Breaking Water with Larry Cavero
Swim Drink Fish is highlighting members of our incredible ecosystem. This Breaking Water segment features Larry Cavero of Surf Dreams Canada, who is a seasoned Great Lakes surfer.
Can you please introduce yourself and tell us where you work/what you do?
My name is Larry Cavero and I am a Dental Technologist.
Where did you grow up? Did you have a relationship with water there?
I grew up in Lima-Peru, by the Pacific Ocean.
I spent my entire life in the water. Surfing gave me the opportunity to have this love/respect relationship with water at a very young age.
When did you first decide to surf Lake Ontario? What has your Great Lakes surf experience been like?
I first started surfing Lake Ontario in 1997. I saw this big mass of water, like an ocean when I first arrived in Canada (1992) and I knew that I will find waves to surf and explore it one day.
My experience with the Great Lakes is unique. It’s a miracle that we’re able to surf them and drink the water while we’re waiting for waves! Where else in the world could you do that? The Great Lakes has its special ingredients such as weather spices, beautiful and tasty marine life, delicious water and a perfect natural filtration system that allowed us all to enjoy it year-round.
The Great Lakes changed my life, it actually gave me my life back! That lost connection (I thought that I will never surf again) is real! The Great Lakes has given me a family, a community, an education and an understanding of the issues and of how we could do better to keep it as beautiful as it is so we can share it.
Why is it important to you to inspire the next generation of Great Lakes surfers?
It’s important because I’ve learnt my entire life that what matters the most and what you love so much, must be shared. I want the new generation of Great Lakes surfers to know the truth about the importance of a community, our water source and history of how Indigenous communities around the The Great Lakes, have been using these waters for generations and also how surfing can help you to understand all these so we can become a better human being, share and enjoy life forever.
Do you have anything else that you’d like to share about your work, your connection to water, or how we can encourage people to join the movement for a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future?
We know that our commitment with the water is endless and to keep it clean and better in order to be able to swim, drink and fish, we must do something about it. Actions speak and are way bigger than words. There are many ways to start an action and to build a relationship with our waterways. Such as:
Don’t wash your car at home where it all ends at the water drain. The unfiltered runoff from washing your vehicle at home sends grease, gasoline and harmful dirt into our waterways, harming fish and other wildlife. Instead, take it to a car wash where water is filtered before it ends up in our lakes.
Don't litter. Pick up any garbage you see at the beach or anywhere.
Use your water wisely. Don’t waste it and don’t use fertilizers and chemical pesticides.
There are many awesome biodegradable products out there, use them.
Join beach cleanups! Bring the family, friends and neighbours. It makes a huge difference each time and is fun! It bonds communities together and helps us learn about these issues first hand.
Photos: Geoff Ortiz and Lucas Murnaghan
Clif Family Foundation is proud to support hundreds of organizations that are working tirelessly to strengthen our food system, enhance equitable community health outcomes, and protect the places we play by being stewards of our environment and natural resources. Their desire is to leave the world a better place for our children.