The Kelp Rescue Initiative (KRI), a project born out of over 50 years of kelp research at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC), is on a mission to restore the rich kelp forests along the West Coast of British Columbia. Located in the traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, BMSC is a collaborative campus established by the Western Canadian Universities Marine Sciences Society, a registered charity formed by the University of Calgary, the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria.

Kelp forests are the rainforests of our seas - they are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, are vital for the survival of hundreds of marine species and play an important role in combating climate change through coastal protection, carbon and nutrient cycling. However, kelp forests are facing unprecedented challenges, including ocean warming, a devastating marine heatwave between 2014 and 2016 and an overpopulation of sea urchins, leading to a significant decline in kelp populations along Canadas coastlines, and around the world.

You can help the kelp by supporting the Kelp Rescue Initiative in its mission to revive these critical ecosystems. Our team is working on innovative restoration techniques, such as "green gravel" kelp seeding, where baby kelp is attached to gravel and planted on the ocean floor. These restoration efforts, conducted in collaboration with First Nations communities, are essential for the recovery of kelp forests around BC. The Kelp Rescue Initiative has been testing and optimizing various kelp restoration methods in Barkley Sound, the North Salish Sea and in Burrard Inlet since it was founded in 2021. As a science-based initiative, we are also pursuing novel kelp research, together with our collaborators: we are mapping historic changes in kelp distribution over the last 50 years in BC, are examining the genetic diversity, adaptation and thermal tolerance of different kelp populations and are building habitat suitability models for kelp that also inform how kelp forests support salmon.

By donating to the Kelp Rescue Initiative, you are not only helping to restore these vital underwater forests but also contributing to the protection of marine biodiversity and the fight against climate change. Your generosity can make a difference in the survival of this critical ecosystem and the future of our planet.

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