Help the Kelp in the USA

ALL DONATIONS WILL BE MATCHED till we reach $250,000, so please donate

Global Warming has kicked in, the oceans are warming up, and the kelp forests are dying. At the Climate Foundation we are creating submersible platforms of seaweed to regenerate kelp forest ecosystem services offshore. 

Together we can help vanishing ecosystems thrive, regenerate seaweed forests  - which absorb thousands of tons of CO2 per sq kilometer year-  help seaweed farmers and fishermen have livelihoods, and help feed growing populations. Your donation will help us get to commercial-scale Marine Permaculture projects by 2024.

Its going to take all of us. Please help us help our planet.

ALL DONATIONS WILL BE MATCHED till we reach $250,000 

More information below…

History: 

The coast of California used to have a broad and continuous river of kelp forest

Today: The kelp is more than 90% gone. 

The problem:

• Kelp forests are dying

  • The water is too warm leading to the nutrient levels being too low

  • Soil and fertilizer runoff makes the water much more turbid.

  • Big warm blobs from Alaska, and Year-long el Nino’s 

  • The main predator of sea urchins, the sunflower sea star, is disappearing due to disease. 

  • Reduced predation results in an increase of sea urchins.  Higher temperatures upregulate urchin metabolism, increasing appetite, which decimates kelp.

• Why is that a problem?

  • Kelp forests serve as large carbon sinks 

  • They decrease ocean acidification locally

  • They boost oxygen levels locally 

  • They serve as habitat to 800+ marine species 

  • They help protect the coast from erosion by reducing the speed and size of waves

  • Kelp is a valuable product used for food, feed and fertilizer

Our solution is

• Marine Permaculture is a nature-based solution that

  • Provides irrigation of nutrients and offshore substrate for kelp and related ecosystems to thrive offshore.

  • Partial harvest cultivation ensures the majority of cultivated kelp remains in place year-round, preserving habitat ecosystem services. 

  • Even early Marine Permaculture platforms are resilient to the most extreme offshore conditions.

  • Provides ecosystem services for the region.

  • Protects kelp from the next marine heatwave.

  • Protects kelp from sea urchins.

  • Seaweed falling off the platform sinks in a matter of hours to the seafloor, representing a blue carbon sink that can remain in the abyss for centuries, even after being respired.

Pathway

• Pilot Project: Build, deploy and commission the first 100m2 Marine Permaculture platform in the Americas.

  • Santa Barbara Channel has been chosen as an ideal place for the pilot project, bringing Marine Permaculture to the California coast in the eastern Pacific.
    

  • Conduct seaweed growth trials

  • Working with local fishermen and environmental volunteers with marine experience

  • We are organizing the first pilot demonstration in the eastern Pacific of our prototypes developed and tested in the Philippines.

How we are doing it

• Planning a pilot-scale platform to demonstrate  that kelp grows well with irrigation as a precursor to sustainable hectare scale mariculture.

• Raising $600k (including up to $300k in foundational grants)

• Thanks to our foundational sponsors: Every dollar raised will be matched

Vision

• This platform will serve as a demonstration project for Marine Permaculture in Eastern Pacific.

• Ultimately, we envision hectare scale Marine Permaculture arrays operating across the Pacific and tropical and subtropical waters. 

• These arrays will be built and optionally leased to customers ranging from coastal seaweed and fishing communities to commercial aquaculture to coastal cities and ports. 

• The Marine Permaculture arrays produce seaweed that can be sustainably harvested to create high-value products while enabling measurement of blue carbon sequestration services from the arrays. 

• Marine Permaculture arrays will spur the local economy by providing a steady supply of affordable high-quality seaweed and fish that can drive development of new businesses and strengthen existing ones.

So - that's why we are doing all this work. 

It would be great if you were to help us

 help the planet, the ocean,

 and the 8.7 million species

 that also live here. 

California Project begins when we have reached the $250,000 mark.