Reintroduce Kelp
Giant Kelp Recovery
Given that this is an ongoing project, we are experimenting with various approaches to learn what works and what doesn’t to facilitate the recovery of Giant Kelp. Over time we hope to devise sustainable solutions that bring back kelp to its former glory.
How Are We
Reintroducing Kelp?
Since kelp reproduces through spores, our goal is to collect sporophylls — the parts of kelp that produce spores — from nearby healthy kelp forests in the spring and early summer. After drying for a few hours, the sporophylls are placed in a weighted mesh bag “Spore Bag” and placed in a suitable rocky habitat. If conditions are right these sporophylls will release their spores and small kelp recruits will hopefully begin to grow over the next few months!
In the future, other methods may be explored, such as growing kelp in the lab and then outplanting at the restoration sites.
