Earth Day in New Smyrna Beach Beach is a fun-filled family event teaching and promoting Earth Day by planting sea oats to help protect the coast. Oceanview Yoga started making Earth Day a priority at their studio. Through the joint effort of Oceanview Yoga and Red Dog Surf, Lisa Wulf and Dave Sokoll are making an effort to bring the community together in a yearly event called “Restore Our Shore”.
“Restore Our Shore” was the first annual Earth Day Event in New Smyrna Beach hosted by Oceanview Yoga and Red Dog Surf. The community gathered at the main beach entrance of New Smyrna Beach at Flagler Avenue to plant sea oats in the dunes on Saturday.
Planting sea oats helps collect and keep the sand in place on the beach. For years, Dave Sokoll, owner of Red Dog Surf Shop and Kembali in New Smyrna Beach, has planted sea oats up and down the shore. Dave has been attending yoga classes at Oceanview Yoga since the studio opened in 2008. When he told his friend and yoga studio owner Lisa Wulf about the idea, she began brainstorming ideas on how to get the whole community in on the event.
New Smyrna Beach Earth Day Will Be an Annual Event
That’s when she decided to make New Smryna Beach Earth Day a weekend-long event free to the public. She collaborated with Dave Sokoll because he knew right where the sea oats should be planted and where to get them. Oceanview contributed financially as well as receiving $1 donation for each oat to plant.
Dave Sokoll of Red Dog Surf Shop Teaches Everyone How to Plant Sea Oats for Earth Day
“I’m so glad that Dave introduced me to this idea. This is something that I plan on doing more of. I want to make every year bigger than the next. Planting sea oats can really help protect our shores and get our community involved, not to mention it could save the city a lot of money over time. Thank you to all who participated, the children, the tourists and local passers-bys. Together we can make a difference.”
Chase Russow, yoga student and New Smyrna Beach resident, laughed about his blistered knees, “So much fun in the sun, it was even worth the minor battle wound from planting, I can’t wait to do it again.” Many people came out to help, including local artist Barrette & Javier Blake of HempWick, Tymi Howard of Guruv Studios in Orlando, and Beeman’s Nursery.
Intensive Yoga Teacher Training and Study Learns More than Just Asana
Jana Pidskalny and beach goers take a Break for Some Fun in the Sun
Students of Oceanview’s Intensive Yoga Studies and Teacher Training also joined in the weekend event activities. Among them were Jana Pidskalny and Erin Walsh.
“This is the perfect thing to do for Teacher Training and Earth Day weekend. So many people think that yoga is about asana and fitness, but it actually encompasses a lot more. As students we’ll practice the 8 paths of yoga over the weekend, including teachings such as Yama, Niyama, Dharana, Dyana, and Samadhi,” stated Erin Walsh.
Why Plant Sea Oats Along Our Coast?
New Smyrna Beach’s shoreline was hit hard during the hurricanes of 2004. In the following years, the shoreline was further demolished by tropical storms and winds. The shore underwent a major dredging in 2009, but is still at high risk of excessive erosion.
Our Baby Sea Oats
The beach’s dunes are the backbone to life on a barrier island such as “Beachside” of New Smyrna Beach. The dunes intercept the wave action, wind abrasion, and salt spray, acting as a shelter to the natural environment inland. They help prevent flooding and erosion.
Sea oats play a vital role in anchoring the sand dunes. The sea oats grow when buried in sand and provide an extensive network of deep roots. Picking sea oats or walking across dunes can further erode the shoreline. This is why it is illegal to pick sea oats in Florida.
Friday Night “Watering the Seeds of Joy” with Bob Allen
Dave Sokoll Teaches Locals and Passers-by How to Correctly Plant and Take Care of the Sea Oats
Over 50+ people attended the weekend long event, which started on Friday with a free meditation workshop titled “Watering the Seeds of Joy”, in honor of the forthcoming event on Saturday with the planting of sea oats. Bob Allen of Fish Lake Sangha presented the workshop on how the different levels of consciousness work together to produce desirable and undesirable experiences.
Bob Allen explained, “We looked at how the seeds in our store consciousness (called bija) can be watered by speech, actions and behaviors and grow into full awareness. By mindfully accepting those things that water the beneficial seeds like joy, and taking care not to water the difficult seeds like hatred or guilt, we can take active ownership of the doors to our mind and heart, become more joyful and appreciate our lives.”
Saturday and Sunday Free Yoga on Earth Day Weekend at Oceanview
On Saturday a free yoga class was provided at 9:30AM before the annual planting of the sea oats at noon on Saturday. The turnout for the event was huge. With mats staggered at 6 inches apart, the whole community came to celebrate the Earth Day offering.
The weekend wrapped up with a practice of Morning Sadhana on Easter Morning. New and old yogis gathered at 6AM for a silent meditation awaiting the arrival of the sunrise. And then enjoyed an hour and a half long yoga practice before they went to celebrate the day in whatever way they had planned.
Lisa Wulf Enjoys Sharing the Day with Her Students
“The feeling of tranquility and love overwhelm me when I go out to water our sea oats and watch them grow. I’m not the only one that enjoys this, either. I’ve heard from more than one attendee how profoundly this has influenced them,” said Lisa Wulf with a smile on her face.
Lisa Wulf is the owner of Oceanview Yoga. Her studio offers a wide array of holistic healing in the form of classes, massage, workshops, retreats, corporate retreats, and teacher training. You may check out her website where she is continually offering events to the whole community on a regular basis: http://oceanview-yoga.com.
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