North Coast KelpFest!
May 18 - June 16, 2024
Art + Science + Food + Film
MENDOCINO & FORT BRAGG
Come to KelpFest! to explore the beauty and benefits of this irreplaceable underwater ecosystem, and to learn about the many efforts to help it recover.
Bull kelp forests are an immensely valuable part of the ocean’s ecosystem, absorbing carbon dioxide, mitigating storm erosion along the shoreline, and providing food and habitat for an abundance of sea creatures. These dense underwater forests stretch along the North American coast from Big Sur to Alaska.
Since 2014, bull kelp forests have been devastated by warming oceans and other impacts, with losses exceeding 96% along California’s North Coast. But through community awareness, research, and recovery efforts, kelp forests can again thrive off of our shores.
Image from The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp website, courtesy of Above/Below
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Art
Through our month-long art show at the Mendocino Art Center, you can experience kelp forests through an artist’s eye. Attend one of the art workshops to create some kelp inspired art of your own!
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Science
Attend panel discussions, low tide walks, and other citizen science events where you can meet the researchers and scientists involved in kelp recovery and restoration, urchin harvesting, and aquaculture.
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Food
Get a taste for helping kelp! Discover new and traditional culinary uses for purple sea urchin and sea vegetables, and check out the Urchin Ranch at Noyo Center’s Field Station in Fort Bragg.
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Film
Delve into the deep while staying perfectly dry at the Mendocino Film Festival’s kelp series, including a feature documentary, short films, and a panel discussion with filmakers and kelp scientists.
Healthy Bull Kelp Forest, photo by Patrick Webster
North Coast KelpFest! is a community led initiative powered by volunteers.
