GreenWave: Restorative Polyculture & Kelp Conservation Initiative
Latest update July 18, 2019 Started on April 9, 2019We're excited to study the habitat and other ecosystem services provided by restorative ocean polyculture and explore ocean polyculture as a vehicle for kelp restoration and conservation.
From above, our ocean farm is visually low-impact. Take a dip underwater and you'll see the scaffolding for restorative ocean polyculture. Here, sugar kelp is growing on horizontal ropes 6 feet below the surface.
Took advantage of an opportunity to take our OpenROV Trident for a test drive just outside our headquarters in the Quinnipiac River. Spotted some sea lettuce (Ulva) under the docks - a favorite snack for the swans!
Looking forward to having the ROV in our toolbox to observe restorative ocean polyculture.
Kelp farms and kelp beds come in many shapes and sizes, and provide numerous ecosystem services--from taking up excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in Long Island Sound, to absorbing carbon and mitigating the effects of ocean acidification near where it grows. We're excited to monitor habitat on our restorative ocean farms and track health of natural kelp beds throughout our region. Right now, we do this mostly from our vantage point aboard the F/V Mookie, with occasional assistance from a GoPro. But we're just skimming the surface. Last week, we had a chance to test drive a Trident ROV. We look forward to adding the Trident to our toolkit and bringing you along on our underwater expedition. We'll be adding some posts (and underwater footage) to our expedition shortly. Follow along!
GreenWave’s polyculture vertical farming system grows a mix of seaweeds and shellfish that require no fertilizer, feed or land and sequesters carbon and rebuilds reef ecosystems. We are excited to use the Trident ROV to observe native kelp populations in Long Island Sound and beyond, study the habitat and other ecosystem services provided by restorative ocean polyculture, and explore ocean polyculture as a vehicle for kelp restoration and conservation.
