After hosting 530-plus beach clean-ups and leading the removal of 65 tonnes of litter, Save a Fishie’s Zoë Prinsloo has earned a Diana Award, celebrating young people who are changing the world!
United Kingdom (05 November 2026) – Zoë Prinsloo has been named a 2026 Diana Award recipient, and she is the only South African among the 200 young people honoured worldwide this year!
Zoë founded Save a Fishie in 2018 to tackle pollution by getting communities and young people involved in looking after their own environment. The organisation has since held more than 530 clean-up events and removed over 65 tonnes of litter. Thousands of volunteers have joined to make that happen.
Through Save a Fishie, Zoë has also led nationwide Coast 2 Coast clean-up campaigns and education programmes in schools, where learners are shown how their actions impact our oceans and waterways.
The organisation has always strived to make conservation something anybody can take part in!
The Diana Award is the only charity set up in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was founded on her belief that young people have the power to change their community, their country and the world.
Its recipients are young people who have shown they can inspire and mobilise others to serve their communities and create lasting change.
“I’m incredibly honoured (and still pinching myself!) to share that I’ve been named a 2026 Diana Award Recipient,” Zoë said.
“To bring this recognition home to South Africa, and to represent our country, our oceans and the incredible work being done to protect marine life, is something I’ll never take for granted.”
The young South African change-maker says the award belongs to every person who has played a part in Save a Fishie’s mission.
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“Through Save a Fishie, I’ve always believed that even the smallest voices can make the biggest waves. That compassion matters. That every life matters. And that when we care enough to take action, we can create change that reaches far beyond ourselves.
This recognition is incredibly special, but it also belongs to every person who has believed in the mission, supported the journey, shared the message, and helped turn little ripples into bigger waves.
Because saving our oceans, protecting marine life and creating a kinder world isn’t a one-person mission. It’s going to take all of us.”
We’re incredibly proud of Zoë, not only because she’s flying South Africa’s flag high, but because of what Save a Fishie keeps achieving. Every volunteer who joins a clean-up, and every child who learns why our seas need protecting, adds to a change that started with one young South African who believed she could make a change.
“Through Save a Fishie, I’ve always believed that even the smallest voices can make the biggest waves,” she said.“That compassion matters. That every life matters. And that when we care enough to take action, we can create change that reaches far beyond ourselves.”
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