Project

With a Little Kelp from our Friends!

Expanding Maine’s 5th grade kelp aquaculture curriculum and supporting educators.

Led by Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, GMRI and partners aim to increase the use of seaweed aquaculture resources in Maine K-12 classrooms. This project provides an opportunity to reach every elementary school in Maine with a book which, through thoughtful descriptions and beautiful illustrations, explores the role of seaweed in our world. It covers biology, ecosystem services, and uses of seaweed as food for people and animals.

Project Goals:

  • Ensure every elementary school in Maine receives a copy of the book “With a Little Kelp From Our Friends: The Secret Life of Seaweed”.
  • Provide 5th grade classrooms with information on seaweed and other aquaculture classroom lesson plans and resources.
  • Raise awareness and understanding of seaweed aquaculture, and aquaculture career and training opportunities amongst elementary school children.
  • Develop and deliver resources to promote understanding and awareness of seaweed aquaculture amongst K-12 educators.
  • Enhance collaboration amongst Maine’s aquaculture education and workforce partners.

Sign up to receive the book!

If you are interested in bringing “With a Little Kelp from Our Friends” to your classrooms, you can request the book below.

Request Book

Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, the World Wildlife Fund, Maine Sea Grant, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Maine Agriculture in the Classroom, and the University of Maine are on a mission to get educational resources about seaweed aquaculture into Maine’s 5th grade classrooms.

During the summer and fall of 2023 we will distribute the book “With a Little Kelp from Our Friends”— a book on the secret life of seaweed written by Mathew Bate and illustrated by Liz Rowland — to educators. The book will be accompanied by teacher resources to increase literacy around seaweed aquaculture.

By teaching these ideas it will help 5th graders to understand why seaweed aquaculture is important to the state of Maine, and how it can help stabilize our fishing communities in the face of a changing climate and ocean, preserve working waterfronts, and provide food with high nutritional value to our communities.

Some of the book’s important themes include:

  • Seaweed farming and food security
  • Seaweed biology and ecology
  • History of seaweed use around the world
  • Seaweed’s role in solutions for a changing climate.

You can sign up to receive updates and learning materials here.

Seaweed Curriculum Webinar

We introduced educators to seaweed-themed teaching materials that pair with the book With a Little Kelp from Our Friends in a recent webinar. You can find the recording below.

View Webinar

Project Team:

Project Partners:

Read More