Surfrider Foundation Atlantic Canada

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Halifax, NS
Surfrider Foundation Atlantic Canada

Dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean and beaches, for all people.

06/08/2026

While most of our exec members were busy this weekend with our event, two of us were attending ’s bi-annual conference. It wrapped up with a tour of ’s facility in Vancouver, where co-founder James Middleton shared with us an inside look at their non-profit’s efforts to take recovered ocean plastics and turn them into materials that can be reused (again, and again, and again), including innovative lumber and outdoor furniture, and pellets that can displace new plastic and be made into almost anything otherwise made from new plastic pellets.

While inspiring, it felt a bit like a dystopian Charlie and the Chocolate Factory moment, getting a glimpse of the innovation and commitment necessary to try to address humanity’s addiction to plastic and petroleum. Something has to give… and it clearly won’t be James and his team, Surfrider’s volunteers, and the countless other committed people who are trying to make a difference around the world, but it very well could be our oceans and our planet if we do not have a true commitment by governments and societies around the world to turn off the plastic tap.

(Credit for the first two slides: the Ocean Plastics Depot website.)

06/03/2026

🚨 TAKE ACTION FOR CLEANER COASTS! 🚨

So far in 2026, volunteers from have collected over 350,000 lobster bands from Nova Scotian shorelines, many of which appear to be coming directly from fishing facilities. This is a staggering amount of pollution that demonstrates that more needs to be done to prevent marine debris from escaping fishing facilities.

Please support our BANDS OFF BEACHES campaign and join us in calling on the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to take proactive steps to prevent marine debris, including lobster bands, from being released from fishing facilities in Nova Scotia, and to support the industry with adopting best practices.

It is encouraging that Scotian Shores’ advocacy helped raise awareness of this issue so that the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture introduced a requirement, effective August 1, 2025, for licence holders to “implement measures to prevent the release of marine debris and litter from their facility,” including but not limited to “lobster bands, plastic strapping and plastic packaging.”

BUT THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.

We are calling on the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to:

1. Require licence holders to report by November 1, 2026 the measures that they have implemented to prevent marine debris and litter from being released from their facilities;

2. Have Fisheries and Aquaculture officers proactively inspect floor drains, catchment systems, and outflow pipes at lobster processing plants and holding facilities whenever they visit a licence holder’s facility;

3. Investigate complaints and take enforcement action, where necessary, to ensure licence holders are complying with their requirement to take steps to prevent marine debris and litter from being released into the environment; and,

4. Take the lead on promoting best practices within the lobster industry.

YOU CAN HELP, TOO!

💌 - follow the link in our bio to learn more and send an email to the Minister and your MLA 🫶 🌊 🌎

06/01/2026

Last Thursday, we marked International Plastic Free Day with a special screening of Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics, hosted by Patagonia Halifax 🌊

A massive thank you to everyone who made it possible:

for hosting us in your beautiful space and co-sponsoring our raffle. All prizes were by donation and every dollar goes directly to supporting Surfrider Atlantic Canada’s programs 🙏
bridgewater Wetsuit Recycling Program for attending the evening and for the incredible work you are doing to keep neoprene out of landfills in Nova Scotia 🤿

for keeping us hydrated with your delicious Nova Scotia-made kombucha all night long 🍵

for attending the event and for everything you are doing to celebrate and protect our oceans 🫶 🌊

for giving us the opportunity to screen this powerful documentary. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it.

To HalifACT and for donating their artist-designed Climate Commitment Badges for our participants.

To our team for rallying together to make this night happen, you are the reason this community exists 💙

And, finally, to every single person who showed up: whether you’ve been following our work for years or this was your first time hearing about us, thank you for your presence!

This event directly supports two of our ongoing initiatives:

🏖 Monthly beach cleanups across HRM
🔬 Blue Water Task Force, our new citizen science water quality testing program, launching in Halifax in the coming weeks

Want to get involved? Link in bio!

We will be sharing some practical resources on reducing plastic use in the coming days, stay tuned!

05/19/2026

Halifax, we can do better! Whenever possible, it is best to follow “leave no trace” principles, including by packing out what you pack in.

Although the HRM parks staff will clean up this mess left over from the weekend, when public garbage cans are full, the best approach is to pack your garbage out and dispose of it at home properly (organics in the green bin, recycling recycled, and hazardous waste disposed of safely). The wind can blow litter into waterways and oceans, while wildlife can also get into garbage left outside of garbage cans and spread it around.

05/04/2026

🚨 Happy Nova Scotia Litter Clean-up Day! 🚨

One of our volunteers noticed this morning that a city beach park could use some 💙. And in about 5 minutes, she collected a few interesting items (and a bunch of less photogenic things).

If you can get out today for a little “plog” (a walk or jog where you collect litter along the way), thank you! And we would be super stoked if you could DM us a photo of your finds. 🫶 🌎 🌊

04/25/2026

Let’s show Lawrencetown Beach 💙!

🗓️: Sunday, May 3
⏰ 10 to 11 a.m.
📍: Lawrencetown Beach Provincial Park
✅: All participants must sign a waiver (link in bio or available on site)

Although we did a cleanup at Lawrencetown Beach in March and we have been maintaining the garbage cans there during the NS Parks off-season, we are headed back now that all the snow has melted.

Please join us! 🫶🌎🌊

04/22/2026

On Earth Day, we would like to thank all of the volunteers and members of Surfrider Foundation Canada for doing what they can to help sustain this wonderful little planet that we are grateful to call home 🫶🌎

04/06/2026

Join us this Sunday April 12th at 10am to clean up Martinique Beach!

🌱Martinique Beach is critical habitat for endangered species, including piping plovers and bank swallows.

As such, access to the beach is only permitted through designated trails and clean-up volunteers are strictly prohibited from walking in the dunes (which is also a best practice for beach goers on all beaches, everywhere since dunes are extremely fragile ecosystems).

Together we can make a difference! See you there, and don’t forget to register using the link in our bio🪼

03/07/2026

Tomorrow is the day! Look out for our crew under the big blue tent and sign in for our first clean-up of the year! We can’t wait to see you out there and make a difference 🌊🪼🦭

03/01/2026

Our Lawrencetown Beach Clean-Up is only 1 week away! Join us there at 10am to help make a difference, and don’t forget to register using the link in our bio🏄🏻‍♀️We hope to see you there!

Address

Halifax, NS

Telephone

+19024942140

Website

https://linktr.ee/surfrideratlanticcanada

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