Happy International Surfing day!

“Over 1,500 children learning how to protect our environments thanks to the Learn Through Surfing project”.

Today, coinciding with International Surfing Day (15th June), the 4th edition of the environmental awareness project Learn through Surfing, developed by the Spanish Surfing Federation and the non-profit association Surf and Clean, comes to an end. To date, the educational programme has reached more than 1,500 primary school children from 11 schools in Menorca.

The project landed on the island in 2021 with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of caring for and preserving our natural environment, while at the same time helping students to better relate to themselves and their classmates. To this end, the Surf and Clean team combines classroom and beach experiences, harnessing the potential of surfing to promote values such as cooperation, equality, inclusion, ecology, prevention and community building:

David Blanco, president of Surf and Clean, points out that this year “we have worked for the first time with secondary school students on the island.We have developed more physical activities, teaching more advanced concepts such as how to read a wave report and reinforcing everything they have learnt previously.Our aim is to encourage people to deseasonalise their relationship with the sea and encourage them to enjoy and protect it all year round”.

In this edition, the initiative has counted with the involvement of two local entities that have been in charge of delivering the programme: Paddle Tour Menorca and Surf&Sail Menorca.In addition, another novelty this year was to be able to count on the help of trainees from the training cycle of “Guide in the natural environment and leisure time” taught at the IES Cap de Llevant:

Four years “learning through surfing” in Menorca

The project, which has had the combined support of the Consell Insular and Menorca Preservation, has been very well received from the beginning by the island’s pupils and teachers, which has allowed it to grow organically over these four editions. In this sense, the teachers of CEIP Pintor Torrent who have participated in the initiative emphasise that: “We have taken advantage of this activity to connect with nature. This initiative shows that, without causing damage to the great natural heritage we have in Menorca, we can also enjoy and learn to coexist with what surrounds us”.

Finally, Sara D’Eustacchio, head of communications at Menorca Preservation, shares that: “Menorca Preservation is proud to see how this project has grown steadily year after year, managing to win the hearts of both the teachers and the more than a thousand students from Menorca who have participated in its activities. The sea is still a great unknown for many people. Our priority is to raise awareness of the incredible value of these environments in order to be able to protect them better together”.