Backyard Buoys shares their story of democratizing data through co-design and co-production in a special issue of Oceanography Magazine, “On a Vision for Capacity Sharing in the Ocean Sciences”. The article describes how remote coastal Indigenous communities and IOOS Regional Ocean Observing Systems work together with a common purpose, safety at sea. By sharing expertise across regions and disciplines, the team can meet known challenges efficiently while remaining flexible to emerging needs or constraints. Underpinning it all is an understanding that co-production takes time, trust, and commitment, and that the lessons we learn will help future wave buoy stewards and their communities. (Photo credit: Dennis Wise, UW)