Instagram story viewer> @northdevonworldsurfingreserve> Posts

3.6K

followers

179

following

A coalition of environmental, community, sporting groups that work scientifically (not opinionated) to protect the Surf Ecosystem. Waves 4All Forever

POSTS STORIES REELS

We're super excited to for the world premiere of our water quality documentary, this Friday 21st August at the Surf & Conservation Film Festival, in #Croyde #NorthDevon

It'll be screened as part of the @savethewavescoalition Film Festival on the Friday night, with plenty more festival action to follow throughout Saturday, too!

Get your tickets here 👇

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/surf-conservation-film-festival-2026-north-devon-tickets-1992360997376 by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

We’re looking for volunteers to come and support and drive the NDWSR current core team.

If you don’t see people like you in this role, or have a passion for building community, protecting and improving our environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Over the next 12 months, we’ll be looking at renewing our local stewardship plan, setting up a water quality task force, continuing the coastal rivers project, implementing an educational programme and supporting our communications and identity.

If you think you can help to implement or even steer our strategic plan, then come along to the Museum of British Surfing on the 4th of March at 7pm for an informal chat. 💚 by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

PEACE IN RAGE IN MOTION//
~
Tom finding his. @tomdonaldson8
~
Croyde bay ‘26.
~
@northdevonworldsurfingreserve by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

$Very excited to share an upcoming event taking place at Magenta Fine Art Gallery in Ilfracombe. Magenta and I have been collaborating for some time now on a group exhibition showcasing 5 unique artists local to Devon. This mixed media show will respond to themes of coastal connections and will coincide with Ilfracombes first ever Photography Festival! The show will run from the 10th to the 18th of October, with a talk night held on the opening night in conversation with our very own North Devon Surf Reserve, discussing arts role in coastal conservation and sustainability. The Sunday will be followed by a guided photo walk hosted by Croyde Camera Club. This will take place at 4pm starting at Magenta Gallery Ilfracombe. (No booking needed just turn up!) Within this week long exhibition we are aiming to bring together creativity, community and surfing in way that is open and welcome to all, and we hope all who visit can take something away from this show! For more info and FREE tickets for our talk night please see the link in my bio. For any questions please feel free to drop me a message! G x by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve$

$Now for something a little different and closer to home, Magenta Fine Art has teamed up with local photographer Georgia to create ‘Kindred Tides’ a collaborative mixed media exhibition, showcasing local photography (coinciding with Ilfracombe’s first annual photography festival) painting and sculpture with a special opening night discussion with North Devon Surfing Reserve, together we will explore the idea ‘Can Art Save a Coastline’ – in this one week exhibition we aim to bring art, community and surfing together in a conversation about coastal conservation! Featured artists exhibiting in Kindred Tides; Georgia Buckley, Alix Hazell, Drew McDonald, Johnathon Whittaker and Chris Gatcum. Opening Night - Saturday 10th October Talk to start @ 18:30 Exhibition on until Saturday 18th October Guided photo walk with @nicko_photo Sunday 11th 4pm starting at Magenta DM or call 01271 862590 to add your name on the guest list for opening night! GalleryEvent MagentaFineArt CoastalConservation IlfracombeGallery IlfracombeWhatsOn by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve$

World Surfing Reserve Stewardship Stories: North Devon, United Kingdom 🇬🇧

North Devon is the UK's first World Surfing Reserve — 30 kilometers of cold water coastline with a hugely diverse selection of beach and reef breaks, overlapping with a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Water quality is a huge challenge across the UK, and North Devon is no exception — the reserve experiences persistent unhealthy water conditions despite its WSR status. In response, the WSR has taken a tangible, direct approach to tackling pollution at its source: working with local partners to clean up small-scale streams and rivers.

