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Meet Heirs To Our Ocean, a Youth-Led Organization Protecting the Most Important Resource for Future Generations
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.
6 March 2025
“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.”
