Orleans Moves Forward on Bid to Become the Nation’s First Ocean Friendly Community

Orleans Moves Forward on Bid to Become the Nation’s First Ocean Friendly Community

National conservation organization Surfrider Foundation is backing the Town-wide Coastal Stewardship Initiative, which builds on decades of local environmental leadership.

ORLEANS, MA, [August 3, 2026] – The Town of Orleans has announced that its bid for Ocean Friendly Community designation from the Surfrider Foundation is moving forward, marking a major milestone in the Orleans Coastal Stewardship Initiative. No town has yet earned Ocean Friendly Community status from Surfrider; if Orleans’ application is approved, it would be the first in the nation to do so.

In 2013, Surfrider launched the Ocean Friendly Restaurant program to highlight businesses that were protecting our ocean and beaches by reducing single-use plastic and making more sustainable choices in their day-to-day operations. Seeing interest in the program, and its subsequent rapid growth across the country, the nonprofit launched the Ocean Friendly Hotel program in 2024. To date, there are currently 611 restaurants and 46 participating hotels that are certified as Ocean Friendly.

While Ocean Friendly Businesses prevent ocean-bound plastic pollution, Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG) program champions nature-based solutions that filter stormwater and urban runoff. Launched in 2008, the program uses rain gardens and bioswales full of native plants to naturally filter pollution and sponge up runoff, while also advocating to reduce pesticides, fertilizers, and plastics in landscapes. Community spaces and residences with OFGs boost biodiversity and climate resilience while protecting clean water throughout our interconnected watersheds.

Surfrider highlighted Orleans’ progress in its own national news coverage this month, describing it as “a big step” and citing “years of local partnerships, volunteer leadership, and a community that’s ready to take the next step in protecting the places we all love.” The organization’s Northeast regional and national program staff have been working directly with Orleans’ Community that CARES Coalition to build out the certification, education, and policy work the designation requires.

The designation process follows a Statement of Support unanimously adopted by the Orleans Select Board last month, formally endorsing the initiative and authorizing Town staff to support the effort through their existing municipal roles.

“The Orleans community believes in the need to protect our waters, lands and wildlife, they are our most valuable environmental resource and economic asset, and Orleans has spent years building the pieces of this without necessarily calling it a single initiative”. said Michael Herman, Orleans Select Board member. “One of the many things we have done is on our own Town-owned land. We have restricted fertilizers and pesticide use to protect our waters, people, pets and wildlife. And residents at Town Meeting stepped up and voted to extend those same protections town-wide through a Home Rule Petition – that citizen support is exactly the kind of thing this designation is meant to recognize and build on, even as we work through the State Legislation toward getting it fully implemented. This is a chance to connect that work – and everything else we’ve done and are continuing to work on wastewater, native planting, plastics, composting, recycling, solar and open space – into one framework the whole community can see and build on for future generations. We have a lot of respect for the work the Surfrider Foundation does and are proud to be a part of this initiative”.

A Foundation Built Over Decades

Orleans’ bid for Ocean Friendly Community status rests on a long record of environmental action, including:

• Comprehensive fertilizer, pesticide, and herbicide restrictions on Town-owned land, adopted by the Select Board;
• A Home Rule Petition, approved at Town Meeting, further limiting fertilizer and pesticide use town-wide – citing Orleans’ sandy soils, sole-source aquifer, and dense network of freshwater ponds and estuaries
• A Pesticide Reduction Bylaw grounded in a precautionary approach to public health, pollinator protection, and ecosystem integrity;
• A suite of plastic-reduction bylaws, including bans on single-use plastic bags, polystyrene food containers, plastic balloons, and single-use plastic water bottles;
• A multi-decade, multi-phase investment in wastewater infrastructure – including a new treatment facility and expanding sewer collection system – to address nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, the greatest threats to the Town’s ponds, estuaries, and coastal waters;
• Protection of more than 280 acres of open space, in partnership with the Orleans Conservation Trust and Community Preservation Committee;
• Designation as a Massachusetts Green Community, reflecting investment in renewable energy, EV infrastructure, and municipal decarbonization;
• A Native Planting Policy covering nearly all Town-owned land, and a municipal food-scrap composting program that diverts organic waste from the solid waste stream.