Through the Coastal Rivers Project, the WSR partners with landowners to create interventions like leaky dams, reed beds, willow planting, and land drain breaking — all designed to slow the flow of water across the land. The benefits ripple outward: boosted biodiversity, greater carbon sequestration, plastic collection, and increased filtering of land pollution before it reaches the ocean 🌱

Recent stewardship impact:

💧 27 interventions funded and created across the North Devon World Surfing Reserve through the Coastal Rivers Project, helping improve water quality on Combesgate and Woolacombe beach

For more information about the impact of the World Surfing Reserve program, tap the link in our bio.

@northdevonworldsurfingreserve
📷 @gordon_d by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

🚬🏄 A cigarette butt and a surfboard shouldn't have anything in common. This film proves otherwise.

We're delighted to help spread the word about THE CIGARETTE SURFBOARD, an award-winning environmental documentary following surfer Taylor Lane as he builds a functional surfboard from 10,000 cigarette butts collected off California beaches — turning one grassroots idea into a campaign that's already helped change legislation in Santa Cruz County.

It's a story that speaks directly to what we believe at NDWSR: that small, local actions — from a beach clean to protecting a stretch of coastline — can ripple into something much bigger.

The film is streaming online 15–27 September 2026, timed around International Coastal Cleanup Day (Sep 19), with live Q&As featuring surfers and ocean advocates from the film — including Chris Hines, co-founder of Surfers Against Sewage, on Saturday 19 September.

🎟️ Tickets and info: https://watch.eventive.org/thecigarettesurfboard

#ciggyboard #surf #ocean #documentary by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

🎬 WHAT A WEEKEND!

The second Surf & Conservation Film Festival is a wrap. And wow, North Devon, you showed up.

✅ 350+ people joined us across the weekend at Freshwell Camping
✅ 100 of you came down for Saturday's free family day. Beach cleans, live water quality testing, rock pool rambles, a river-themed bouncy castle and more
✅ Incredible films from the Save The Waves and Edinburgh Conservation Film Festivals, under the stars
✅ Two brilliant panels bringing together surfers, scientists and conservationists on accessibility in the water and the health of our rivers
✅ Live music from Laura Kate and Jack Dayman
✅ And, drumroll... over £4,000 raised for projects improving water quality across the North Devon World Surfing Reserve

None of this happens without the community. Massive thanks to:

🙌 Everyone who came down, joined a workshop, bought a raffle ticket and got stuck into a beach clean
🙌 Our volunteers, who gave up their weekend to make it all run smoothly
🙌 Our brilliant panellists, speakers and stallholders
🙌 And our sponsors who made it all possible: The Manor House Inn, John Fowler Holiday Parks, Ocean Pitch Campsite, Croyde Bay Holiday Resort, The Thatch Croyde, Blue Groove, Beyond the Break, Holidays in Croyde, Surfing Croyde Bay & Woodstock Windows
🙌 Also those who donated raffle prizes: @saltatlas.surf, Line-up Lab, @surfingcroyde @bluegroovecroyde @neapcoffee Ocean Pitch, Biffen’s Kitchen, Beyond the Break/Duck Dive, Croyde Holiday Park, Patinar Skate Shop, Beach Hut Croyde/The Hub, Little Pink Surf Shop Croyde, Second Skin Surf Shop Braunton, John Fowler, Woodstock Windows, Brends, Dryrobe, Holidays in Croyde 💙

Want to keep the momentum going? Join North Devon Biosphere for Rise Up for Rivers at Arlington Court, Sat 12 Sept, 10:30am–3:30pm, and train as a citizen river water quality tester!

#SurfConservationFilmFest #NorthDevon #WorldSurfingReserve #HealthyRivers by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

🌍 SATURDAY PANEL: Source to Sea – Connecting Land, Rivers & Ocean

Saturday 22 Aug (tomorrow!) at the Surf & Conservation Film Festival heads upstream, exploring how soil, rivers and sea are all connected, and why protecting one means protecting them all.

Meet the panelists 👇

🟢 Lottie Hawkins – Earthly Biochar. Founder of Earthly Biochar, researching soil–human interactions and advising landowners, councils and brands on regenerative, biochar-led projects.

