Not only do the organizers of the conference fight to protect sacred coastlines and surf breaks around the world on a daily basis, the entire ethos of the Global Wave Conference was based on empowering activists, brands, governments, and others to do the same. With the Santa Cruz World Surfing Reserve serving as the conference backdrop, panelists and keynote speakers from different backgrounds in science, surfing, technology, conservation, and governance from around the world shared inspiring and educational solutions and challenges to ocean conservation and climate change. The Save The Waves Film Festival was hosted at the Patagonia store and Pangeaseed, a non-profit ‘ARTivism’ group, commissioned an art mural outside the store as a live demonstration to protest the recently proposed offshore drilling. To top it off, the Mayor of Santa Cruz and other elected officials spoke about their efforts to improve water quality at Cowell’s Beach in partnership with Save The Waves on a walking tour. (Photo: Nikki Brooks)