EarthEcho International (EarthEcho) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by siblings Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau in honor of their father Philippe Cousteau Sr., son of the legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. EarthEcho collaborates with youth around the world to provide knowledge and develop tools to drive meaningful environmental action to protect and restore our ocean planet. Reaching more than 2 million people in 146 countries, they activate the next generation to become environmental leaders who will transform the future.
The EarthEcho Water Challenge is one of the world’s largest community science programs, empowering more than 1.6 million young people and community members across the world to connect with and protect their local waterways. The program is designed to equip participants with the tools needed to tackle the global water crisis starting in their local communities.
Through the program, participants test their local water quality, share their data in the global EarthEcho Water Challenge online database, and use this data to influence and inform actions to protect water resources.
Beginning in July of 2021, EarthEcho International, Xylem Watermark, and the Guardiola Sala Foundation engaged in a collaborative partnership (Water Challenge Catalonia) to leverage the global reach of these organizations to build a sustainable program for youth engagement and youth development around protecting water resources in the Catalonia region of Spain. EarthEcho will expand in-depth water monitoring and conservation programs offered to young people in the region and build a sustainable community-supported framework for engaging youth to be the next generation of water stewards.