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Public Invited to Free Zoom Presentation on Solving Climate Change with the World’s Mightiest Seaweed

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Discover a Hawai’i Grown Solution to the Global Climate Challenge on Wednesday May 4 at 5:30 pm

KIHEI, HI –  Learn how the startup company Symbrosia is working to solve climate change by reducing livestock methane emissions with seaweed that’s grown sustainably in Hawaiʻi, at a free Zoom presentation offered on Wednesday, May 4 at 5:30 pm. The presenters will be Daisy Stock and Kylie Tuitavuki of Symbrosia.

This Zoom presentation is offered as part of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s Know Your Ocean Speaker Series, supported by the County of Maui Office of Climate Change, Resiliency and Sustainability. Admission is free, but preregistration is required. To sign up, visit https://bit.ly/SymbrosiaWebinar.

“Symbrosia has been developing a breakthrough seaweed supplement that, when sprinkled into animal feed, increases growth rates and reduces the methane emissions from cows by over 90%,” Tuitavuki reports.

The seaweed is Asparagopsis taxiformis, which Symbrosia views as the sustainable feed material of the future for the world’s millions of farmers and billions of farm animals.

“We are collecting, cultivating and partnering with ranchers and farmers throughout the Hawaiian Islands, to support local food systems and the local economy while also fighting against climate change,” notes Stock, who is the R&D Manager at Symbrosia. “Our team is currently scaling up sustainable production in Kailua Kona, HI at Symbrosia’s pilot facility.”

“The United Nations has declared 2020-2030 the ‘decade of ecosystem restoration’,” said Tuitavuki, a member of Symbrosia’s Business Development team. “While seaweed has long been touted for its impressive array of restorative ecosystem services, only recently has research started to uncover algae’s potential within the food, animal feed, and biofuel sectors.”

“Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is pleased to offer this talk as part of our Know Your Ocean Speaker Series,” comments Meredith Beeson, who coordinates the monthly speaker series. “We look forward to helping our community learn about a potential solution that can help address livestock methane pollution, which currently accounts for 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

“If enough cows, sheep, and goats start snacking on this methane-vanquishing seaweed, it will prevent gigatons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and will bring the entire animal agriculture industry one big step closer to being carbon neutral,” reports the Symbrosia website. “This will make a huge difference in the fight against climate change.”

To learn more about Symbrosia, please visit https://symbrosia.co.

The Know Your Ocean Speaker Series is hosted by the nonprofit Maui Nui Marine Resource Council on the first Wednesday of each month and is funded in part by the County of Maui Office of Climate Change, Resiliency and Sustainability and by donations from individuals and businesses in the community. To learn more, visit www.mauireefs.org.

To reserve your free spot at this talk, please visit https://bit.ly/SymbrosiaWebinar

About Daisy Stock
Leading the R&D team at Symbrosia, Daisy investigates novel approaches to A. taxiformis strain selection and development. Prior to joining the team, she worked in a NASA laboratory investigating the origin of life through isotopic analysis of meteoric material. While earning her B.S. in Marine Science from UC Berkeley, Daisy completed her undergraduate thesis on light sensory mechanisms of sea urchin and contributed to marine conservation research in Panama, Mo’orea, Hawai’i, and California. Daisy is passionate about inclusive, community-oriented science and is excited for the future of marine based approaches to climate change mitigation.

About Kylie Tuitavuki
As a member of the Business Development team, Kylie facilitates outreach, community building, and story-telling for Symbrosia’s partners throughout the Hawaiian Islands. In addition to her work at Symbrosia, Kylie is a current graduate student at UH Mānoa investigating the long-term sustainability of indigenous cropping systems and their potential for revitalization that would support local food systems.  While earning a B.A. in Anthropology and Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, Kylie completed her senior thesis on the impact of long-term agricultural management strategies on soil health and has worked on several community-based research projects in Vanuatu, Mo’orea, and Hawai’i. Kylie is passionate about equitable, inclusive, and community centered research and is thrilled to uplift local and underserved communities in the fight against climate change.

