Sussex Kelp Restoration Project

This project is part of OffsetMyFlight’s UK-based initiatives and is not certified under international standards such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), the Gold Standard (VER), or the United Nations’ Certified Emission Reductions (CER) programmes.

Coastal ecosystems (saltmarsh, seagrass and some kelp) can sequester up to 20 times more carbon per acre than land forests.  However, unlike saltmarsh and seagrass habitats which have a buried root structure, kelp’s holdfast sits on top of firm substrate. This means the carbon fixed into kelp tissues cannot be sequestered in the immediate vicinity.

The Sussex Kelp Recovery Project aims to provide some answers to questions around kelp carbon cycles at a local level and may even inform the development of a quantifiable kelp carbon sequestration rate, though this is still some years away.

Ultimately, kelp is a key species in a broader ecosystem and the presence of kelp will stimulate other parts of the trophic levels in Sussex seas, with all marine life being carbon based.  This is referred to as ‘animating the carbon cycle’ and reminds us that healthy marine ecosystems are better at capturing and storing carbon than those that are depleted or damaged.