HTK Travels to Hornby

 

 Rob at the helm

                                                                       Paul ready to dive

On Wednesday June 19th, Michael Mehta, Paul O'Sullivan and Victor Anthony went up to Hornby Island to meet with Rob and Amanda Zielinski and Amanda's father Bill Heath. They've been working on kelp restoration for several years now and were most generous with their time and knowledge. Rob and Amanda run a diving charter business and they graciously facilitated a couple of dives for Paul and Michael to see up close the work they've been doing with kelp in the area. Back on shore, we had a very productive discussion over lunch. A big THANK YOU to Rob, Amanda and Bill!

Article in the Gabriola Sounder: Island group mapping and replanting ocean forests

The Gabriola Sounder published an excellent article on the Help the Kelp Project on June 17 2013. An excerpt from the article states:

Years ago, plying through Gabriola’s waters by boat meant maneuvering through dense stretches of bull kelp.

While some areas like Drumbeg and Gabriola Passage still have rich kelp canopies, the algae remains conspicuously absent in other areas.

Its disappearance has alarmed a group of Gabriolans and spurred them into action to save the keystone plant species by replanting kelp beds in Gabriola’s waters.

To read more click here.

Story about Help the Kelp at World Oceans Day

A short article in The Flying Shingle newspaper provides more context about the work of Help the Kelp. We participated recently in World Oceans Day and had a great time. An excerpt from the article states:

Community groups such as GROWLS, the power squadron,  and Save Our Shores had displays as did Help the Kelp, a group recently re-launched by organiser Michael Mehta and others.

“One of the most important things for Help the Kelp is to convince the community that what we’re doing is not only very important but timely,” Mehta told The Shingle.

“There are a lot of people on the island who are concerned about marine ecosystems,” he said. When communities work together on such issues, he said, they can make a difference.

The full article can be found here.

Video of Help the Kelp at World Oceans Day

Help the Kelp team member Michele narrates the following short video of our participation at World Oceans Day on Gabriola Island (June 9 2013).

Kelp beds in jeopardy on a global basis

I just came across this beautifully done documentary that shows the majesty of kelp forests in Tasmania. You should watch this clip to the end because there's a sad ending that we all need to keep in mind.

Tasmania's disappearing kelp forests

Sealink Pusher barge cruises right through our planted bull kelp

I just watched from my window with a sense of shock as Seaspan's Sealink Pusher cruised right through our planted bull kelp beds. This 500'+ barge didn't need to come this close on such a calm evening. Here's a screen capture from approximately 9:02PM on June 10 2013.

We really need to figure out how to mark our work in future so that ships and smaller boats don't continue to destroy the slowly recovering kelp beds.

OCEANS DAY GABRIOLA ISLAND

KELP HOLDFAST ON ROCK

Oceans Day

Help the Kelp will be participating in Oceans Day on Sunday June 9 2013 here on Gabriola Island. Come and see us to learn more about our projects, to meet the volunteers, and to donate to our cause. Here's the poster for the event including time and location.

Mass devastation of young bull kelp

This evening I was walking the rocky shores in front of my house off Berry Point Road on Gabriola Island and was saddened to see several dozen young bull kelp on the shore. This was within a 100m walk, and upon closer examination most of the kelp appears to be cut approximately 1-2' below the bulb suggesting that an outboard motor likely did the damage.

Here are some photos. We need to find a way to communicate proactively to the boating community about the damage some of them are doing to this precious resource. Any thoughts on how are appreciated.

Help the Kelp in the news: Article in Flying Shingle

"There is some evidence of increased growth of bull kelp off the shores of Gabriola, but kelp helpers who attempted to reseed kelp beds in the fall of 2009 don’t know whether it was due to their efforts.

So they are undertaking a second initiative to reseed the beds,  Gabriolan Michael Mehta said in a Tuesday interview with The Shingle at his home on Berry Point Road. But this time they will use a number of approaches to see which works best, he said."

To read more go to the original article here. 

Gabriola Island resident Dr. Michael Mehta holds a bull kelp that washed ashore.

Photo by Chris Bowers, The Flying Shingle.

Nereocystis luetkeana - Bull Kelp

is an annual kelp, growing anew each year from spores.

Interestingly kelps, which are also known as laminariales,

make up the order Phaecophyceae, or brown algae.

This one washed onto the beach.

In the foreground we see the holdfast with its many fingers with which it attaches to rocky substrates.

Going up from the holdfast is the long stipe

with the buoyant, gas-filled bulb called a pneumatocyst, at the top.

Blades extend from the top of the pneumatocyst and are the plant’s photosynthesizing structures. These blades are what we see floating on top of the water.

 

Our Founder

This is Ken Capon (1942-2012) who got HTK going several years ago. The photo was taken on December 11, 2009 off John Campbell's place. We were on Wiley Qua's boat doing our very first kelp planting with assistance from Diane Sampson of the Nile Creek Enhancement Society.