GreenWave is a North American nonprofit focused on the development of
regenerative farming techniques for
aquaculture, called "3D ocean farming", to create
blue carbon.
Their focus is on developing
polyculture
In agriculture, polyculture is the practice of growing more than one crop species in the same space, at the same time. In doing this, polyculture attempts to mimic the diversity of natural ecosystems. Polyculture is the opposite of monoculture, i ...
practices for farming shellfish and seaweeds and
kelp
Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms.
Kelp grows in "underwa ...
s.
These practices include using many layers of the
water column
A water column is a conceptual column of water from the surface of a sea, river or lake to the bottom sediment.Munson, B.H., Axler, R., Hagley C., Host G., Merrick G., Richards C. (2004).Glossary. ''Water on the Web''. University of Minnesota-D ...
, emulating high activity water
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s like
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...
s, to increase productivity and
biomass.
The organization focuses on developing globally accessible techniques for this kind of farming. As of 2019, they had a waitlist of over 4,000 farmers in 20 countries needing support in starting such farms.
Starting such a farm usually costs between US$20,000–50,000.
The nonprofit was created by
Bren Smith to spread methods first developed on his Thimble Island Ocean Farm in
Long Island Sound.
Emily Stengal is the co-founder and deputy director of the non-profit.
In 2015, the organization's 3D ocean farming method won the
Buckminster Fuller Institute's
Fuller Challenge.
The organization also won a 2017
The Index Project prize.
See also
*
Algaculture
Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.
The majority of algae that are intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae (also referred to as phytoplankton, microphytes, or planktonic algae). Mac ...
*
Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture
References
External links
*
Non-profit organizations based in the United States
Sustainable agriculture
Aquaculture
501(c)(3) organizations
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Blue carbon