Richie Graham partners with Surfers Against Sewage to clean up Cornwall beaches
1% for the Planet member Richie Graham makes each of his environmental partnerships personal. Since 2018, he’s traveled far and wide to work alongside his six nonprofit partners—from Atlanta, Georgia to Tanzania and of course, touching down in Cornwall, England to help Surfer’s Against Sewage with their Big Spring Beach Clean. Here’s a little more on his work with his partner against pollution:
From Richie Graham’s Travel Journal:
Surfing is the big draw in Cornwall, and I was on location documenting 1% for the Planet nonprofit partner Surfer’s Against Sewage (SAS) in action for their Big Spring Beach Clean. The nonprofit’s history dates back to the 1980’s and 1990’s when local Cornwall surfer’s stood up and took action – they were sick of seeing sewage dumped into their seas and on their beaches and were fed up of getting ill when doing the sports they loved – surfing, sea swimming, windsurfing and anything else that involved being in the sea.
From these humble and very grassroots beginnings SAS has grown to become widely recognized as one of the UK’s leading marine conservation charities dealing with a wide spectrum of marine conservation issues from marine litter to climate change. This growth did not happen by accident. From what I could see on the ground during my time with SAS, it was due in great part by the energy and commitment of its Chief Executive, Hugo Tagholm, whom along with Director of Fundraising and Operations, Pete Lewis, and Director of Campaigns & Projects, Ben Hewitt and a dedicated staff have accelerated the growth and professionalism of SAS.
Today the charity is a highly organized and efficiently run nonprofit where impact is measured using data. This fact-based approach helps secure funding for sure, but SAS’s secret in my opinion is that this new leadership team has professionalized the organization without losing the authenticity of its surfer identity. Hugo, Pete, Ben and their team live the life — they are authentic to their sport and their mission. They are not some sterile, data driven, charity in a high-rise in London. They have all the chops of the sophisticated, modern, charity, but they stay are core to their Cornwall roots as surfer’s. I think this authenticity is a key factor in enabling SAS to mobilize entire communities. Hugo and his team give off a vibe of being regular people who happen to care and happen to want to do something about it. I suspect this modest approach is a key factor that has enabled them to grow and successfully energize communities from the young to the old — to get out and clean up trash from summit to sea.
