Blue Carbon in the Comox Valley: Carbon credits for eelgrass and salt marsh restoration

Project Watershed is a local environmental stewardship organization located in Courtenay, British Columbia dedicated to promoting community stewardship through education, information and action. They are working on a project to learn more about how eelgrass meadows and salt marshes contribute to the uptake and storage of carbon from the atmosphere, called Blue Carbon. This activity is being pursued with funding from Commission for Environmental Cooperation - a tri-country association with Canada, United States and Mexico - committed to community research on environmental issues. The goals of the project are to develop a protocol suitable for other community groups to assess carbon stores and rate of carbon sequestration in estuarine habitats. The presentation will review the overall goals of Project Watershed and activities that occurred this summer with the assistance of a PICS summer student, Russell Prentice.

Paul Horgen is a retired Biology Professor from the University of Toronto. During his 35 years there, he served as Associate Chair, Department of Botany, Chair Biology Executive Committee U. of T at Mississauga, Director Centre for Plant Biotechnology, and Director Master of Biotechnology Program. His research was in Microbial genetics and environmental microbiology. He has published over 150 scientific articles and has co-authored three academic books. He moved to the Comox Valley in 2005. He served as science coordinator for Elder College and is currently Chair of the Board at Project Watershed. Paul is a member of the Lazo North Area B Planning Commission and is Chair of the community committee seeking National Historic Status for the K’omoks Estuary. He is also a member of the Vancouver Island CNIB Board of Directors and is a member of the CNIB National Research Committee. In November of this year, his children's book 'Tales of Kona the Guide Dog' will be published for sale to the public.

Christine Hodgson is the lead scientist for the Blue Carbon project being conducted by Project Watershed, a local NGO dedicated to environmental protection and restoration of the Comox Valley watersheds and adjacent estuary. She is also an educator at North Island College, a local 2-year college, teaching 1st and 2nd year biology courses. Currently she is Chair of the Math & Science Department.The Blue Carbon research project aims to quantify the amount of carbon stored in the sediments below eelgrass and salt marsh beds in the K’omoks Estuary. The ultimate goal is to develop a protocol suitable for other community groups to assess carbon stored and rate of carbon sequestration in estuarine habitats. In previous lives, Christine worked as a researcher on scallop hatchery and cultivation techniques, provided assistance to prospective shellfish and marine plant farmers in the province of BC, and designed research and assessment projects related to shellfish and marine plant abundance.