Welcome to your Seatrees project!
Thanks for partnering with Seatrees to support the research into Kelp Carbon Science in La Jolla, California! We’ve created this doc to help you share the impact you’re having and inspire your community to follow in your footsteps. Think of this doc as a detailed FAQ - a way to guide the conversation. For larger partners, we're happy to explore bespoke ideas.
We use our social channels (mainly Instagram) to promote our brand partners and newsletter, which is featured on our website, to highlight specific things our brand partners are doing that align with our mission and impact. Follow us: @sea.trees
Scroll to the bottom of your dashboard to access all the media assets provided to you for this project.
What’s our mission/vision?
On World Ocean Day, June 8, 2024, we announced our second major milestone of 4 million Seatrees planted + protected.
We're already working hard to find quality new projects where we can work together to plant the next Million Seatrees. Longer-term, our goal is to support 100 blue carbon projects in threatened coastal ecosystems by 2030, in turn becoming a global leader in developing blue carbon projects.
We believe the ocean has superpowers, and we can work with it to reverse climate change. But there's no time to waste. The global scientific consensus is clear that we have the next 10 years to reduce our collective carbon footprint to avoid passing a catastrophic climate tipping point.
Thousands of people and hundreds of brands have joined us on our mission to take action on climate change by regenerating coastal ecosystems. We’re excited to work with YOU to enable and enhance the ocean’s superpowers.
Superpowers?
Yep, 90% of all carbon in the global carbon cycle is stored in the ocean. This is where it should be sequestered to reverse climate change.
Mangrove forests “suck” aka sequester, 5-10 times more CO2 out of the atmosphere per hectare than tropical rainforests. Much of that carbon is stored in the soil and sediment that make up a mangrove ecosystem.
Globally, kelp forests sequester as much CO2 as mangrove forests. 10% of kelp breaks off and sinks into the deep ocean - sequestering the CO2 it contains. The conservation of these ecosystems is critical to solving climate change and will protect the habitats of over 700 species of algae, invertebrates, and fish.
Known as the “rainforests of the sea,” coral reefs are the largest living structures on earth and support 25% of marine life. The conservation of these ecosystems is vital to coastal protection, scientific research, medication, fishing, eco-tourism, and more.
About the Project
This is our first ever Seatrees+Climate project, our special category of work that fuels groundbreaking marine science to unlock global climate solutions. In partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Silvestrum Climate Associates, the Kelp Carbon Science Project is advancing critical research into one of the most promising, yet least understood, ocean ecosystems: kelp forests.
Kelp forests are fast-growing and incredibly productive. They absorb CO₂ from seawater to photosynthesize and build their vast, underwater canopies. But the key climate question remains: how much of that carbon is actually sequestered (stored away) long-term in the ocean?
This project is helping to answer that.
The project team is investigating how carbon moves through a kelp forest, how much is stored in kelp biomass, how much is exported to the deep sea, and how much becomes dissolved organic carbon (DOC) — an “invisible” form that may resist degradation and serve as a true carbon sink. Led by marine scientists Dr. Jen Smith, Dr. Linda Wegley Kelly, and Dr. Lais Lima, this research aims to fill the critical knowledge gaps preventing kelp from being included in climate policy and blue carbon markets.
Your Donation Supports:
- Field and laboratory research in La Jolla’s kelp forests
- Cutting-edge experiments to measure kelp DOC resistance to degradation
- Development of a globally recognized carbon offset methodology
- Science-backed policy work to include kelp forests in blue carbon frameworks
- Workshops and education for policymakers and researchers alike
Project Goals:
- Quantify Carbon Sequestration
Measure how much atmospheric CO₂ kelp forests can remove and store in the ocean over time — including export to sediments and the deep sea, especially during storm events. - Develop a Science-Driven Carbon Methodology
Create a kelp forest-specific analogue to REDD+ called BLUE+ — which includes both sequestration and carbon contained in living kelp biomass. This would allow kelp conservation and restoration projects to access carbon finance through Verra and other registries. - Support Policy and Market Integration
Work with local and state policymakers, NGOs, and global carbon markets to pave the way for kelp to be formally recognized as a blue carbon ecosystem.
Key Science Questions:
What’s Happening Now
Seatrees
- Managing the project and partner relationships
- Driving blue carbon policy efforts in California
- Leading media, storytelling, and fundraising efforts to support the project
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- A full-time project scientist has been hired to lead this work
- Field collections and lab experiments are underway to analyze over 450 kelp DOC samples
- Seasonal variations in carbon output are being modeled and tracked
- Kelp science workshops and collaborations are ongoing
Silvestrum Climate Associates
- Reviewing global kelp blue carbon methodologies and research
- Participating in working groups to align carbon science with markeVerratocols
- Supporting the development of a kelp carbon offset methodology for Verra
How is my “donation” spent?
Most of the money we receive for a specific project goes toward that project. This includes the restoration itself, as well as assessments/auditing of the project, site visits and regular meetings with the project managers, developing content and stories, and updating our website with progress updates.
We hold a portion of the donation to invest in new and start-up blue carbon and research projects that meet our assessment criteria.
Like all non-profits, we also use a portion to fund the operations of our organization. As a registered non-profit, our financials are publicly available - and approximately 15-20% of our income goes towards operational expenses.a
About Seatrees
Seatrees is a nonprofit organization that restores and protects coastal ecosystems around the world to reverse climate change, enhance biodiversity, and support local communities. We use a science-based approach to regenerate coral reefs, kelp forests, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and coastal watersheds. Our projects support local community restoration efforts and provide tangible ways for individuals and brands to create a more resilient planet for future generations.
Why coastal marine ecosystems?
Kelp forests have massive potential to fight climate change, but only if we can prove it. Right now, kelp is not included in carbon markets or most climate strategies due to a lack of robust scientific data. This project is helping change that. Early findings suggest that seasonal shifts and heatwaves impact kelp’s carbon capacity, and that DOC may be a powerful, yet overlooked, climate solution.
By supporting this project, you're helping unlock the data needed to scale ocean-based climate action globally.
How do you ensure the impact is happening?
We have a thorough vetting process for every new project we consider. We support a limited number of projects that meet our criteria and can prove that ‘Seatrees’ are not only being planted, but that they are being protected in the longer term.
The process we go through is underpinned by science and many years of experience managing large-scale restoration and carbon sequestration projects. It’s a long process built on these seven SeaTrees questions:
- Is this project connected to the ocean?
- Who's the planting partner, and how credible are they?
- Is it a region that people are interested in, and how often can we get there?
- Does this place have global/political issues? Any other red flags?
- How does this project align with the UN SDG's? What social impact does this have?
- Do the economics of this project stack up?
- Is this a scalable solution?
We visit all of our projects on an annual basis (more often if we can), and we require our project partners to provide regular updates.
Please share some visuals with us!
We’ll use relevant content from your website and social channels, but if you have any specific please let us know and we’ll determine whether it fits with our brand.
Do share your logo! We’ll display it proudly on our Brand Partners page.
Media Assets
