Thank you for visiting the Kids4Kelp.net website!

For the past three years students at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, California have been growing kelp in our classroom as part of an effort to restore kelp off the Southern California coast.

Our project is divided into three areas of activity: Restoration, Education and Experimentation.
Our restoration activities include releasing kelp spores and growing them on tiles in a kelp nursury until they are ready to be transplanted by divers. We have learned to be very successful in this area and have contributed to re-establishing over 5 acres of kelp habitat.

Our educational activities are very exciting. We have created a professional tradeshow booth and are invited to present our project to the public at trade shows and with our partners at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. In addition, we have taught students at another school how to grow kelp and they now have their own kelp nursury and are also growing kelp! All of this is work is being done by students and we are all learning about conservation and restoration.

Our experimental activities involve exploring different types of tiles and growing conditions for the kelp spores. We seem to have very good results with large tiles and nitrate supplements. We are now exploring different conditions that increase the probability that gametophytes will create sporophytes. This is a work in progress.

Please explore our website, look at our pictures and videos and learn more about one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet!

Thank you again for visiting our site!

This project has been funded by a Toyota Tapestry Grant and is supported by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach California.