Dakota Peebler, 11 yrs old, an Heir
Dakota has been intent on being on & in the water since she was two years old. At age six she started to pick up marine mammal books & four years ago she got The Guide to Marine Mammals of the World and it remains one of her favorite books. Through time at the ocean side, naturalist classes with such teachers as Susan Labiste, workshops at Monterey Bay Aquarium, Marine Mammal Center, California Academy of Sciences and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a year-long customized class at Marine Science Institute, & independent study, Dakota went deeper into her passion for the sea and the life in it. She became aware of the importance of sea otter conservation through Monterey Bay Aquarium’s SORAC program. Dakota thereafter contacted Sea Otter Savvy to learn more about threats to sea otters & how people can prevent harm to this important 7species. It was Dakota who, 2 years ago, said "it’s time for a year of learning oceans to save our oceans" which sparked the vision for Heirs to Our Oceans.