Elijah Richardson is helping to save the Great Barrier Reef

Bundaberg youngster Elijah Richardson’s efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef have seen him connect with stars like Billie Eilish, and to appear on The Project and Weekend Today. Now he has a new achievement under his belt, and he is only nine:

Bundaberg marine legend Elijah Richardson has become the youngest ever Coral Watch Ambassador at the tender age of nine, and will speak at the Coral Watch 20th anniversary celebrations in Brisbane on Thursday, June 9.

Founded in 2002 at the University of Queensland, Coral Watch is a Queensland grown initiative that allows volunteers to play a part in reef conservation.

A key aspect of Coral Watch’s success is its easy-to-use chart that allows for simple observation and tracking of coral reef bleaching events. The chart requires no training to use, and is easily accessed from the Coral Watch website (CoralWatch – Citizen Science on the Reef).

When asked how it felt to be the youngest ambassador for Coral Watch, Elijah said “for me, it‘s a big achievement to be an ambassador for Coral Watch”.

Elijah began his coral watch journey at just five years-of-age.

Elijah Richardson doing what he does best, keeping a close eye on the health of the reef.

“(It all began) when I met two Coral Watch ambassadors - Natalie and Danny - and they were just so enthusiastic and I think I caught their enthusiasm,” Elijah said.

Coral Watch utilises volunteers like Elijah to track changes in local reefs and the program now has more than 8000 members across the globe.

Elijah has cemented himself as a marine legend through Coral Watch with his achievements, including elisting international pop-star Billie Eilish to the cause in February 2022. Billie lent her song Ocean Eyes to the cause, and is now a representative of the program.

Elijah is now an old hat when it comes to the media, with appearances on Channel 10’s The Project in 2020 and Channel 9’s Weekend Today in 2021 to promote Coral Watch and coral reef conservation.

Elijah‘s future plans for Coral Watch are big, with upcoming talks at local schools. Elijah also will be attending the World Science Festival of Queensland’s festivities in Gladstone on the weekend of June 17-18, and intends to take the opportunity to speak out further on reef health.