With this award we aim to build on 5 years of kelp restoration science in the Hughes Lab at Sonoma State, along with our partners at Moss Landing Marine Labs and The Nature Conservancy.

Historically, SCUBA diving, including scientific diving, has been an exclusive endeavor that has primarily favored white people from privileged socio-economic backgrounds. Despite the ethnic, cultural and societal makeup of California, the proportion of professional SCUBA divers does not reflect our diverse society.

The decline in northern California kelp forests has triggered scientists and ecosystem managers to address the decline by better understanding the causes of kelp forest die-off. This unprecedented event has presented an opportunity to study the decline and work towards solutions for restoring kelp forests. With funding from The Nature Conservancy, the Hughes Lab at Sonoma State University will be conducting surveys across a gradient of kelp forest decline, as there are still a few resilient patches left to learn and study from.

The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) was established by the California Legislature in 1999, and it's main purpose was to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that would serve as "ocean parks" to protect marine life and habitat. We are now about 15 year into the process and to date we still have very little understanding of estuaries within the MLPA network, and if they are meeting their goals of enhancing fisheries and protecting biodiversity.