Interview with CO2 Offsetting Partner: SeaGrass Grow
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Sea Going Green is proud to announce that we have officially partnered with CO2 offsetting project, SeaGrass Grow!
SeaGrass Grow (a project of The Ocean Foundation) conducts coastal habitat restoration projects around the world by rehabilitating and conserving seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and salt marshes to capture and sequester CO2, prevent storm surge, enhance the quality of marine habitats for local species, improve water quality and more!
Learn more about their mission, projects and impact in our blog interview with Ben Scheelk, Program Officer at The Ocean Foundation.
Thanks for taking the time to interview with us!
Can you begin by telling us more about how SeaGrass Grow came to be as well as your mission?
Since 2008, The Ocean Foundation has been involved in many coastal restoration projects and has widely promoted the concept of “Blue Carbon”--the capacity of natural ecosystems of seagrasses, tidal marshes and mangroves to take up and sequester large quantities of carbon in both the plants themselves and the sediment below them. Recognizing that this concept could help address climate change while promoting ocean health, TOF has made an effort to protect and restore these coastal systems while investing in the science and viability of blue carbon.
The origins of SeaGrass Grow involve a 2008 partnership with Absolut Vodka in which TOF participated in Absolut’s Global Cooling™ campaign, a multi-year green marketing campaign encouraging consumers to reduce the effects of global warming and register to give one dollar of every bottle purchased to an eco charity. The proceeds were directed to restore seagrass beds around major metropolitan coastal areas. This partnership restored more than 4,000 square feet of damaged seagrass located at Knight’s Key Bank in the NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Through collaboration with local partners, TOF established the Restore-A-Scar program, aimed at restoring seagrass scars found off the coasts of Florida, New York, California and Washington. TOF worked with a local vendor, SeaGrass Recovery, to restore scars caused by boat propellers in seagrass beds with biodegradable cotton tubular socks containing sand and seeds. Through the Restore-A-Scar campaign, TOF joined forces with the Florida Aquarium to bring awareness to the importance of seagrass ecosystems, educating the public – especially children – through the aquarium’s seagrass exhibit. The success of Restore-A-Scar led the Governor of Florida to declare March as “Seagrass Month” in 2008, a designation still recognized today.
Following a number of projects, including the “100-1000: Restore Coastal Alabama Partnership” (2010) to address impacts from the oil spill and years of environmental degradation along the Alabama coast, The Ocean Foundation released the first-ever Blue Carbon Offset Calculator in 2012 as part of its nascent SeaGrass Grow program. This included the development and refinement of branding materials and logos and the launch of our SeaGrass Grow website.
Since then, we have had the privilege to support coastal habitat restoration projects (seagrasses, mangroves, and salt marshes) around the world, including in Puerto Rico, California, Rhode Island, Fiji, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, and Honduras (in addition to the earlier work in Florida and Alabama).
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How does your offsetting program work?
The Ocean Foundation’s blue carbon calculator enables donors to make fully tax-deductible charitable contributions to support active and future coastal habitat restoration projects designed to offset carbon emissions through the restoration and conservation of seagrasses, mangroves, and salt marshes. Our “blue carbon offsets” are estimated based on the best available science regarding direct carbon sequestration and storage benefits, including erosion prevention and conservation of existing habitats.
In conjunction with other sources of support, including grants from private foundations and government, The Ocean Foundation is supporting the development, testing, and wide scale adoption of new and existing blue carbon methodologies for certified carbon credit generation for trading in the voluntary and regulatory markets. By cultivating strategic corporate and philanthropic partnerships with ocean-focused organizations and industries, we expand the reach and impact of SeaGrass Grow and leverage charitable carbon offset funding to secure larger commitments required for project planning and long-term monitoring.
While our blue carbon offsets are not currently certified through a 3rd party verifier, we conduct extensive monitoring at our projects throughout the lifetime of the project to ensure blue carbon sequestration and storage post-intervention meets or exceeds our initial estimates. As we grow the size and complexity of our projects, we intend to pursue independent certification that will allow us to advance the small but quickly emerging blue carbon market.
How efficient is seagrass at capturing carbon compared to other methods? Can you plant seagrass anywhere?
Seagrass habitats are up to 15x more effective than Amazonian rainforests in their carbon uptake and storage abilities (in some cases even higher depending on the specific environment). Seagrasses occupy 0.1% of the seafloor, yet are responsible for 11% of the organic carbon buried in the ocean, and help mitigate the effects of ocean acidification. Coastal ecosystems, like seagrass meadows, are extremely effective at sequestering and storing carbon in part due to their complex root systems which trap and bury carbon-rich materials suspended in the water.
Besides CO2 capture, what are the added benefits of planting seagrass? i.e. in areas that are hurricane-prone?
