These are Kelp forests,
the cradle of the ocean and an essential element of our coastal ecosystems.
And for us, they form a crucial part of our ambitions for Marine
rewilding.
I wanted to start this video
by showing you what it's like to free dive through a beautiful,
amazing and wild kelp forest.
However, in my in my search
for such a beautiful kelp forest,
all I found was scattered individuals.
And that is because these forests have become quite rare.
So this is why for the last two years, we have been cooperating with SeaForester
on a project that aims to bring back these lost kelp forests.
And now we are finally ready to commit to something concrete,
which is why we've put together €26,500 to build our very own little kelp factory.
So now, at this point, you might be wondering: Duarte,
why do we need more seaweeds?
They, you know, they stink up the beach,
they get in your hair, they're super annoying to swim with.
Well, in this video, I'm going to try to explain to you
why we think they're really important and why we think they are worth having.
And I'll also run you through our kelp restoration trial.
The results from the trial,
as well as this new project that we are really excited about.
Kelp forests are what we call ecosystem
engineers because they create habitat for a variety of other species.
They provide food, nursery areas and also shelter during storms.
From the human perspective, they are a carbon sink.
They improve water quality, attract recreational diving, tourism,
and help stabilize local fisheries.
They are found on rocky cold water, marine coastlines, on all major continents
except Antarctica.
However, in many places, they're disappearing due to a variety of
threats, such as the case of sea urchins in California.
Focusing on Europe and in our project area in Portugal, the causes for the
decline of the kelp are not fully known, but we do know it's disappearing.
Some of the main issues are herbivory, which happens when the mix of species
changes due to a lack of predators or another disturbance
to the coastal ecosystem, which leads to more kelp being eaten.
The growth of turf algae which block the young kelp from settling
on the rocks, damage to seaweed canopies through fishing,
changing water temperatures due to climate change and pollution from rivers
and coastal runoff, which blocks the sunlight needed for photosynthesis.
I will touch on how we will get around these issues later in the video
because first I want you to take a look at our restoration trial.
Tiago, the Mossy Earth biologists who, in addition
to other projects, manages marine rewilding and kelp forests.
We've been running this project together with Jan and Ines two marine biologists
from SeaForester,
which is an organization dedicated to bring him back wild kelp forests.
The goal of this trial was to understand whether the spore bag technique worked and
whether it worked in a specific location in Cascais which is an urban area.
When it comes to results, well, it didn't work.
The areas where we deployed the spore bags did not develop any kelp.
There might still be a bit of hope for spring, but the chances are slim.
We believe the main reason for the failure of this technique was the turf algae,
which made it difficult for the kelp spores
to attach themselves to the rock and start growing.
It seems to have done so even though we scripted off at the start of the trial.
So remember, this is a trial for one technique.
It failed.
But that is the point of doing trials.
You learn and you iterate, and that is what we are doing now.
And this is where green gravel comes in.
The kelp restoration technique originated from a group of researchers in Norway.
Essentially, it aims to adapt seaweed cultivation techniques and use them in
kelp restoration.
Allowing this work to be done at scale.
It is also a great solution to reseed turfed reefs by circumventing the lack
of available rock surface, by deploying to kelp with their own small rock.
The goal is for the kelp to then spread and attach itself to the reef,
thus reseeding the forest.
The process is relatively simple.
Grow the kelp on
pieces of gravel in a lab and then launch them at the desired site.
You don't even need a diver to deploy it.
So then the next question was: Does this work in Portugal?
This is where our second group of partners in this project comes in.
Joao and Alvaro from the Instituto Politecnico de Leiria,
or IPL for short, and the labs at IPL are unlike anything I've seen.
They do all kinds of super interesting research on marine ecosystems.
While our spore bag back test
was happening, SeaForester set up a green gravel trial in Peniche
They grew some green gravel deployed it and it worked!
Check out all these beautiful kelp growing on the gravel
and then how much they grew in just a few months.
This is a game changer for us.
So now it's time for a bigger experiment.
One way that you can think about this
project is as if we were just learning to plant trees on land.
In recent times, this latest experiment
has managed to plant hundreds of trees.
And now we're looking at the next experiment,
which is to plant thousands of trees.
Not yet millions.
Millions will be in the future, hopefully but thousands.
And that's the stage that we're looking to get with this project.
Again, I have to remind you, this is still a test.
It is a test at scale, but it remains experimental.
So here's how this process works.
The seed stock is grown and kept in a phytochamber.
And at the start of each batch, this stock is spread on the gravel.
From then on, essentially the modules run almost on their own in a closed system.
The water starts from this container, then it passes through a chiller.
So it is at the correct temperature.
Then it goes through a UV filter and into the various trays.
This is where the kelp is growing on the gravel under the LED lights.
The water then runs through collection pipes
through this filter and back into the initial container.
To get the money for this project, we put together a mixed fund with money
coming in from our Mossy Earth members, as well as our wonderful partners at
Not Just Travel Get Set Hire Unifrog and the World Surf League.
We are building five green gravel modules that will have the capacity for 86 trays
with about 200 to 400 rocks in each one.
We should be able to produce three to four batches per year
and to keep up with the running costs of our little factory Both Mossy Earth
and SeaForester will be gathering funds to use for this purpose.
On our side, we'll be using the regular contribution from our members
and also from other partners that might want to help restore kelp forests.
So if you're not yet a member, be sure to check out Mossy Dot Earth to learn more.
I got Alvaro to show me how the kelp is growing on the gravel
under a microscope, and it is really fascinating to look at.
This is their initial stage, and here you can see a tiny kelp,
and then here how much it has grown in just 15 days.
So they're growing really fast at this stage.
Eventually, these will be proper kelps ready to be deployed to the ocean
and start our big experiment The next step now is to finish building
the final modules with a first batch, hopefully going out in June or July.
What really excites me about this project is how pioneering it is
Marine rewilding is still in its infancy.
There have been many great experiments and tests done, but
very few places are doing it at scale.
It is a bit of an unknown world, yet it's one of the biggest ecosystems out there.
It's huge and it has a huge impact on our lives in our livelihood.
And it is also home to a huge amount of biodiversity.
So I think getting started with with projects in the ocean
and specifically these kelp forests that are such an important part
of the marine ecosystem is really, really exciting.
And finally, I would like to say a really big
thank you to everyone who has contributed to these projects.
And if you're not yet a member but you find this project exciting
and worth supporting, then maybe consider heading over to Mossy .
Earth where you can read more about our work and also become a member.
Until next time.
Cheers.