Kelp Forest Foundation

🌊 🌱 Newsflash: We’re a proud recipient of the Global Seaweed Coalition 2024 grant! 🌱🌊 This generous funding will be instrumental in advancing our ocean acidification impact project. So… what is this project about?  🌿 Ocean acidification is a serious problem for our marine ecosystems.  🌿 As oceans absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere, they become more acidic, creating a chemical imbalance that harms our marine life. 🌿 For example, shellfish have issues forming their shells!  🌿 Kelp can save the day: it can store locally available carbon from the surrounding waters in its biomass, with the potential to create a safe haven for these species, where the water is more suitable to live. So, our study aims to answer: to what extent is kelp able to help combat ocean acidification? With GSC’s support, we will acquire state-of-the-art autonomous sensors and analytical instruments, enabling us to create a comprehensive ocean acidification monitoring program. This project will be conducted in Lüderitz, Namibia, and aims to provide more insight into the benefits of healthy kelp forests. The Global Seaweed Coalition is dedicated to fostering a safe and sustainable seaweed industry worldwide, and we are honored to be part of this mission. Together, we can significantly impact our oceans and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable future. Stay tuned for updates as we embark on this exciting journey! 🌍 🌊 #KelpForestFoundation #GlobalSeaweedCoalition #OceanConservation #SustainableSeaweed #OceanAcidification #LuderitzNamibia #MarineScience #InnovativeResearch

What if we discovered new whale species? On a windy afternoon in Lüderitz, one of Lüderitz Blue School's students led a session on the basilosaurus isis, an ancient whale and faraway humpback whale ancestor. They were inspired by their visit to Wadi al Hitan, Egypt, where whale skeletons remain preserved in the desert sands. After the presentation, students dreamt up their own whale species, with some very creative results! At the Lüderitz Blue School, we fund extracurricular activities such as these for students aged 8-13. Our goal is to have afternoons like these: filled with learning, inspiration, and appreciation for our world's marine ecosystems and animals - both imagined and real. Help us continue supporting tomorrow's ocean stewards, today: https://lnkd.in/dqmzaFRh Learn more about the Luderitz Blue School: https://lnkd.in/eC2QRk4H #education #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased

🌊 Discovering Dark Shysharks in and around the cultivated giant kelp forests of Namibia! 👉Shysharks are endemic to the waters off southern Namibia and western South Africa, dwelling on the seafloor, and love rocky reefs and kelp forests. 👉Did you know the shyshark has a unique defense mechanism? When threatened, it can curl its tail around to cover its eyes - making it appear like it is sleeping - hence the name "shyshark". 👉Shysharks play a key role in maintaining food chain balance and is also an important species for ecotourism, with divers and snorkelers often seeking out this shy and elusive shark. Check out a few pictures straight from our Namibia farms below! #biodiversity #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased

🌊 Help us support ocean stewardship at the Lüderitz Blue School in Namibia! We support extracurricular clubs at the LBS to help build the next generation of ocean stewards. We believe ocean education should start early. Instilling a love for our marine ecosystems from a young age is key to building the environmentally conscious communities of tomorrow. 💡 These young students will one day become teachers, scientists, business leaders, government representatives, and beyond - each of them can advocate for our oceans to make a true difference. We hope to keep encouraging action and plant curiosity and love for our oceans for many years to come. Help us continue supporting tomorrow's ocean stewards, today: https://lnkd.in/dqmzaFRh Learn more about the Luderitz Blue School: https://lnkd.in/eC2QRk4H #education #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased

🌿Unlocking the huge potential of the global seaweed market 🌿 Last year, the World Bank published the Global Seaweed New and Emerging Markets Report, emphasizing seaweed farming as one of the most promising markets for the planet, people, and global economies. In the report, ten high-potential global seaweed markets were identified, with a projected growth of an additional USD 11.8 billion by 2030. There's one key aspect we agree with: the seaweed sector has enormous potential, which has remained largely untapped until now. We know that seaweed-farmed products can deliver new solutions in fabrics and plastics, can provide ecosystem services such as bioremediation and supporting biodiversity, and can generate socioeconomic benefits in local coastal communities. 🌿At Kelp Forest Foundation, we are researching giant kelp's potential to help sustain or boost biodiversity, provide ecosystem services such as bioremediation, and whether it can sequester carbon long-term. We are also researching how 100% giant kelp-produced biostimulants can help improve soil biodiversity and health.  Read more about the Global Seaweed Markets Report at The World Bank link below: https://lnkd.in/esz8sNck #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased

