Meeting People Where They’re At (Even at 7:00 a.m. in the Bay)
This article is written by 5 Gyres Co-founder Anna Cummins. Anna shares about meeting Libby Delana for the first time - a prelude to her book Cold Joy. A portion of proceeds from Cold Joy book sales will be donated to 5 Gyres, further supporting upstream solutions that give back to our waters.
As environmental advocates, we believe in “meeting people where they’re at.” Inspiring communities to act starts with finding points of connection and shared values across different walks of life.
So when our new Board member Marta Benson suggested we literally meet her where she’s at, knee-deep in the San Francisco Bay with her cold-plunge crew “Ebb and Flow” at 7:00 a.m, I had second thoughts.
Marta is persuasive. She also told us her close friend Elizabeth “Libby” DeLana (creative director, designer, podcaster, and (formerly) a lifelong enemy of cold) would join us from Massachusetts to share her growing enthusiasm for cold water therapy, the subject of her forthcoming book, Cold Joy (Chronicle Books, October 14, 2025).
Which is how I found myself, alongside our Director of Science Dr. Lisa Erdle (a proud Canadian and cold-water fan) and several brave board members, standing on the shore of Horseshoe Bay on a glassy, windless morning. The fog lifted to reveal San Francisco in all her glory. And yet, the idea of voluntarily removing sweats, Uggs, beanie, and ski jacket to step into frigid water still felt… questionable.
Then we met Libby, tall, elegant, warm, with calm authority. On her phone she showed us a circle of women fully immersed in a heart-shaped hole carved into a frozen lake. I joked that our steamy Pacific looked tame by comparison. She smiled, then shared how cold water became a deeply personal, healing practice during a challenging season of her life.
Cold Joy is Libby’s love letter to that practice, poetry, science, and story woven into a guide for embracing discomfort as a path to presence and resilience. It invites readers to move beyond the trending “benefits” and experience something more elemental: how meeting the cold can quiet the mind, awaken purpose, and reconnect us to the joy of being alive in this brief millisecond we’re given.
For Libby, purpose includes giving back to water, linking her gratitude to action that protects and restores the places we love.
After the dip (I survived, and in fact felt truly invigorated!), we circled up on shore with hot drinks for an informal chat. We shared 5 Gyres’ mission to protect our global waters from plastic pollution, and Lisa described her research on airborne microplastics shedding from clothing, the work that first drew Marta to 5 Gyres. We talked about tracing plastics back to their sources and how everyday people can help.
Often it starts with small daily choices:
Skip single-use plastics and excess packaging
Buy secondhand when possible
Look for non-toxic, responsibly sourced materials
Carry your own cup, bottle, bag, and container
Walk, bike, or take public transit when you can
Choose local and organic when available
From there, the impact ripples outward:
Engage your workplace, school, friends, and family
Support local policies that reduce plastic at the source
Write to your representatives
Ask brands you love to be transparent and responsible
At 5 Gyres, we’re working in those larger circles, using science to drive policy, partnering with communities, and pushing for systems-level change that keeps plastic out of our air, water, and bodies.
If you’re cold-curious, try it safely: never plunge alone, know your water and exit plan, start gradually, breathe steadily, and warm up with movement afterward.
