Blue Hatchling Youth Nominations
Isaac Nelson - 2025 Award Recipient
He may be just a kid, but Isaac Nelson lives and breathes marine conservation. At just 8 years old, he founded a kids conservation club called the Eco Scouts. Now 4 years later, Isaac leads this non-profit group in environmental service projects, and conservation education every week. His work with the Eco Scouts includes: coral reef restoration, mangrove plantings, river clean-ups, oyster matting, island restoration, sea grass restoration, water quality testing, native dune plantings, sargassum research, fish toxicant sampling, beach clean-ups, and much much more.
In addition to all his work with the Eco Scouts, Isaac uses his voice to inspire others to love the ocean through media. He has produced several award winning conservation videos. His film “Mangroves Matter” won In Water Reaearch’s Youth Driven Cinema Award and inspired thousands to rethink the importance of mangroves. Isaac also produced a video about Horseshoe Crab Conservation, that not only won the Future Wavermaker of the Year award (judged by the prestigious Dr Sylvia Earl and Former Apple and Pepsi CEO John Scully), but his Horseshoe Crab Conservation project garnered over 1,000 signatures prompting change in how these important prehistoric sea creatures are treated.
Lidea "Liddy" Clever
Lidea “Liddy” Clever is a ten-year-old conservation champion from Tybee Island, Georgia. Her inspiring leadership, creativity, and dedication to marine conservation embody the spirit of environmental stewardship—and she has achieved it all at an age when many are just beginning to dream.
Founding Save Sea Life with Liddy at Age Seven
At the remarkable age of seven, as a means of donating cleanup supplies and speaking to schools about conservation, Liddy founded Save Sea Life with Liddy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Tybee Island that mobilizes local youth and residents to protect our oceans. Her core message is simple yet powerful: “No act is too small, and you are never too young to make a big difference.” Facebook Save Sea Life with Liddy
Beach Cleanups with Purpose and Passion
Her journey began during family beach outings, where she was struck by the amount of debris she found—so much so that she started informal cleanups on her own. What followed was an evolving movement. Liddy organizes monthly beach cleanups on Tybee Island, collecting everything from bottle caps to cigarette butts, and galvanizing volunteers to join her mission. She even “adopted” Tybrisa Street, tirelessly patrolling and cleaning it regularly.
Emiliana Fuger
As a teacher who had the privilege of hosting one of Emiliana’s “Turtle Talks” in my classroom, I can say with confidence that her passion, knowledge, and leadership are truly extraordinary — especially for someone so young.
Emiliana’s journey into marine conservation began when she was just 6 years old. Her dad gifted her mom a turtle nest adoption through Sea Turtle Adventures, a local nonprofit based in Delray Beach. As part of the adoption experience, the family observed a nest excavation, assisted with data collection, and watched in awe as rescued hatchlings were released into the ocean. That firsthand experience sparked a fascination of sea turtles within Emiliana.
So it was no surprise that, at age 7, Emiliana asked a question few kids ever consider: "What does the inside of a sea turtle look like?" When she couldn’t find a single book at the library or bookstore that explained sea turtle anatomy for young readers, she took matters into her own hands. She built a life-sized sea turtle model, with a removable shell made entirely from recycled materials, to explore and explain internal anatomy. Lacking age-appropriate resources, she used a college textbook as her primary reference.
