4.9

Kelp as a Natural Fertilizer: Indigenous Knowledge and Practices

In this final step, we will examine how Indigenous knowledge and practices are used to cultivate kelp, which becomes a natural fertilizer and, in the process, restores marine life.

The Shinnecock Kelp Farmers is a collective of Indigenous women building upon their 10,000-year traditional relationship with the sea to restore the health of Long Island’s Shinnecock Bay. They cultivate sugar kelp to capture excess nitrogen and carbon that is polluting the water, aiming to rejuvenate marine life. This effort, supported by partnerships (including the Sisters of St. Joseph), creates green jobs for tribal members and produces an environmentally friendly, natural fertilizer.

In the following video, Tela Troge, an attorney and member of the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, discusses their indigenous women-led effort to cultivate sugar kelp to create natural fertilizer, reduce nitrogen in the water, and restore local marine life.

To wrap up the three-step section on algae, we’ve included the short documentary, ‘Seaweed Stories’, that explores the three great groups of seaweed (red, brown, green) and their role in creating Earth’s atmosphere. It highlights scientists and entrepreneurs using this ancient resource to develop sustainable products like bioplastics, fertilizer, and animal feed, emphasizing its potential to combat climate change. Watch here.

Further reading, learning and references

Shinnecock Kelp Farmers https://www.shinnecockkelpfarmers.com/

The Guardian – Saved by seaweed: nuns and Native women heal polluted New York waters using kelp https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/27/shinnecock-tribe-nuns-kelp-farm-long-island-bay

American Indian Magazine – A Sisterhood of the Sea https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/Shinnecock-kelp-farmers

Popular Science – How kelp farming is helping revive the economy and ecology of a Long Island bay https://www.popsci.com/environment/kelp-shinnecock-bay/

Seaweed Stories https://uppsala.instructuremedia.com/embed/c470e27a-beec-4a36-aa81-c00cab4222e6

© Daniel Mossberg, CEMUS, Uppsala University and Sonali Phadke, studio Alternatives and Stephanie Foote