This story is a part of the GenOcean campaign — an official Ocean Decade campaign showcasing Decade Actions, collaborating organizations and ocean leaders that focus on youth and citizen science opportunities to help anyone, anywhere be the change the ocean needs.
In the integral movement to protect and preserve the ocean, young voices are not only heard – they’re leading the charge. But leadership requires knowledge, skills and support. Heirs To Our Ocean (H2OO), a youth-formed and led organization based in northern California, USA, empowers young people all around the world with the platform, tools and resources to turn their passion for the ocean into meaningful action.
Since its inception in 2016, H2OO has been equipping the next generation of ocean stewards with the critical skills needed to address the world’s most pressing and interconnected marine challenges – from pollution and climate change to overfishing and habitat destruction.
“I co-founded Heirs To Our Ocean when I was 12 years old because I saw a critical gap – youth were not being educated or empowered to address the growing threats to our ocean. Since then, I have been deeply engaged in ocean conservation, often finding myself as one of the few youth voices in spaces where decisions about our future are being made.
Through my journey, I have spent time with youth around the world and have seen firsthand that most young people aren’t talking about the science of human impacts on our ocean – simply because they haven’t had the opportunity to learn. They are unaware of how human activity is harming our ocean and waterways, and that is deeply concerning.
My generation must be equipped with the knowledge, tools and time to understand the real-world ocean challenges we face and to develop solutions. That’s why Heirs To Our Ocean was founded – to ensure that young people everywhere are informed, empowered and ready to take action.”
– Charley Peebler, Co-Founder and current Board Member of Heirs To Our Ocean
Setting an Example for Uplifting Young Ocean Leaders
To ensure that young people are not only invited to sit at the table, but truly have a central role in the solutions to today’s ocean challenges, H2OO invites youth from around the world to become leaders in their communities, advocate for policy change and tell their own stories in creative and moving ways to protect marine environments. Through innovative programs and initiatives, H2OO helps youth realize that their actions – whether through collecting data, raising awareness or influencing change – have the power to shape the future of the ocean.
What sets H2OO apart is its focus on developing empathetic leaders and fostering a strong sense of shared responsibility and community. By bringing youth together to learn from one another and take collective action for ocean preservation and ecojustice, H2OO builds a global network of young ocean stewards. United by their love for the sea and their commitment to protecting it, these youth are empowered to drive real change.
Building A Community of Confident Ocean Stewards
Through its growing network, H2OO has become a hub for young people passionate about the future of the ocean. Their core offerings include skill-building workshops, youth summits, youth action councils and impactful initiatives such as brand audits tackling plastic pollution. Additionally, H2OO provides both in-person and remote internships and fellowships that allow young people to gain hands-on experience in ocean conservation efforts. These structured programs offer real opportunities to transform eco-anxiety into empowerment, equipping youth with the tools and knowledge to create meaningful change.
Summit for Empowerment, Action, and Leadership (SEAL) is an annual immersive program that brings together around 40 young leaders from across the globe, with 80% of participants being provided need-based scholarships. These participants gather in person to live and learn alongside bodies of water, fostering deep connections with each other and the natural environment. SEAL focuses on educating youth about critical ocean and environmental challenges while empowering them to create impactful solutions. Through this program, youth-led initiatives are launched, awareness is raised and both local and global movements are inspired, ultimately influencing ocean policy and advancing environmental justice.
“For me, SEAL is more than just a gathering of youth discussing an issue and finding a solution. It’s a space where young people come together through compromise and empathy. During two intensive weeks with participants from diverse backgrounds, I learned to respect myself, others and the natural world around me. After returning from SEAL 2021, I became more confident in my abilities, even at a young age. I grew bolder in expressing my ideas, especially in front of older individuals. I also became more excited about taking on leadership roles in youth-driven actions that create social change and contribute to a healthier environment, such as H2OO’s Operation Global Sweep, a campaign I helped lead this past November.”
– Bastian, age 21, Indonesia SEAL 2021 scholarship recipient
U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade (U.S. YAC UNOD) empowers youth across the U.S. to actively contribute to the Ocean Decade. Through this council, young leaders collaborate with the U.S. National Committee for the Ocean Decade and participate in high-level discussions, advocating for sustainable ocean management and environmental justice. The council also creates youth-driven initiatives in the areas of policy, education and movement building that further solutions to ocean challenges, fostering leadership, innovation and international solidarity.
“During my time in Heirs To Our Ocean’s program U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade, I felt I was able to take action on issues that are extremely important to my island territory of American Samoa and made many new friends and connections who I learned from during the course of the term. This experience has been one of the most rewarding I have taken part of and I especially was honored to be on the youth team that spoke to lawmakers and congresspersons at the Hill Days. It allowed me to skill-build and furthered my professional development. I now know that I want to pursue environmental law professionally.”
– Samuela, age 17, American Samoa, Member of the 1st Cohort of the U.S. YAC UNOD
Heirs To Our Ocean and the Ocean Decade
The Ocean Decade calls for increased collaboration, innovation and stakeholder participation to achieve the shared vision of a healthy and sustainable ocean. Heirs To Our Ocean is not just responding to this call; it is actively shaping the future of the human-ocean relationship and marine conservation through youth-driven action. As a Decade Implementing Partner, H2OO has contributed to many of the Ocean Decade Challenges through actions including but not limited to:
- Developing a toolkit to support the creation of a Global Network of Youth Action Councils for the UN Ocean Decade (YAC for UNOD). This toolkit provides steps, resources, best practices and strategies to engage UN Member States in forming and supporting a YAC across the Decade’s various partners and working groups.
- Supporting the U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade: Providing ongoing guidance and resources to each cohort throughout their 8-month term to ensure impactful leadership projects and advocacy.
- Hosting the International Youth Summit for the UN Ocean Decade in 2020, which launched youth participation in the Ocean Decade with over 100 countries represented by youth participants.
- Ensured youth feedback and perspectives included in drafting of the Ocean Decade Challenge 10 White Paper. H2OO collected feedback from U.S. YAC UNOD members and H2OO Global Youth Leaders. This effort ensured that the perspectives and unique contributions of youth aged 16–25 were included in the Challenge 10 White Paper as part of the Vision 2030 process. This is the only White Paper that has incorporated youth perspectives in this manner.
Join the Movement!
If you’re a young person passionate about the ocean, now is the time to get involved. Whether you’re interested in honing your storytelling and public speaking skills to use your voice to protect the ocean, becoming an effective environmental advocate or simply learning more about how to protect marine ecosystems, Heirs To Our Ocean offers countless opportunities for you to make a real impact.
Current and future generations have the right to a healthy and just world, and protecting the largest ecosystem on Earth is one significant way we can realize that right. Join the movement and be the change the ocean needs – visit H2OO’s website to get started!
Read more GenOcean stories on our webpage.