Seagrass beds are recognized worldwide as one of the most productive and diverse coastal marine habitat communities in the world. In tropical western Atlantic ecosystems, like in Puerto Rico, widely distributed seagrass beds deliver many important and valuable ecosystem services. These services include functions such as nurseries, shelter and food for juvenile fish, invertebrates, and large charismatic marine herbivores like manatees and green sea turtles. A single acre of seagrass may support as many as 40,000 fish, and 50 million small invertebrates like crabs, oysters, and mussels.
Seagrass meadows supply 50% of the world’s fisheries and provide vital nutrition for close to 3 billion people. Seagrasses also stabilize sediments and reduce wave energy; protecting shorelines from erosion and maintaining water clarity. Along with high rates of nutrient cycling associated with primary production and storage in plant biomass, seagrass meadows are responsible for maintaining optimum water quality conditions. Positive feedback made possible by many of these services contribute to the long-term persistence of coastal ecosystems and the protections afforded to nearby communities.
Tell us more about your project in Puerto Rico. What other projects do you have on the horizon?
We have two ongoing projects in Puerto Rico: one in Jobos Bay and the other on the island-municipality of Vieques. The first project, taking place in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, is designed to repair damages to seagrass and mangrove forests caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria (2017). The project capitalizes on threat and vulnerability assessments and local coastal planning that has been performed to date, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) estuarine reserve profile, which includes a comprehensive needs assessment and restoration-related recommendations for improving the health and resiliency of this important coastal ecosystem. Restoration areas were prioritized based on a post-hurricane disturbance assessment released in July 2018 by NOAA for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). We recently finished up the pilot project (roughly 5 acres of seagrass and 1 acre of mangrove forest), and we are currently finalizing a feasibility assessment and restoration plan for a much larger follow-up project that will include at least 300 acres of mangrove restoration.
The other project in Vieques, which started in 2020, is also designed to repair hurricane-related damages. Hurricane Maria (2017)--the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in 89 years--caused major impacts to the Bioluminescent Bay on the island of Vieques, which serves as a key environmental, economic, and cultural resource for surrounding communities. During the storm, an extensive amount of protective mangroves and seagrasses were destroyed leaving large areas prone to ongoing erosion. While the Bay’s phytoplankton community returned to a stable equilibrium in the ensuing months, experts believe the high resiliency of this ecosystem will be challenged by climate change bringing more frequent and powerful storm events that threaten the stability of this unique ecosystem. In particular, resource managers have raised serious concerns that the mangroves and seagrasses at the narrow mouth of the Bay are too degraded to effectively recover in time for the next major hurricane, which will lead to extensive habitat destruction and potentially the permanent loss of bioluminescence. Through this project, we intend to conduct large-scale restoration work that builds on initial assessments and site prioritization conducted by the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust (VCHT). Increasing the climate resilience of the Bay is important not only to protect the ecosystem’s biodiversity, but it also serves as a protective natural barrier for surrounding communities and one of the most important drivers of sustainable economic development on Vieques. The project is taking place within the boundaries of the Vieques Bioluminescent Bay Natural Reserve, a 1140 acre protected area co-managed by VCHT and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER).
In addition to Puerto Rico, we are actively pursuing large-scale coastal habitat restoration projects in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, The Bahamas, and Honduras. Stay tuned as these new projects are rolled-out in the coming years!
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Who are your biggest project partners?
Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
The Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DNER) is the agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico whose main function is to protect, conserve, and manage the natural and environmental resources of the country in a balanced way, to guarantee the next generations enjoyment, and to stimulate a better quality of life. The DNER manages all protected areas in Puerto Rico, and we work closely with the agency both in Jobos Bay and Vieques.
Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
This Puerto Rico reserve encompasses parts of Mar Negro and Cayos Caribe, a linear formation of 15 tear-shaped, reef fringed, mangrove islands extending westward from the southern tip of the mouth of Jobos Bay. Jobos Bay supports extensive healthy seagrass beds comprising Thalassia and Halodule, interspersed with macroalgae and coral rubble. This reserve also includes extensive upland dry forests, lagoons, seagrass beds, and is commercially important for marine recreation, commercial and recreational fishing, and ecotourism. The Jobos Bay Reserve is one of 29 areas in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System that is protected for long-term research, water-quality monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Daily oversight is led by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources along with other local partners. NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management provides funding, national guidance, and technical assistance. We work directly with the Reserve on all aspects of restoration projects, including training and long-term monitoring.
Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust
The Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust (VCHT) has been the leading non-profit environmental conservation organization in Vieques for 35 years. The organization’s mission is the conservation of the “Isla Nena's" natural and cultural resources through non-formal education, scientific research, and direct action. The VCHT co-manages the VBBNR with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER). This reserve covers an area of 1,165 acres and encompasses areas up to 9 miles offshore, including several cays, coral reefs, extensive mangrove forests, seagrass beds, sandy beaches, and Puerto Mosquito Bioluminescent Bay—considered the most pristine of its kind in the world. Conservation and scientific research activities in the Reserve are carried out by VCHT staff, students, and volunteers, including: permanent monitoring of water quality and phytoplankton populations, implementation of erosion and sedimentation control measures, facilitating research projects for students and scientists, citizen science programs involving tour operators, students, teachers, and visitors, coastal and underwater cleanup activities, and tour guides and training. We are working with VCHT directly on the restoration project in Vieques.
Manuel Merello, General Director, Merello Marine Consulting
Mr. Merello is a botanical marine biologist researcher at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) in the Florida Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) division. He is also the General Director of an international company dedicated to the restoration and protection of the environment (Merello Marine Consulting) and has been collaborating for more than 20 years with NOAA at the Center for Coastal Fisheries and Research Habitat in Beaufort, North Carolina. Mr. Merello has spent most of his career focused on applied research designed to address questions related to the conservation and protection of marine resources—mainly the benthic habitat, as well as seagrass ecology and its restoration, sources of anthropogenic disturbance, protection of endangered species, water quality, geographic information systems, coral biology, and flora and fauna monitoring programs. Mr. Merello has assisted many federal and state agencies, universities, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations in the development and implementation of programs for the conservation and restoration of seagrass and manatees in the United States and other places throughout the world. Mr. Merello and his company's associates (MMC) are leaders in the protection, restoration, and mitigation of natural resources.
Dr. Victor Rivera-Monroy, Associate Professor, Louisiana State University
Dr. Victor Rivera-Monroy is a Systems Ecologist with areas of specialization in Biogeochemistry and Primary Productivity in Tropical &Temperate Wetland and Mangrove Ecosystems--his research activities address a wide range of basic research problems in environmental sciences focusing on fundamental and applied questions in marine and estuarine Resource Utilization and Management. The applied aspects of his research involve relating wetland science to questions about the effects of Eutrophication, Wetland Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, Greenhouse Gases (methane and CO2 production), and Point and Non-point Pollution. He also works on the Interface between Social and Ecological Systems. Despite recognition of the critical relevance of Socio-Ecosystem interactions in resource conservation and management (both marine and terrestrial ecosystems) for the last 30 years, only recently have efforts and economic resources been allocated to develop conceptual frameworks for studying People as Agents of Change in Ecosystems. Dr. Rivera-Monroy collaborates with partners globally and has performed in-depth ecological research in Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, Tanzania, Qatar, and Sri Lanka.
Dr. Jud Kenworthy, Senior Scientist, Merello Marine Consulting
Dr. Jud Kenworthy is a Research Biologist, recently retired after 33 years working with NOAA at the Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, N.C. Dr. Kenworthy has spent most of his career focused on applied research designed to address issues related to the conservation and protection of marine resources. His research addresses seagrass ecology and restoration, disturbance ecology, endangered species protection, optical water quality modelling, and designing and implementing environmental assessments and resource mapping and monitoring programs. Dr. Kenworthy’s work has assisted Federal, State, and International Agencies, as well as NGOs, in developing and implementing conservation and restoration programs for seagrasses, manatees and green sea turtles here in the United States and elsewhere around the world. Prior to retiring from NOAA, Dr. Kenworthy was a scientific working group leader for NOAA’s response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and continues this work as a NOAA sub-contractor.
Conservación ConCiencia
Conservación ConCiencia is a registered U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to environmental research and conservation that promotes sustainable development by working in collaboration with communities, NGOs, governments, academia and the private sector. Conservación ConCiencia is born out of the need to address environmental issues in a multifaceted manner utilizing an interdisciplinary toolbox that integrate life sciences, societal welfare and economic security into a problem-solving approach to today's most pressing environmental problems. The organization’s vision is a world where nature can thrive, economies prosper and people flourish. In order to achieve that vision, Conservación ConCiencia’s mission is to implement effective, science-based conservation actions that move our societies towards sustainability. Conservación ConCiencia serves as a key liaison for The Ocean Foundation in Puerto Rico, which includes advancing a number of efforts in addition the seagrass and mangrove restoration work taking place in Jobos Bay and Vieques.
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Who can support your offsetting projects? And how?
Through our SeaGrass Blue Carbon Offset Calculator, individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and event organizers can use the calculator to offset their carbon footprint through a charitable contribution applied to a blue carbon restoration or conservation project. The calculator provides an easy-to-use way for donors to make their tax-deductible donation “tangible” by associating it with a specific amount of blue carbon resources that need to be restored or protected to offset their respective carbon footprint. Offset your carbon footprint today at www.seagrassgrow.org!
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