A Coalition Model: Community that CARES

The initiative is being carried forward by the Community that CARES Coalition – an effort initiated by Care for the Cape & Islands (CARE: Creating A Responsible Environment) – which brings together municipal government, nonprofit organizations, business groups, and residents under a shared framework across four working groups: Campaigns, Messaging & Marketing; Programs & Certifications; Policies, Bylaws & Initiatives; and Partnership Building. Coalition partners include:

• Town of Orleans, including the Orleans Select Board
• Surfrider Foundation, Cape & Islands Chapter
• CARE for the Cape & Islands
• Orleans Chamber of Commerce and Orleans Merchants Group
• Orleans Conservation Trust
• Orleans Pond Coalition
• Orleans Climate Action Network
• Energy & Climate Action Committee
• Marine and Fresh Water Quality Committee
• Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod
• Orleans Agricultural Council
• Energy Navigators
• Orleans Citizen Forum
• Founding local businesses including Terra Firma, The Barley Neck and The Rail

“This is exactly the kind of coalition we look for,” said CJ O’Brien Weddle, Ocean Friendly Programs Manager, Surfrider Foundation. “What’s happening in Orleans – municipal government, local nonprofits, businesses, and residents all pulling in the same direction – is the model we hope to see replicated up and down the coast. We don’t say ‘first Ocean Friendly Community’ lightly, and we’re proud to be working alongside Orleans to get there.”

What’s Next
Year One of the initiative – the designation year – is focused on building the systems that make the rest of the work possible:

• Certifying 60% of eligible local food service establishments as Ocean Friendly Restaurants and 60% of eligible accommodations as Ocean Friendly Hotels, through one-on-one outreach and on-site assessments supported by CARE for the Cape & Islands and Surfrider;
• Launching a pilot program of consistent public engagement opportunities – up to 20 annually – beginning with a monthly educational table at the Orleans Farmers Market;
• Integrating Ocean Friendly Garden Program standards into the Orleans Pond Coalition’s existing H2Orleans Pond Pledge program, which has already engaged more than 130 property owners to embrace Cape-Friendly landscapes and avoid the use of pesticides and fertilizers to protect our fresh- and salt-waterbodies,Cape- as well as into the Pollinator Pathway and At Home With Nature programs – creating one unified framework rather than duplicating existing efforts;
• Launching the first publicly accessible Ocean Friendly Garden in New England, led by Surfrider Cape & Islands Ocean Friendly Gardens lead Peter Jensen, based in Orleans;
• Strengthening implementation of existing environmental bylaws and advancing the Town’s Environmental Sustainability & Climate Action Omnibus Policy across municipal departments;
• Establishing the governance, reporting, and staffing structure that will let the coalition track progress and sustain the work beyond its initial launch.

In Year Two, the initiative shifts toward scaling what Year One establishes – expanding business certification participation, launching a centralized environmental information hub, and reaching renters and seasonal visitors with targeted education. Year Three focuses on demonstrating measurable outcomes and sharing what Orleans has learned with other coastal communities considering their own path to Ocean Friendly Community designation.

The Town emphasizes that the Statement of Support carries no new budget commitment; it reflects a commitment of staff time within existing departmental responsibilities, with the coalition’s partner organizations contributing much of the on-the-ground program delivery and technical expertise.

“We see this designation as a major first step in furthering our commitment to protecting our natural environment,” said Mark Reil, Assistant Town Manager, “the Town, our residents, our businesses, and our visitors have already laid the foundation and the designation as an Ocean Friendly Community shows that we are committed to building on that success together.”

About the Orleans Coastal Stewardship Initiative
The Orleans Coastal Stewardship Initiative is a coordinated, community-wide effort led by the Town of Orleans and the Community that CARES Coalition – initiated by Care for the Cape & Islands and convened with the Town of Orleans – to strengthen environmental stewardship, protect water resources, and promote sustainable practices across municipal operations, local businesses, and the broader community. The initiative is pursuing Ocean Friendly Community designation from the Surfrider Foundation as one part of a broader, replicable model for coastal environmental leadership.

About Surfrider Foundation
The Surfrider Foundation is a nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s ocean, waves, and beaches, for all people, through a powerful activist network. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over one million supporters, activists, and members, with more than 250 volunteer-led chapters and student clubs in the U.S., and more than 1,000 victories protecting our coasts. Learn more at surfrider.org.