Exploring how New Zealand surfers construct experiences of the coastal environment : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Natural Resource Management and Ecological Engineering at Lincoln University

Abstract

As the importance of protecting surf breaks grows internationally, surfers are becoming increasingly relied upon to inform the resource management process. This is despite conflicting discourses of how surfers value the natural environment, as well as a lack of research which focuses upon how surfers construct value of these spaces. This research explores how New Zealand surfers construct connections to surfing, surf breaks and the costal environment. Qualitative data in the form of oral history narratives was collected using a topic-based oral history interview approach. The interviews were to designed to elicit 15 surfers’ oral histories relating to their experiences of the costal environment through the act of surfing. This data was then analysed through a combination of oral history and narrative theory which allowed the informants’ responses to be categorised into 5 themes: Individual surfing values, Awareness of changes in the coastal environment, Relationships to surfing and the coastal environment, Accessibility of surfing, and Cultural expectations. The findings of this thesis show that these surfers developed a unique knowledge of surf breaks and reconceived elements of the coastal environment through surfing. Furthermore, surfers who were able to observe a surf break consistently, could make judgements upon the state of the surf break over time. However, this was limited to elements within the coastal environment which directly pertain to the act of surfing. Although surfers can express a broader sense of care for the environment it is not defined nor engendered specifically by surfing. Instead, the experience of surfing is constructed by several variables which contribute to shaping their individual experiences of surfing and values of the environment. Examples from this research include culture, technology, access, gender and colonisation. This thesis challenges the expectation that surfers develop a broad care for the environment based on their immersion in the coastal environment. However, it also tempers criticisms directed towards surfers for failing to live up to these expectations. Instead, it concludes that surfing, enabled by surf breaks, is an activity which can connect individuals more closely to specific elements within the coastal environment.