Cyrus Crossan

Diwigdi “Diwi’ Valiente is fighting to end plastic pollution in the Guna Yala comarca indígena (Indigenous province) off the coast of Panama.

A former advertising executive, Martina Sasso now channels her creativity and storytelling skills into protecting one of the last wild places on Earth: Argentina’s Península Mitre.

Combining his passions for marine conservation and public education, Pete Malinowski aims to reintroduce one billion oysters to New York Harbor to revitalize a long neglected ecosystem.

Costa Rica-born Carolina Ramírez found herself through diving with sharks. Now, she will stop at nothing to save the creatures she loves most in the world from exploitation.

One local community is planting a new oyster culture ground to support alternative livelihoods and encourage their coastal ecosystem’s health and vibrancy.

Estuary guardians are conducting coastal cleanup efforts and planting mangroves to create an urban nature reserve in the long term.

First Nations are combining the latest in scientific understanding with generations of place-based knowledge and wisdom to safeguard natural and cultural landscapes and seascapes for the future.

Ocean scientists are studying the impacts of sound on cetaceans such as whales and dolphins to provide backing for the development of potentially critical maritime traffic regulations.

Community organizers are working to realize the creation and implementation of a legally binding global plastics treaty and actively remove plastic waste from waterways.

Wildlife guardians are patrolling vital nesting beach to save critically endangered sea turtles from serious threats.

Two organizations are carrying out vital ongoing hurricane relief and natural resource conservation efforts.

Research scientists are completing a multi-stop scientific voyage through a critical “marine superhighway” connecting UNESCO World Heritage Sites to inform marine policy proposals.

Caretakers of the land and sea are managing marine protected areas to protect the most precious components of nature.

Island activists are establishing a conservation laboratory to increase science literacy, improve coral health and marine biodiversity, and create a flourishing local community invested in ocean ecosystems and the blue economy.

Local fisherfolk are transitioning away from unsustainable fishing to harvesting protein from the sea in a sustainable manner to protect glistening bays and reef biodiversity.

Grassroots organizations are advancing creative solutions to waste and pollution to keep our ocean clean and provide grants to groups worst hit by the Covid-19 crisis.

“Bee village” inhabitants are establishing mangrove beekeeping and making honey to help conserve and restore vital coastal forests at the same time as benefiting the local community.

Coral gardeners are hard at work to restore the reef with heat-resilient corals to encourage marine life to return to the ecosystems of their island home.