June 1, 2026
Published by: tomorrowalgarve.com
Benton Schroeder is no ordinary 13-year-old. While most of his peers may be content with riding their bikes around their local neighbourhood or getting to the next stage of Roblox, Benton has just completed a gruelling 300-kilometre cycle ride from Lisbon to the Algarve to campaign for environmental action. I am keen to chat with this super-hero kid to find out more.
The ride, which will take place in early May, is part of a campaign to raise awareness for something rarely seen but increasingly under threat: the ocean floor. Benton is cycling in support of seaweed farming, a growing area of marine restoration that scientists and environmental groups are starting to take more seriously. His goal is to raise €10,000 for Hope Zones, a project founded by João Macedo that established Portugal’s first regenerative seaweed farm in Nazaré. The funds will go towards developing a new farm in the Algarve.
Benton faced rain, physical exhaustion, mechanical problems with his bike, and long, demanding routes – but continued every single day, driven by one clear mission: protecting the ocean floor and supporting regenerative solutions for the future of our planet.
He successfully raised over £10,000 for Hope Zones while also posting videos and interviews with big-wave surfer João Macedo, who started the foundation. Their flagship project is the Nazaré Regenerative Seaweed Farm, which focuses on restoring native kelp forests to rebuild ecological integrity and increase biodiversity in harmony with local fishing communities. Having retired from competitive surfing, João says that he now wants to focus on “saving waves rather than just riding them”.
From Mallorca to the Algarve
I am keen to explore Benton’s personal journey to understand what inspires such dedication to a cause at such a young age.Born in Hamburg, Benton discovered his passion for mountain biking while living in Mallorca. He recently moved to the Algarve and attended Nobel British International School in Almancil before joining an online school, King’s InterHigh, which allows him the flexibility to train and campaign. The dynamic schoolboy has continued cycling in the Algarve despite having broken his wrist when he came off his bike. He enjoys competing in cross-country racing as well as downhill racing, and is currently part of the BTT Loulé cycle club. His conservation mindset is a family legacy stemming from his American grandparents. His grandmother grew up in Maine and has connections to lobstermen and oyster farmers, which gave him hands-on experience with marine life from a young age.
“I think I’ve always loved the ocean. I was inspired by my great-grandfather, Nathaniel P. Reed, who worked in the 1960’s and 70’s to protect wildlife and the Everglades. My grandmother was also always very big in protecting the ocean … she knows a lot of people in marine life centres. So I got to release rehabilitated turtles, which inspired me.”
The devastation of bottom trawling
It is clear from the way that Benton talks that he has not just been fed his environmental stance by his family. He speaks with clarity, detailed knowledge, and passion about the problem of bottom trawling, a common practice along the Portuguese coast in which heavy nets are dragged across the ocean floor. It has a highly negative impact as nets scrape the seafloor, destroying habitats and resulting in massive bycatch, killing unintended marine life like dolphins, sharks and turtles.
Seaweed farming serves as a regenerative solution to counteract the severe devastation caused by bottom trawling. Benton explains to me how the damage can be reversed through projects like the Nazaré seaweed farm. Seaweed farming helps heal these damaged ecosystems, as seaweed acts as a powerful carbon sink, absorbing CO2 up to 30 times faster than land-based forests, and helping to offset the carbon released when trawling nets tear up the seabed. When seaweed is cultivated on ropes and laid out in the ocean, it grows over the seafloor, actively rebuilding destroyed habitats and creating a safe environment for marine life to return and recover. Seaweed is also a “zero-input crop”, meaning it requires no chemical fertilisers or ongoing maintenance once it is placed in the water. This allows the ocean floor to heal naturally without introducing any harmful agricultural runoff into the marine ecosystem
Empowering youth
Benton’s core belief is that young people don’t need to wait to make an impact, and that small, daily changes can compound into massive environmental benefits over time. “If you’re a child, you want to protect the ocean, but it’s often very hard because you don’t have the connections, you don’t know people in the UN. One Ocean Planet does, so they help you create your own project … they help you organise it, they help you with the connections.”
Benton hopes to turn his May cycling challenge into an annual event that others can join. But his ultimate dream is to help establish a second regenerative seaweed farm in the Algarve.
Before saying goodbye, I congratulate Benton on raising awareness of this problem and its potential solution among our readers. I was certainly not aware that this practice existed in the Algarve or the restorative benefits of seaweed. I start to feel slightly glum about my own habits and reflect that I should probably kick my daughter off Roblox and tell her to do something meaningful. I ask what slightly less ‘hero-like’ kids can do if they don’t feel capable of a 300-km cycle challenge.
“I would say that every little action counts, even if you don’t have a huge project like I’m doing right now. Do one little thing. If you stop using three plastic bottles a day, over 365 days … you’ve just saved more than 1000 bottles, which then amounts to a huge step.”
This interview has cemented my belief that children are our future and we would do well to listen to them! Supporting and listening to young voices might just help us save the planet.
