Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The forestry sector is an economically important industry on Vancouver Island that supports thousands of families. Modern logging practices seek to minimize environmental impacts; however, marine habitat degradation from logging remains a challenge in coastal British Columbia (BC). In this project, NSERC will support North Island College to work with MC Wright and Associates and BC Timber Sales to plant kelp at logging impacted and non-impacted sites using different planting techniques, to assess kelp as a habitat remediation tool for the forestry sector. Kelp beds naturally provide food and habitat for many different species, while oxygenating the water and absorbing carbon from the ocean. The research will measure species abundance at the sites, kelp growth and carbon absorption, and oceanographic parameters to compare the planted kelp habitat against control sites and treatments. The broader goal of this project is to develop a toolbox of habitat remediation/compensation strategies using kelp in similar sites affected by logging practices.