About Bring Back Our Beaches
Bring Back Our Beaches began in San Clemente, where locals and surfers watched wide sandy beaches narrow into cobble, riprap, and exposed infrastructure. What started as a local effort has grown into a broader coastal advocacy platform focused on beach loss, surf spots, sand systems, and smarter coastal management.
Our Mission
BBOB is rebuilding the case for the world's beaches. We raise awareness of beach and surf spot loss, champion beaches as economic engines worth billions, and advocate for practical, science-based solutions — including recurring nourishment where sensible — to keep coastlines alive for the communities and economies they sustain.
Our Approach
We use storytelling, research, visuals, and public education to make coastal issues easier to understand. Our goal is not to promote one universal fix. It is to help communities understand how their beaches work, what changed, and what solutions deserve serious consideration.
How It Started
BBOB originated in San Clemente, where locals and surfers watched the shoreline lose sand year after year. What began with a documentary about San Clemente’s disappearing beaches grew into a broader effort to explain beach loss, elevate practical solutions, and build public support for smarter coastal management.
That local experience remains central to our work — but the issue is much bigger than one town. Around the world, coastal communities are confronting the same question: what happens when the beach starts disappearing?
