He is just nine years old but Elijah Richardson has already helped recruit Billie Eilish for an environmental campaign and received a letter of support from Sir David Attenborough.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Bundaberg, Queensland, schoolboy is determined to save the Great Barrier Reef as the youngest-ever ambassador for non-profit volunteer group CoralWatch, which monitors the reef.
In recent years, the Great Barrier Reef has faced a number of challenges such as coral bleaching due to warmer waters from climate change and plastic waste floating in the ocean.
Elijah began snorkelling and picking up litter from the beach at a young age before eventually becoming involved with CoralWatch, which operates from the University of Queensland.
CoralWatch wanted to use Ms Eilish's song Ocean Eyes in a campaign, prompting Elijah to post a video asking her for help on his social media pages in October 2020.
"I need your help, Billie. I need your help to save the reef," Elijah said in the clip.
After numerous shares and messages to Ms Eilish, the pop star's camp eventually reached out to CoralWatch and gave permission for them to use the song in their campaign in November 2021.
Elijah said he and his family were "really, really excited" when the singer gave permission to use her song.
"We were all jumping up and down and we shouted "yes" and it was just phenomenal that someone so famous would listen to us," Elijah told Australian Community Media.
With permission to use the song, CoralWatch has now launched a series of slick campaign videos encouraging people to use their "ocean eyes" to watch over the reef.
The group also called out actors Robert De Niro and Kit Harrington to join the environmental cause in two of their videos.
"The main reason they chose them [De Niro and Harrington] is because they're big movie stars and they've got very big voices and lots of people know them and like them," Elijah said.
Elijah said his biggest inspiration is Sir David Attenborough, whose documentaries he has watched five times over.
IN OTHER NEWS:
He recently wrote to Sir Attenborough and was thrilled to receive a letter back from the legendary broadcaster on February 15 - a heartwarming moment that was captured on camera.
"It's from him! It's from him!" an ecstatic Elijah said in the video.
"We're going to get this framed, that's for sure."
"Dear Elijah Richardson, thank you for your letter. Good luck on your trip to Heron Island. Best wishes, David Attenborough," the letter read.
Elijah recently became CoralWatch's youngest ambassador and went on a trip to Heron Island with the group, which is what Sir Attenborough was referring to in his letter.
In addition to his work with CoralWatch, Elijah also organises beach cleanups with children from his school and speaks at a number kids' groups about the Great Barrier Reef.
Elijah encouraged other children to talk to their parents about helping clean up reefs and beaches.
"Remember that just because your kid doesn't mean you can't do stuff," he said.
"It's actually an advantage because you're a kid because you get to worry about this stuff and you get to do more because you're on the Earth longer than adults, so you get the chance to do more."
Meanwhile, Elijah's mother Kerry Richardson encouraged parents "to listen to your children and learn alongside them".
"We have learnt so much because Elijah has wanted to learn. So, we are still learning, it's okay not to know everything," Ms Richardson said.
"It's really opened our eyes. We've made a lot of changes in our lives and in our household and we are still learning and we will continue to learn."