Continuing a legacy is no foreign concept to Philippe Cousteau Jr. Philippe, the grandson of legendary ocean explorer and conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau and son of Philippe Cousteau, is a living legacy, after all. He and his wife, Ashlan Gorse Cousteau, focus on bridging the generational gap in conservation through EarthEcho International by equipping youths with the resources to tackle environmental issues in their own communities.

Q: In what ways does EarthEcho honor your grandfather’s and your father’s legacies?

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Philippe: I think of myself as a storyteller, and Ashlan is a storyteller as well, and that’s one of the many reasons why it works so well between us. EarthEcho was my first venture in looking for a canvas to tell stories. My grandfather was an ardent advocate for youth education, and that really left a mark with me.

When I got out of university, I really wanted to have a positive impact and felt that, on the whole, the conservation movement had done a poor job of building a youth strategy.

A friend of mine once said to me, “We have a political problem.” I begged to disagree with him. I said, “We don’t have a political problem; rather, we have a constituency problem because politicians are just voted into office.”

So if we aren’t building the kind of constituency that cares about these issues, that’s our fault. That’s really what EarthEcho is all about.

Q: How do you get local communities invested in these issues that are close to your heart?

Ashlan: Once members of the community really feel that they are part of the solution, that they can help the wildlife and the wildlife helps them, that’s when they see this conservation working. When the local community has a stake in their wildlife, they’re behind it 150 percent.

Philippe: A consistent theme in all of the work that Ashlan and I do is: What’s that human connection to the environment? How do we make these issues relevant? What’s fun about us is what she brings to the table: the pop culture, the access and the profile she has in that world (Ashlan is a journalist who formerly worked for E! Entertainment Television). That gets to the idea that we reach the constituencies that wouldn’t otherwise be involved in these issues. We need to reach out in ways that are relevant, exciting and fun. That’s this perfect marriage — literally — of Ashlan’s experience in the pop-culture world and her passion for the environment and everything that I’ve done over the years and the family legacy that I have as well.

Q: What is your message to young people as you try to get them involved in conservation?

Ashlan: Get into the water. Because once you see the beauty and the majestic creatures that live there, it is absolutely mind-blowing. Every person that sees that is hooked for life.

Philippe: My message to young people is not that you can make a difference, it’s that everything you do makes a difference. Millennials are very engaged. They know more than adults on these types of issues, so it’s not about selling them. So fundamentally it is giving them the tools and empowering them to action. We have the opportunity to show that this can be glamorous, sexy and aspirational. You don’t need to grow up wanting to be like the Kardashians. You can grow up and be someone who is fun and exciting, and you can give.

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Passing the Test

The Cousteaus are putting their ideas into action with the World Water Monitoring Challenge. “This has gotten millions of young people — from Pakistan to Peru to Philadelphia — connecting to the water resources in their community,” says Philippe of the program that has people collect data by testing local water sources. monitorwater.org

Tip of the Cap

Philippe Cousteau Jr. took part in a Great Big Story video series focusing on marine-biology education. Check it out here.