Your donations to Seatrees have made a difference in supporting ocean health and protecting the planet’s most vital ecosystems.
On April 22, 2025, WaterWays will be celebrating Earth Day. This year’s theme is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, which has the goal of getting everyone behind renewable energy to help triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030. Earth Day started in 1970, and the mission remains the same: to step up efforts to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and preserve our ecosystems. The Earth Day site has a list of events full of impactful opportunities near you, news on current campaigns, educational tools and loads of different ways to donate or volunteer.
Now Earth Day is a brilliant way to galvanise collection action for protecting the planet, but that isn’t a one-day-a-year commitment.
Here at WaterWays, we, or should we say you, have helped support ocean health and biodiversity over the last few years. We have collected and passed on $2 from each passenger to fund Seatrees, a nonprofit focused on transforming surf culture into a force for sustainability.
Restoring Coral in Bali, Indonesia
In 2023 and 2024, WaterWays donated your funds to two direct action projects: planting coral fragments in Bali and mangroves in Baja. In Bali, SeaTees worked with Ocean Gardener to restore the degraded coral reefs off the coast of the island of Nusa Penida.
Your pieces of coral were grown in the Ped Acropora Coral Nursery and then transplanted onto the reefs. They are monitored and mapped until the coral reef rebuilds and marine life returns to the area.
A big part of this project is the training and employment of locals to both grow the coral and then place it on the reef. The system used is very similar to the technique used by the Balinese for centuries to grow seaweed. The traditional rope and metal materials are both light and inexpensive, making them easier to use here in Bali, but also at other coral planting projects around the world.
The funds from WaterWays customers have directly helped plant around 1000 pieces of coral in a project that will provide a habitat for more than 500 species of vulnerable fish, create 20 jobs for local villagers, support 12 families, and aid in coastal protection, scientific research, medication, fishing, and eco-tourism. All those benefits were funded by you when you were (hopefully) getting barrelled off your nut on your annual surf trip. If you wish to donate more individually, you can choose from growing a single piece of coral for just $20 to growing an entire coral reef for four grand.
Mangrove Trees in Baja, Mexico
In Baja, Seatrees has partnered with WILDCOAST and started the planting of 100,000 mangrove trees across 25 acres of mangrove habitat in Laguna San Ignacio.
That is a UNESCO Heritage site and a gray whale breeding lagoon, located close to the right-hand point at Punta Abreojos. The project is done in collaboration with the “Mujeres de El Dátil”; a collective of local women trained in mangrove environmental services, seedlings collection, and planting techniques.
The funds collected from WaterWays trips helped plant roughly 2000 mangrove trees in the lagoon. No small feat, considering every tree planted improves the life of 250 inhabitants of El Dátil and trains 11 women in project management. That has knock-on effects of empowering gender equity, protecting the area from increased climate change impacts, and safeguarding critical habitats for several vulnerable species.
If you would like to add further support, you can start by buying five Seatrees for ten bucks or donating up to 100 mangroves for $200, the price of a fancy pair of boardshorts or a flash dinner with cocktails.