🟢 Carli Cocciardi – Devon Wildlife Trust. Marine Nature Recovery Officer championing marine conservation through policy, advocacy and stakeholder engagement.

🟢 Matt Worthington – Westcountry Rivers Trust. Works on river restoration and community engagement, connecting people with local rivers through surveys, projects and volunteering.

🟢 Tundish (Rob Whitney) – North Devon World Surfing Reserve. Co-founder of the North Devon World Surfing Reserve, the only one in the UK, and of Protect Your Patch, a geospatial donation platform protecting environmental spaces worldwide.

🟢 Darren Searle – North Devon UNESCO Biosphere. Leads on water quality at the Biosphere, working with landowners on flood management and communities on Healthy Rivers action, plus the Smart Biosphere monitoring platform.

The Festival kicks off tonight:
📍 Freshwell Camping, Croyde 🎟️ Link in bio 👀

#SurfConservationFilmFest #SourceToSea #NorthDevon #RiverConservation by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

I will be down with my ocean rowing boat Jacqueline Emily at @freshwellcamping in Croyde on Saturday afternoon for the @northdevonbiosphere @earthactionnorthdevon @northdevonworldsurfingreserve Surf & Conservation film festival.

Showing visitors the boat I hope to row 3000 miles solo independently across The Atlantic this winter 🌊🚣

Welcoming people aboard, answering questions, showcasing some past adventures and talking about this one…look forward to seeing you all down there ✌🏼

Ad by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

🌊 FRIDAY NIGHT PANEL: Surf, Conservation & Accessibility

Friday 21 August at the Surf & Conservation Film Festival brings the Save The Waves Film Festival screening to Freshwell Camping. And before the films, we’ve got an incredible talk panel diving into surf conservation and making the sport more accessible to everyone.

Meet the panelists 👇

🔵 Suzanne Edwards: Parateam/Surfing England. Para surfer, accessibility advocate and two-time English Para Surfing Champion. After a life-changing spinal cord injury, Suzanne rediscovered surfing as a prone surfer and now represents Team England internationally – championing inclusion in and out of the water.

🔵 Nick Rees: @dryrobe. Over 15 years in the surf industry, now Global Partnerships Manager at Dryrobe. Previously COO at Surfing England and Surf Manager at The Wave.

🔵 Ella Sullivan: @sauntonsurfsisters. Founder of Saunton Surf Sisters, a North Devon community empowering women through surfing, friendship and a shared connection to the ocean.

🔵 James A. Grant: Reinventing the Ride. Photographer blending fine art, fashion and documentary storytelling. His touring exhibition explores the people and ideas driving more sustainable surfboard design across the UK.

🔵 Ian Bennett: @waveprojectuk. Adaptive Lead and pioneer at The Wave Project, providing surf therapy and inclusive ocean activities for people with physical and mental disabilities. BBC South West Unsung Hero award winner for his work out of Croyde.

🔵 Roger Sheridan: @surfingengland. Head of Professional Services at Surfing England, with 20+ years in sport and leisure management. A passionate advocate for marine conservation, especially Surfing England’s Surfer Scientists Seagrass Project.

📍 Freshwell Camping, Croyde 🎟️ [link in bio]

#SurfConservationFilmFest #NorthDevon #AccessibleSurfing #SaveTheWaves by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve

Save The Waves Film Festival is coming to North Devon!

The only international surf and environmental film fest will be @freshwellcamping on 21st Aug.

Tickets are only £10 and all profits will go to improving water quality within the Reserve.

Featuring inspiring nonfiction and documentary films on surf and water sports, travel and adventure, conservation and climate.

An event worth supporting: Save The Waves Film Festival is an international film tour and fundraiser for @savethewavescoalition’s conservation efforts to protect surf ecosystems.

Supported by @finisterre @oneilleurope @oneillusa @rivianoffcial @fuel.tv @surfer_magazine @mountains.wave @savethewavescoalition by @northdevonworldsurfingreserve