup to be that as well.

So specifically start representing more Black, Indigenous, people of color in the surf lineup.

I think that everyone benefits from connecting from the environment that they want to protect, and without that central, that first bit of like inspiration, or warmth, or joy that you might experience in catching a wave, that it's hard to sell.

- [Narrator] It's no surprise that early exposure to nature can significantly influence a person's lifelong connection to the environment.

Something as simple as surfing can create a deeper appreciation of the ocean while teaching important life lessons as well.

Let's hear about an example of this with Un Mar de Colores.

- So Leslie started with us approximately like two years ago, and she's an Un Mar graduate now.

She went through our program not knowing how to surf, having like a little bit of experience with it from a family friend who took her out, but not knowing how to surf and very shy.

And her mom was someone who was really adamant about getting her into her program.

And through her two years with us, she has just blossomed as like a leader and someone who loves surfing and someone who's willing to share surfing with others.

And I think that's the most beautiful thing that we could have ever like asked for, is that she gets it.

She understands that this isn't just for me, it's not just a sport for me, but she's sharing it with like her cousins, her friends, Diandra today, you know.

It's like and this is that, you know, that's where you see that ripple effect happening.

- I think that it's a beautiful thing when someone can come out to a program and be like, "Oh cool, the kids are surfing."

And that when it's communicated to them visually in person so simply, that's such a beautiful sign of success.

- [Narrator] The amazing thing about increasing access to natural spaces is the fact that waves of change can inspire whole communities.

This is one of the many reasons why representation is incredibly important.

- What is perceived as like generational wealth?

Because knowledge is wealth and you could see something like a sport, like surfing, being passed down from what might be a white dad passing it down to a white son, but then it skips, you know, the outsider unless they have that invitation.

That's how I learned to serve.

It was my white best friend taught me, right?

But now with Leslie, like she has the opportunity to keep passing that down in her community now.

And she's just had been such a dream to have in the program because after she graduated she loved the experience so much that she decided to start volunteering with us.

So now every summer she's coming back and teaching kids younger than herself how to surf, and that's really full circle magical.

- What Mario and Diandra have shown us is that increasing access and cultural experiences with nature can create the foundation for a life of environmental advocacy.

And ultimately every wave can add up to a lifetime of change.

Until next time, happy exploring.

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