What a week! Blue Futures Kelp was at the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Three Star Dark Sky Festival, joining a panel on mariculture & ocean science. Thank you to HFN & Foundry Events for hosting, highly recommend this festival for anyone else with a love of stars & sea! 🌊🪐

I’m excited to be a panelist at this year’s Three Stars Dark Sky Festival, happening May 8-10 in my old home on Huu-ay-aht territory! 🌌 📍Pathways: Between Land & Sky | House of Huu-ay-aht | 📆 Sunday, May 10 👉🎟️ Plan your visit: hgb.tickit.ca/events/34302... #vanisle #explorebc #kelp #darksky

Amazing work showcasing the value of long-term monitoring data: Gerraty et al. document declines in the sea-palm #kelp #Postelsia associated w/ the 2014-16 northeast Pacific heatwave & failure to recover due to expansion of mussel beds during the seastar-wasting epidemic. 🤯🌊🦑 doi.org/10.1002/eap....

I’ve recently been harvesting sea urchins with the crew of Seaworthy, a small fishing boat that sells our catch directly to customers on the dock! It’s been awesome to learn the ropes of a fishery that has huge potential to help kelp forests threatened by urchin overgrazing #urchin #kelp #vanisle

For #PhycologyFriday, some views from the annual Pacific herring spawn dive surveys I’m working this year, exemplifying the importance of seaweeds as fish habitat! Seen in Toquaht and Huu-ay-aht territories, west Vancouver Island

For #PhycologyFriday, check out this Giant Kelp gametophyte culture growing here at Blue Futures Kelp! Grown from spores collected in T’Sou’ke territory here on Vancouver Island, and propagating for conservation, education, and potential future research and restoration. #kelp #restoration #vanisle

A new publication coauthored by Blue Future Kelp’s @claysteell.bsky.social is out, exploring the growing practice of #biobanking kelps for conservation & restoration. Read more below! 🌊 #PhycologyFriday #kelp

Earlier this fall, I was awarded an Ocean Action Grant by Ocean Wise to set up a gametophyte culturing lab & collect spores from a potentially vulnerable population of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) for long term bio-banking! #kelp #kelpforest #conservation #restoration #ocean

Earlier this month, BFK ushered in the winter with its first diving contract 🤿 Using the @reeflifesurvey.bsky.social method, we collected biodiversity data for a client & their First Nation partner monitoring kelp / urchin barren dynamics, & also gathered urchin samples #kelp #kelpforest #urchin

Thrilled to share what I’ve been working on lately: launching @bluefutureskelp.bsky.social! Ever since returning to phycology 5 years ago & researching #kelp restoration, I've been hooked, & I’m grateful to be continuing it in this new capacity. Follow along for updates & more kelpy content 🌊

Introducing Blue Futures Kelp, a new venture to restore kelp forests & advance restoration science in the northeast Pacific Ocean! Based in the unceded territories of Lekwungen peoples (Victoria, BC, Canada). Follow along to learn more! #kelp #kelpforest #restoration #SalishSea #vanisle