Un Mar de Colores · Encinitas, CA
Commercial after-school programs charge fees or offer shallow enrichment. We charge nothing with depth.
Un Mar de Colores runs its flagship Ocean Stewards After-School Program for Encinitas teens ages 13–17, in partnership with Encinitas Union School District. Students meet three afternoons a week for tutoring, environmental literacy, and career exploration, with a Thursday beach day at Moonlight Beach, Swami's. Our Encinitas cohort draws primarily from Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary. Transportation, meals, tutoring, and surf instruction are entirely free.
Tuesday–Thursday, year-round · Completely free
Encinitas holds five distinct breaks — Moonlight Beach, Swami's, Beacon's, D Street, and Stone Steps — across Encinitas Union and San Dieguito Union High School District. Our lessons run at Moonlight Beach (with its sheltered lifeguard cove) and Swami's on calmer mornings, with Park Dale Lane and Capri Elementary as our primary Title I partnerships for inland-neighborhood recruitment.
Thursday surf sessions aren't a reward for finishing homework — they're curriculum. Wave energy, tide cycles, and lineup ecology reinforce the week's watershed science for Encinitas teens.
Representation in mentorship changes retention. When Encinitas teens see staff who share their language and background, engagement rises — they're not guests in someone else's program.
The ocean off Encinitas belongs to everyone. Un Mar de Colores exists because San Diego has spent decades telling BIPOC youth otherwise — and we're changing that story one cohort at a time.
Environmental justice in Encinitas isn't abstract: watershed health, beach closures, and plastic pollution affect the same communities we serve. Our programs connect surf skills to stewardship of San Diego's coastline.
Un Mar's primary Encinitas beginner location. Sheltered cove, year-round lifeguards, and direct access from Encinitas Library classroom programming.
Moonlight Beach is named for its former all-night beach parties in the late 1800s. Today it's Encinitas's primary family beach with a large sand area and protected swim zone.
Used only for intermediate/advanced Surf Athletic Scholarship students. Never a beginner break due to reef bottom.
Swami's is named for the Self-Realization Fellowship gardens on the cliff above. One of the most photographed surf spots in California, featured in the Beach Boys' 'Surfin' USA.'
In partnership with Encinitas Union School District and local community organizations, we recruit youth from 3+ Title I schools.
The Ocean Stewards After-School Program is Un Mar de Colores's flagship year-round offering for BIPOC teens ages 13–17. Three afternoons a week, students meet at partner school sites for academic tutoring, environmental literacy modules aligned with the California NGSS standards, career exploration, and college preparation. Every Thursday is a beach day — students head to The Strand, Tamarack, or Moonlight for water programming that reinforces the week's environmental science curriculum. The program runs during the full school year, connecting academic outcomes with coastal stewardship and career pathways in marine science.
Un Mar de Colores is recognized by partners including the San Diego Foundation, Surfrider San Diego, WILDCOAST, and school districts across San Diego — not a pop-up program, a sustained movement.
“"He used to approach new activities with extreme anxiety — to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get out of the car. Now he goes much deeper into the water."”
Round-trip shuttle transportation runs from partner Title I schools. If Encinitas is inland (on the coast from the coast), weekly Thursday beach days are possible because we solve transport — not your family.
Commercial after-school optimizes for fees or shallow enrichment. Un Mar is a BIPOC-led nonprofit: free tutoring, NGSS environmental science, weekly surf, Title I partnerships, Kumeyaay curriculum integration, and mentors who reflect Encinitas's communities.
Ocean Stewards is Un Mar de Colores's free year-round after-school program for BIPOC teens ages 13–17 in Encinitas. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons include academic tutoring, environmental literacy, and college prep. Every Thursday is a beach day with surf instruction reinforcing the week's science curriculum.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs in Encinitas are 100% free — including 3/2mm wetsuits, soft-top surfboards, transportation from partner schools like Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary, and certified bilingual instruction. Funding comes from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors. No Encinitas family has ever paid for our programming.
Primary water sessions run at Moonlight Beach. We also use Swami's for skill progression. Classroom components happen at Encinitas Library and other partner sites. All water activities happen within lifeguard-flag zones.
We serve youth ages 13–17. In Encinitas specifically, our recruitment runs through Encinitas Union School District — with priority enrollment for students from Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary. Cohorts are age-appropriate (One Ocean for 6–12, Ocean Stewards for 13–17).
No. We begin every cohort with ocean-safety fundamentals in chest-deep whitewater at Moonlight Beach, supervised by instructors certified by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division. Water comfort is built progressively. In Encinitas, we also run pre-cohort pool-familiarization sessions at local community pools for students who request extra comfort-building.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs are bilingual — and in Encinitas, where 12% of households are Spanish-speaking, we intentionally pair at least one bilingual coach to every session. Cultural programming is delivered in both languages, and parent communications are always sent in Spanish and English.
Three ways: (1) everything is free, while most Encinitas surf programs charge $50–$150 per lesson; (2) we are BIPOC-led and our coaches reflect the 28%-BIPOC Encinitas community we serve; (3) our curriculum includes environmental justice, Kumeyaay coastal history, and cultural arts — not just surf skills. We exist because the ocean should belong to everyone in Encinitas, not just those who can afford access.
Visit our sign-up page or contact us directly. Priority enrollment goes to students of Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary and referrals from Encinitas Library and Boys & Girls Club of Encinitas. Summer cohorts fill 3–4 weeks before start, so early contact is recommended.
Join hundreds of Encinitas families who trust Un Mar de Colores for free ocean programming. Enroll today.
All Un Mar de Colores programs are free for Encinitas youth. Reach out to enroll, volunteer, or support the movement.
Un Mar de Colores is a BIPOC-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oceanside, California. We provide free surf, ocean, and environmental programming for youth across San Diego and Tijuana — bridging cultures, coasts, and communities since 2018.
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