Founders of the SeaTrees Project Share Their Secrets to Saving Coastal Ecosystems

By KindhumansNovember 6, 2020

We’re stoked on Brett and Michael’s commitment to spreading awareness and promoting sustainable living through their nonprofit, Sustainable Surf, based in surf culture. Their project, SeaTrees supports blue carbon projects that restore ecology of the coasts and work towards slowing climate change. Through chatting with Brett and Michael, we learned all about how this kind project was born! – KH

Where do you live/where are you from? What are your passions/what lead you to be here? When you aren’t working what do you like to spend your time doing? What is a fun fact about yourself that isn’t widely known?

Brett: Until recently, I was based in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset (where I met Sam from Kindhumans). My family loves the city, and I love Ocean Beach, but Australia is home and we moved back here recently. We’re on the South Coast of New South Wales – think clear water, lots of waves, and good coffee. When I’m not working…the obvious answer would be surfing, but my wife and I both have industrial design backgrounds and love making stuff. We have a side project called SeaForm that is one outlet for that passion.

Michael: I’m Seattle born, but now firmly planted in northern California after many years of exploring different corners and coasts of the USA.

Being in tune and in rhythm with the natural world is when I feel like I’m living the best version of myself. For me, surfing in the ocean is a form of mindfulness practice that keeps my body and mind tuned in to what’s really important. I think my desire to protect and restore the ocean’s ecosystems springs from the simple urge to take care of the spaces I consider sacred.

I’m honestly not sure if I ever fully unplug from work — but playing with my family, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and listening to great podcasts (anything by Malcolm Gladwell) all rank pretty highly on my list.

I like haiku poems
because I hear brevity
Is the soul of wit…

What is the motivation and inspiration behind Sustainable Surf and SeaTrees and why did you start it?

Here’s a little story about the soft launch of SeaTrees (pretty sure Sam was there):

Michael: It was 2018 and we were in Santa Cruz, CA at the Global Wave Conference. The place was buzzing with collaborators and colleagues from around the world. We were excited to be there to present a new social science study that showed that climate change was the number one concern for ocean lovers around the world.

After the first long day of talks had wrapped up, our team huddled over cold beers in a noisy corner of the surf-themed hotel bar, to compare notes and swap gossip. We came to a humbling consensus; the ideas being presented were interesting but they felt out of tune with the urgency of the unfolding ocean health crisis and the existential threat that climate change poses for all life on the planet.

And frankly – our ideas did too.

I realized that it was finally time for us to talk about the big idea that the team had been steadily working on for years. The ocean has the super power to heal itself and even reverse climate change if we just give it the push it needs to get started.

Brett: The next morning, we trashed our planned presentation for the conference and started again from scratch. The team took shifts working all day on it around the kitchen table. We argued for or against critical components, refined the concept, and built not just a new presentation – but a new program. We worked deep into the night (ok, dawn, really), fueled by passion, stoke, and hot coffee, until we knew we had something worth talking about. It was a great solution that was scalable, involved direct action, and was available to anyone with access to the internet.

On the last day of the conference, Michael stepped on stage to present Sustainable Surf’s biggest idea yet: SeaTrees – a simple platform that enables anyone to restore and protect coastal ecosystems, to turn the tide on climate change, while also creating a more just, livable planet for everybody.

What specific impact does your organization make? How does your organization make the world a kinder place?

Brett: We believe that the ocean is the hero of our story and we can work with it to reverse climate change. SeaTrees makes it easy for anyone who cares about the ocean (don’t we all) to directly support communities planting and protecting blue carbon coastal ecosystems. Planting mangrove forests in Indonesia or Cambodia provides meaningful employment, creates critical habitat, builds resilience from storm surge and sea level rise, and just so happens to be the most effective way to suck carbon out of the atmosphere – period. I guess you could say that we’re trying to make it easier for people to be kinder to the ocean, and in turn, for the ocean to be kind back to us.

How would you define kindness and what does being a kind human mean to you?

Michael: For us, kindness is largely about showing respect, which happens to also be our guiding value: to respect people of all races and shapes. Respect the ocean and the lessons she teaches. Respect all living creatures and the role they play.

Name three kind humans in your life that have positively affected you and why?

Brett: My wife and two kids. “Be kind” is literally the thing we say most often to our girls. Be kind to each other, be kind to that spider (it eats mosquitoes!!!), be kind to people you meet on your adventures. It sounds cliché, but having kids in times of COVID has really made us step back and appreciate the simpler things in life – like being kind.

Michael: I’m obviously tempted to go with the easy, big names that have inspired my own professional work like Sylvia Earle (Mission Blue) Paul Hawkins (Project Drawdown) and Captain Paul Watson (Sea Shepard), but I’m going old school instead with some earlier influencers:

1. Richard Carlyon – one of my first visual art and design teachers in college. He taught me how to harness the power of the creative process. Best tool I ever got.

2. Billie Holiday – the sound and rhythm of her singing was long gone before I was born, but the first time I ever heard “Summertime” on the radio, I was a fan for life. Her voice is a masterclass for harnessing emotion.

3. The last one is the easiest! Thanks Mom — for everything .

What is a message, life lesson, or kindness quote you want to spread and leave with the Kindhumans community?

Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today! We still have time to turn the tide on climate change – if we all come together NOW and throw a little kindness to mother ocean and every creature that calls this big blue planet home.