Be a mentor, and get out and surf

Over two weekends in July, the Nova Scotia Sea School, in partnership with HRM Recreation for Musquodoboit and Sheet Harbour, will launch a new project called the “Get Out and Surf Program”.

Primarily funded by the 4Cs Foundation, the project will feature 10 to 12 teenagers designing, building and “arting-up” surfboards on the Eastern Shore.

The Eastern Shore is a region of HRM with a strong community of adult surfers and artists. Yet, despite the area’s abundance of surfable waves, there are few young people who surf or are involved in the surf community.

One of the two main goals of the new project will be to provide youth on the Eastern Shore, who lack financial resources and information, with the basic equipment and knowledge they need to get out and surf and benefit from the treasures available in their own backyards.

Another goal of the project will be to connect the surfing community with local youth in the region. This will be accomplished in two ways.

First of all, surf-artists in Nova Scotia will provide participants with workshops and history related to surf-art in Nova Scotia and beyond.

Secondly, each youth participant will be paired with a surf-buddy or surf-mentor. Volunteer mentors will commit to taking their buddies for three post-program surf sessions and perhaps participate in the program in other ways (details to come).

This is a great opportunity for surfers to give back! If you would like to be a surf-mentor for this program or deliver a workshop as a surf-artist, please email info@seaschool.org with the subject “surf-mentor”.

The Sea School is still collecting the resources needed to make this program a success. Here’s what’s needed:

• Funding to hire local surf schools for delivering surfing lessons
• Wetsuits
• Leashes, fins, plugs
• Any donations of tools (sanders, files, sandpaper, X-Actos)
• Any donations of art supplies (brushes, spray paint, rice paper)
• Donations of food (residential camp)