Act Local, Think Global: Kelp Ecosystem Restoration Science and Practice

Tristin Anoush McHugh is a subtidal ecologist and kelp forest restoration practitioner based in Mendocino, California. During the rapid climate-driven collapse of northern California’s kelp forest ecosystem, over 95% of kelp habitat was lost over 350 km of coastline in under a decade. In her leadership role as the North Coast Regional Manager for Reef Check, she took initiative to expand monitoring sites alongside community scientist divers to capture critical ecosystem information. She communicated the findings broadly to policy makers, scientists, the public and NGO’s to catalyze interest, funding, and research opportunities.
She is currently the Kelp Project Director with The Nature Conservancy where she leads projects to  develop innovative and scalable solutions in the protection and restoration of kelp forests locally and worldwide. Her focus on community enrichment, human connection and communicating the importance of kelp forest ecosystems is a continued priority.  She recently co-developed the Above & Below project which is designed to produce an array of tangible product lines and communication strategies that are intended to engage the public and to support actions and secure sustained funding for kelp recovery and accelerated engagement.

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