Eleven-year-old, Connor Berryhill, a native of San Diego, California, is determined to save the world’s oceans, one beach cleanup at a time. He is the founder of the MicroActivist Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to “connecting youth with the world’s oceans” and bringing awareness to issues surrounding ocean conservation. To date, Berryhill’s foundation has collected over 19,000 pounds of trash from the Pacific. An avid scuba diver, a lover of all ocean animals, “I feel happiest when I’m at the bottom of the ocean,” he says.

Berryhill’s mission to clean the world’s oceans was ignited more than five years ago on a trip visiting family in Kauai. He was only five years old when he had a serendipitous face-to-face encounter with a Hawaiian monk seal while walking on the beach set out to learn everything he could about the species. When he discovered that there are only about  1,000 left in the world- they often get trapped in discarded nets in the water- he was heartbroken and felt compelled to do something to help prevent their numbers from further dwindling.

Berryhill’s parents, Lynel and Shawn, knew their son needed to take on an active role in remedying this monk seal dilemma; he would not be able to sit on the sidelines. He subsequently began picking up trash on various beaches. These small acts of kindness did not go unnoticed- the local media ran a story about him, which was then followed by more coverage from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Then Dr. Terrie M. Williams, an expert on Hawaiian monk seals and other large endangered mammals, invited Berryhill to visit her at the Williams Integrative Carnivore EcoPhysiology lab at the University of California in Santa Cruz. At the time, just beginning kindergarten.