The past two episodes have focused on Blue Carbon Habitats such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, salt marshes, and kelp forests and their importance for sequestering carbon and reducing Climate Change. 

In this episode, I discuss why we don't discuss Blue Carbon habitats when we talk about conservation and how you can get involved in more Blue Carbon projects. 

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Blue Carbon habitats can sequester more carbon than the Amazon Forests. Mangroves, Seagrass Meadows, Salt Marshes, and Kelp Forests are all considered Blue Carbon habitats and play a large role in reducing the effects of Climate Change. 

Unfortunately, Blue Carbon habitats have been destroyed due to development priorities along the coastline. Restoring the habitats can be expensive, but is considered necessary if we want to significantly reduce Climate Change.

WILDCOAST has been working for over 10 years on a Blue Carbon Program that includes a Mangrove restoration initiative, where the staff work in collaboration with local communities along the Pacific Coast in Mexico and Southern California to protect existing Blue Carbon habitats and restore those that were gone. 

Join The Virtual Happy Hour to find out how you could get involved in projects such as these on Tuesday, May 25th at 5-6pm PST: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/natural-climate-solutions-virtual-happy-hour-tickets-152932048875?sm_guid=NDAzNDcxfDExMjYzNDcwfC0xfGRvbmF0ZUB3aWxkY29hc3QubmV0fDM1NDA1NDR8fDB8MHw4NDkyNDg4NXw4NjJ8MHwwfHwzODcwMDk1

Find out more about the Project:
Blue Carbon Program: https://wildcoast.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WILDCOAST-Blue-Carbon-Program.pdf

WILDCOAST: https://wildcoast.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/20-Years-of-WILDCOAST.pdf

WILDCOAST's website: https://wildcoast.org/

Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Speak Up For Blue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/

Speak Up For Blue Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpeakUpforBlue

The common practice when discussing the reduction of Climate Change is to mention trees that sequester carbon through photosynthesis. There are additional ways to sequester carbon that often get ignored, which is to look under the ocean's surface. 

Seagrass, mangroves, salt marshes, and kelp forests all play an important role in sequestering carbon and do it way more than trees (and faster). These habitats are also known as Blue Carbon.

Countries are using Blue Carbon strategies to help sequester more carbon. The UK is using it to revitalize Plymouth Sound by planting seagrass seedlings that will make up 4 hectares of underwater habitat. The restoration project will include more than just Blue Carbon benefits, it will also include benefits such as nursery habitat and will solidify the sediment. 

Link to Article: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/natural-england-ocean-marine-conservation-society-b930947.html?fbclid=IwAR1tfzyfxpXLxBS-1JVgoc_Fs-qn9EueYQJ0HcQkQtPb1QomkFe1FDYAMSQ

Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Speak Up For Blue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/

Speak Up For Blue Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpeakUpforBlue