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Each year, New York City hosts one of the world’s largest climate gatherings, NYC Climate Week. Conference rooms, boardrooms, and community spaces across the city fill with global leaders, action takers, and decision makers to discuss, announce, and share initiatives that are driving climate action.
Surfrider first joined NYC Climate Week in 2024. We hosted two incredible events that highlighted our work on addressing climate change and its impacts. We took real climate action with RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity) by directly supporting their work with volunteers, funding, and a national spotlight, to restore the critical dune shoreline of the Rockaways. We also partnered with Patagonia, to bring our Puerto Rico mangrove restoration work to NYC, through an evening of dialogue, films, mofongo, and libations at their Williamsburg store. Big shout out to our friends at RISE and Patagonia.
Last week was our second visit to NYC for Climate Week. This year, we continued the great work happening on the Rockaways with RISE, partnered once again with Patagonia, and learned from the world’s best minds behind climate action.
Here is a closer look at Surfrider’s 2025 NYC Climate Week experience.
Day 1: Rockaways
While climate leaders and activists from around the world met in conference rooms and offices throughout Manhattan, Surfrider kicked off the 2025 New York City Climate Week with our hands in the ground. In partnership with RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity), Surfrider’s climate team and more than 60 volunteers helped to restore an acre of coastal dunes. Through the event, they installed more than 1,000 native dune plants to bolster the resilience of the Rockaway coastline through restoration - a basic nature-based solution to the impacts of climate change. This event gave dozens of Climate Week attendees the opportunity to get outside and make a tangible difference for our coast and planet.
Surfrider’s Puerto Rico Programs Manager Hector Varela had this to say:
“Visiting Rockaway was like looking into a mirror of what could happen in Puerto Rico if we learn from the mistakes of the past. On my island, coastal development advanced without considering the risks of climate change. The result was devastating: entire communities destroyed by Hurricane Maria, with remains of bricks, concrete slabs, and wood frames scattered where homes and businesses once stood.
“Being in the Rockaways with the community and working on the recovery of the dunes was a powerful reminder of the importance of coastal planning and the protection of natural barriers. The similarities between the dunes of Rockaway and those of Puerto Rico teach us that we cannot repeat the same mistakes. Restoring them together with my colleagues and the local community was a deeply satisfying and motivating experience.”
Day 2: New York Harbor
The next day we swapped sandy boots for deck shoes and stepped aboard the historic Tall Ship Wavertree on the East River for the Ocean Awakens. Attended by more than 400, the event focused on tackling single-use plastics and sharing concrete efforts to reduce the pollution that is choking our oceans. Global climate experts, entrepreneurs, and scientists also discussed the critical need for marine restoration, linking the recovery of ocean health with the fight against plastic waste.
Surfrider’s Climate Action Program Manager, Carla Avila-Martinez had this to say:
“Beyond the inspiration of hearing about tangible solutions, the event gave us the chance to connect with colleagues from other organizations and build new relationships. For the team, it was inspiring to see so many people working toward the same mission. Knowing that others around the world are carrying forward projects like ours reinforced the sense that this work is both collective and possible.”
Day 3: Manhattan
Midweek in NYC the team headed indoors for the panels, presentations, and working groups. There, we learned about kelp farming and its role in climate change mitigation, the emerging threats to biodiversity, large scale marine ecosystem restoration, and how to reimagine urban waterfronts. It was clear that our ocean is both at the center of the effects of climate change and holds the keys to solutions. This is a new and emerging paradigm in how we think about a livable planet for the next generation.
Part of the Alphabet City area of the East Village in Manhattan is known as Loisaida, a vibrant center for Latino culture, art, and community events. There, Surfrider participated in meetings with community organizations that have managed to create a space to connect Puerto Ricans in the city. The experience established new connections and explored opportunities to better protect Puerto Rico’s coral reefs, seagrass beds, dunes, and mangroves.
According to Hector, “educating and guiding Puerto Rican communities outside of Puerto Rico on how to get involved in these efforts is one of our priorities, and this day opened very valuable pathways in this effort.”
Day 4: Williamsburg
Patagonia’s Williamsburg store turned into something special. A gathering point where over 60 activists, community leaders, and climate week attendees gathered to learn about local climate resilience efforts and take action.
Surfrider’s NYC Chapter opened the evening with the Stop the Williams Pipeline campaign - tracing its history, past wins, and why the dangerous project has been resurrected. The chapter shared several different ways to take action and the response was immediate. Attendees pulled their phones out and took the first steps to get their voices heard by sending messages straight to Governor Hochul’s office urging her to reject the pipeline project. Take Action Here!
Next, we presented Surfrider’s Climate Action Program and how nature-based solutions, like restoration, are climate action. The team highlighted its ongoing partnership with RISE and the value of healthy dunes to coastal communities. RISE shared updates and progress on their Greater Rockaway Coastal Resilience Plan and nursery that will provide a steady supply of native plants to speed up restoration efforts in the Rockaways.
Ramon Cruz, former Sierra Club President, offered a wide perspective on the risks of oil and gas projects along our coasts and what we can do to help decarbonize. We closed with Surfrider’s Drilling is Killing campaign and a simple message: Stay engaged, join your local chapter, support campaigns, and help local efforts turn into national wins.
Final Thoughts
Surfrider’s participation in NYC Climate Week this year was an inspiration for the team while providing an incredible opportunity to connect with partners current and emerging. By the end of the week, Surfrider had moved from the Rockaways to community spaces and conference rooms in Manhattan, to a packed night in Williamsburg. Each stop carried the same thread: people showing up, sharing ideas, and turning thoughts into action.
Climate action is not something distant and abstract, nor is it something that takes place in conference rooms and offices. It happens in the places where communities gather and work together to protect and restore what sustains us. To get involved with Surfrider’s Climate Action Program please click here.