🌿 See who waves at us from Kelp Blue's Namibian-cultivated giant kelp forest: jellyfish! These beautiful creatures, including the Benguela Compass, Crystal, and Box jellyfish, are markers of our ocean's health, playing a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance. Check out our visitors, and a few facts about them and their role in our marine ecosystem, below. 🌊 Every month, our Kelp Forest Foundation scholars monitor biodiversity in and around the cultivated kelp forests by taking eDNA samples. They keep track of giant kelp visitors at sea through visual surveys and photographs so we can see them in action. Check out the many species that thrive in the ocean with our KB Visitor series! #biodiversity #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased

What’s it like inside a room full of start-ups, scientists, and policymakers, all interested in advancing ocean CO2 removal? Check out our Research Program Lead Xu Ben Zhang’s takeaways and highlights from this year’s Advancing Ocean CDR Summit in Boston last week! Some of the many takeaways: 👉 At the conference, the biggest portion of the startups present in ocean CDR were those focusing on Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement space, a nascent but promising way for sequestering carbon. One major challenge for this type of solution is ensuring the intervention causes no other harm to the environment, and navigating complex permit processes. 👉We still need to find a common language around ocean CO2 removal, especially between scientists and investors. Approaching investors can be difficult if we don’t know how to communicate the impact or the economics well. It’s important to build bridges for understanding, balancing scientific rigour with accessible language. 👉Community engagement is key to the success of these projects. Like any other climate change mitigation solution, ocean-based carbon removal technology requires multi-stakeholder collaboration. Including invested communities and ensuring they are involved and can benefit from these solutions is key to successfully implementing ocean-based solutions. The highlights: 💡Nichole Price of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences shared the latest research on the carbon sequestration potential of seaweed farms in Maine, including the use of eDNA to identify sugar kelp in samples, and how we as an industry can collaboratively work towards rigorous Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) methods. 💡Nate Beatty presented a retrospective of the trials and tribulations at Running Tide: from the extensive research done on their experiments whilst contributing to the wider research landscape, to the challenges of operating and doing something innovative at sea, and selecting an appropriate MRV method in a time where none was available.  Xu also participated in the panel discussion, "Breaking Down Silos Between CDR Stakeholders”, alongside Katie Lebling from World Resources Institute and Calum Fitzgerald of Ecopia Marine Limited, where they discussed how to close the gap between carbon credit suppliers and takers.  Have any questions about the event? Ask away below! #CDR #carbonremoval #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero

🌊 Our Research Program Lead Xu Ben Zhang is joining the Advancing Ocean CDR Summit 2024 this week in Boston as a panel speaker - will we see you there? Xu is joining Calum Fitzgerald, Ecopia Founder, and Katie Lebling, Associate Carbon Removal & Industrial Decarbonization at World Resources Institute, as part of the panel discussion "Breaking Down Silos Between CDR Stakeholders". The panel will focus on the following topics: 👉 Improving communication between scientists and investors to connect research and financing, 👉 Understanding the path for ocean CDR growth to accelerate progress, and aims to discuss the question, 👉 What do carbon credit buyers want to see from the ocean CDR community to allow for large-scale adoption? At Kelp Forest Foundation, our work focuses on researching the potential of kelp to help restore our ecosystems, build nature-based solutions, and whether it can sequester carbon long-term. Xu will be sharing our journey and experience in this space as a non-profit research organization. 🌊 About the Summit: The Advancing Ocean CDR Summit represents a world-class platform for leaders working in or around ocean-based carbon removal to unite to share progress in the field and work together to overcome shared hurdles to global-scale ocean-based carbon removal. The Summit runs from today until Thursday, July 11th. Come say hi to Xu at the panel this Wednesday, July 10th at 4 PM! Register here to view online: https://lnkd.in/enfr65sm #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased #oceantech

🌿Did you know kelp can support nearly all UN SDGs? 🌊The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are a set of 17 global objectives, all created to address various pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges by 2030. 🌊The SDGs serve as a blueprint for achieving a more sustainable, equitable world for all of us, and the generations to come. 🌿Check out how our work at the Kelp Forest Foundation is helping us make UN SDGs a reality! #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased

Did you know a healthy kelp forest supports a high biodiversity level and provides fish shelter? Healthy kelp forests offer many ecosystem services, including bioremediation, improving ocean water quality, and carbon sequestration. We are still researching carbon sequestration to determine its full extent. Healthy kelp forests can support fisheries as breeding grounds to help increase fish stock and diversity. A kelp forest can accomplish many things. At Kelp Forest Foundation, we're researching the science behind the nature. Learn about kelp forests, their role in our marine ecosystem, and a few things we're researching at KFF to unlock the power of kelp. #bluecarbon #kelp #nature #marinescience #netzero #naturebased