Nancy Caruso is a marine biologist who is on a two-fold mission: to restore the kelp forests that once flourished in Southern California, and to foster a connection to the ocean while doing it.

Up until about the 1960’s, kelp forests contributed to healthy and productive marine ecosystem in Laguna Beach, CA. However, in the last 30 years Southern California has seen an 80% decline in kelp. When human population started rapidly increasing in the sixties, so too did the harm we were causing on the ocean. Polluted runoff from human activity ended up in the ocean, resulting in turbid waters where not enough sunlight reached the kelp. In addition, aggressive fishing has contributed to the decline. Typically, lobster and other fish eat sea urchins, who feed on kelp. When we overfish the predators of sea urchins and disrupt this balance, the urchin population swells and they eat up all the kelp.

(Image courtesy of Nancy Caruso)

Kelp, a vital part of the ocean ecosystem, needs to be restored. Why? “Kelp is one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, second only to coral reefs,” says Nancy Caruso, a marine biologist who has been actively restoring kelp populations since 2002. “They are the rainforests of the sea.” The biomass produced by kelp forests is gigantic, and over 800 different species rely on them. Much of the fish that we commercially catch rely on kelp in some way, whether as shelter for laying eggs, by feeding on it, et cetera. With the help of thousands of volunteers, she has led the Kelp Project since 2002, and has successfully planted 5 acres of kelp. The goal is to have students raise kelp in their classrooms, and once the kelp are ready, transplant them to the ocean. In areas where the transplants have been successful there is an obviously increased fish population. But, they haven’t all been totally successful. In some areas, the kelp were growing but they weren’t spreading like had been hoped, and no one is really sure why. There is insufficient scientific data on kelp, and more research is needed to understand exactly how to boost kelp repopulation.

Despite the research gaps in kelp science, Caruso is using the opportunity to not only help restore the ocean, but instill a sense of connection to the ocean for young adults. This is the first year she has tried the project with 6th graders; usually, she teaches marine biology to 7th to 12th graders, as she enjoys teaching higher-level science. But she is impressed with 6th graders’ enthusiasm and their ability to relate the ocean to their own lives. And to Caruso, it’s not just about the science: “The more important part of all of this is that the community is involved in the restoration of the ecosystem. The community, not scientists, and they take ownership of the kelp.” She puts the value of a human connection to the ocean above all else. “If everybody had that connection to the ocean, I think the world would be a better place.”

Caruso is now planning projects that will involve students raising abalone and white sea bass in their classroom, and then releasing them into the ocean. For more info on her various projects, check out at Get Inspired, Inc. If you happen to live in Southern California, try to attend Kelp Fest 2010!