Regenerating
the World’s Oceans
Written
by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
What's in a name? For the environmental organization Sustainable Surf started in 2011, its new name SeaTrees showcases its far-reaching program to plant and restore mangrove trees, kelp forests, seagrass meadows, coastal watersheds, coral reefs, and more.
The organization's mission is "To regenerate the
health of our Ocean for the benefit of both people and planet."
SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti are big fans of SeaTrees. It’s done many things to "green up" the planet,
from promoting sustainable surfboards made of eco-friendly materials to
environmental education, but its SeaTrees restoration and planting program has
had the greatest impact and is most recognized.
Co-founder Michael Stewart says, "SeaTrees has become the cornerstone of our organization's mission, enabling us to partner with local communities to restore coastal ecosystems worldwide." It has projects in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Portugal, Spain, Kenya, Cambodia, Indonesia, Fiji, and Australia.
Stewart adds that, rather than just focusing on what's
sustainable, his group is going beyond that to focus on
"regeneration" – to give new life to damaged parts of the ocean
environment.
Through SeaTrees' work close to 5 million seatrees have been restored and
planted – mangrove and other trees that store carbon and keep it from being emitted into the ocean
and atmosphere, thus reducing greenhouse gasses that damage
the environment.
Stewart notes that the mangrove trees "are 10 times more effective at storing this carbon" than any forest on land. And mangroves' "intricate root systems filter pollutants like nitrates and phosphates, improving water quality before it flows into the ocean."
SeaTrees also announced that it is teaming up with Samsung
Electronics and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography
to provide advanced imaging of coral reefs. This will help to monitor the
reefs' health and enable SeaTrees to share visual data with the greater
scientific community.
With so many plans to accomplish for the newly named SeaTrees, Stewart says, "This isn't just a name change – it’s a game change...the start of an exciting journey."
Sunny Magdaug and Patti
Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications
wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com
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