A nine-year-old Queensland boy who encouraged one of the world's biggest pop stars to get involved in a campaign to protect the Great Barrier Reef has added another achievement to his impressive record.
Late last year, Bundaberg's Elijah Richardson, who has been a long-time supporter of not-for-profit citizen science program CoralWatch, pulled off an almost unimaginable feat when American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish agreed to lend her 2016 hit single Ocean Eyes to the cause.
Last month, the Year 4 student was made a 2022 ambassador of Coral Watch, the first time a child has taken on the position.
Elijah has already attended a workshop for the program on Heron Island and will attend Brisbane's World Science Festival in March speaking to the public about the Great Barrier Reef on behalf of CoralWatch.
CoralWatch is based at the University of Queensland and was founded in 2002.
It provides the public with accessible information about coral reefs and climate change, and hands-on experience collecting scientific data on coral bleaching using a Coral Health Chart.
"I can't believe CoralWatch has actually chosen me to be one of their ambassadors. How amazing is that?" Elijah said.
Elijah and Coral Watch have their sights set on harnessing the star power of actors Robert De Niro and Kit Harrington for their cause, but the young firebrand was already happy with getting Eilish on board.
"At first we were extremely excited and I'm pretty sure I'm always going to be pretty excited and proud that we achieved this," Elijah said.
"A year ago we sent messages and somehow it got through to her.
"It's an amazing ecosystem for many creatures, coral, sharks, manta rays, sea snakes and loads of others. I've lived beside the beach and the ocean my whole life and every time I go snorkelling it blows my mind."
Eilish's passion for conservation was also evident when she joined Australia Zoo's Robert Irwin and other celebrities to encourage world leaders to take urgent action ahead of the UN Climate Change (COP26) conference last year.
Kerry Richardson said she was "incredibly proud" of her son's achievement.
Elijah has even received a letter of support from lifelong environmentalist and documentary maker David Attenborough.
"We have supported his journey from a very young age when he wanted to do what he could to help the environment," she said.
"When he was younger, he didn't know what he could do, just that he wanted to help the environment, so we presented opportunities and he chose what he wanted to do.
"Now it's a mixture of what we can find for him and what he finds for himself."
Mrs Richardson said the family had "hoped" Eilish would respond but kept Elijah's expectations in check over the past 12 months.
"We have always told him anything was possible and if you want something you have to go out and work hard for it. In this case it's worked out," she said.