About Maui Nui Marine Resource Council

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council (MNMRC) is a Maui-based non-profit organization working for clean ocean water, healthy coral reefs and a restoration of abundant native fish for the islands of Maui County. MNMRC is recognized for its ability to work with the community to plan, fund, enact and manage culturally appropriate, science-based solutions to serious problems undermining nearshore ocean water quality and threatening local coral reefs. To learn more, visit www.mauireefs.org.

Public Invited to Free Presentation on Impacts of Climate Change on Maui’s Coastal Areas 

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The public is invited to learn more about the impacts of climate change on Maui’s coastal areas, including big waves, flooding, erosion and more, at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s meeting on Wednesday, July 11. The meeting takes place from 5 to 7 pm at Pacific Whale Foundation’s classrooms at the Ma’alaea Harbor Shops. All are invited.

The climate change presentation will be offered by these guest presenters:

– Bradley Romine, PhD, Coastal Management and Resilience Specialist, University of Hawaii Sea Grant Program, Center for Coastal and Climate Science and Resilience.

– Tara Owens, Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist, University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program (partnered with Maui County’s Planning Department).

Attendees are welcome to bring questions about managed retreat, beach replenishment and other issues relating to the impact of climate change on Maui’s shorelines.

The meeting is free and open to all. Refreshments will be provided.

Established in 2007, Maui Nui Marine Resource Council (MNMRC) is a community-based nonprofit dedicated to clean ocean water, healthy coral reefs and abundant native fish for Maui County. The meeting will include updates on our projects, including the Hui O Ka Wai Ola water quality monitoring program, Olowalu coral reef study and efforts to improve water quality in Ma’alaea Harbor. Copies of MNMRC’s 10th anniversary annual report will be available to take home.

To learn more, visit www.mauireefs.org.

Presenter bios:

Bradley Romine, PhD
Coastal Management and Resilience Specialist
University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program,
Center for Coastal and Climate Science and Resilience

Brad’s role as University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant extension faculty is to provide bridges between the university, our communities, and government to meet the complimentary goals of conserving coastal environments and reducing natural hazards risk to shoreline development. He works closely with the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands at the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and interfaces with other government agencies and the public on collaborative projects to support planning and decision-making based on the latest and best-available coastal and climate science. Recently, he provided scientific and technical guidance to the DLNR for the development of the Hawaiʻi Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report. He is also leading the development of science-based planning tools and guidance to improve resilience to coastal hazards and sea level rise in Hawaiʻi through funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Brad completed his PhD in Geology and Geophysics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2013 and has published research articles on coastal geology, beach processes, shoreline change, and sea level rise impacts in Hawaiʻi.

Tara Owens
Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist
University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program

Tara Owens is Extension Faculty with the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College  Program,  specializing  in  coastal  processes  and  coastal  hazards.    Partnered  with  Maui  County’s  Planning  Department,  Tara’s  role  is  to  “bridge  the  gap”  between  science  and  policy  and  planning  for  improved  coastal  management  by  providing  technical  guidance,  consultations,  site  visits,  and  public  outreach.  Tara  also  interfaces  with  other  government  agencies  and  the  public  on  collaborative  projects  pertaining  to   coastal  hazards,  including  beach  erosion  and  sea-level  rise  impacts.   Tara  earned  a  bachelor  of  science  degree  in  marine  science  from  Coastal  Carolina  University,  and  a  master’s  degree  in  coastal  geology  from  the  University  of  Hawaii.   She  was  hired  by  UH  Sea  Grant  and  moved  back  to  Hawaii  in   2010  after  working  for  7  years  in  the  federal  government  at  the  U.S.  Geological  Survey  in  St.  Petersburg,  Florida  and  then  at  the  NOAA  Coastal  Services  Center  in Charleston, SC.

Beach photo by John Seebart