Kelp restoration and farming requires a nursery to produce seed that is healthy and sourced from the surrounding area to preserve genetically distinctive populations.

In my time at Ocean Wise, I led the fundraising process, initiation, and development of our first kelp nursery in the Pacific Sciences Enterprise Centre (PSEC) in West Vancouver. The aim of the facility was to function as a scalable proof-of-concept for kelp nurseries across the Pacific Northwest and provide seed for Indigenous-led kelp restoration efforts in the Salish Sea.

With funding from Vancity Credit Union and Telus, and in collaboration with Vital Kelp, we constructed a nursery designed to test various restoration techniques, such as green gravel (the seeding of kelp sporophytes onto small rocks that can then be easily dropped onto rocky substrate for restoration).

The nursery was used to provide green gravel for restoration projects in collaboration with Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the Howe Sound Marine Stewardship Initiative, and the Squamish Nation.

It is currently operating as a key component in the Seaforestation project, with learnings from the nursery being shared with international kelp restoration initiatives via the Kelp Forest Alliance and Green Gravel Working Group.