GreenWave & Restorative Ocean Farming, 9/22

Thursday September 22

12:30m – 2:30pm

North Star Fund
520 8th Ave, suite 1800

Lunch will be served

Register here by 9/19

This event will be livestreamed online

[UPDATE: You can now watch a recording of the briefing online]

Our oceans are in trouble: overfishing has wiped out 90% of large fish; climate change is driving ocean species from lobsters to whales northward into uncharted habitats; and nitrogen run-off from land-based farms is triggering ever-expanding “dead zones” that suffocate important fisheries in coastal areas globally. These environmental threats have direct economic and food security consequences: over three billion people rely on marine and coastal biodiversity for their primary food source or income. With warmer waters, stronger storms, and collapsing fisheries, coastal communities in the United States and elsewhere are struggling to survive.

Driven by crashing fish stocks, former commercial fisherman Bren Smith developed a more sustainable way to use the oceans for food: 3D Ocean Farming. GreenWave is a non-profit organization developed to replicate and scale this new farming method that incorporates both seaweed and shellfish, uses zero inputs, and provides myriad ecosystem services. Working to lay the foundation for an emerging regenerative ocean economy, GreenWave trains new ocean farmers, builds infrastructure to support industry growth, and develops new markets for ocean crops. You can read an in-depth piece written by Bren online.

Join us on September 22nd for a funder briefing with Bren Smith, Executive Director of GreenWave, to learn about the future of restorative ocean farming and hear how the award-winning farming model of replication and scale is furthering its mission of mitigating climate change and creating jobs. A delicious lunch utilizing sea greens will be prepared by Mary Cleaver of The Green Table / Cleaver Co.

This is a funder-only event
Co-sponsored by CFF and Philanthropy New York


More about GreenWave

GreenWave is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support and train new and beginning restorative ocean farmers, and provide infrastructure to support the emerging blue-green economy. Beginning farmers learn the basics of 3D ocean farming, a model designed to restore ocean ecosystems, mitigate climate change, and create blue-green jobs for unemployed fishers — all while providing healthy, local food for communities. We envision a day when there are thousands of restorative ocean farms on coasts around the world, contributing food, fertilizers, energy and much more to local economies, while saving our oceans – and ourselves.

Bren Smith is the owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm and executive director of GreenWave. A lifelong commercial fisherman since the age of 14, Bren pioneered the development of restorative 3D ocean farming, which is designed to restore ocean ecosystems, mitigate climate change, and create blue-green jobs for fishermen — while ensuring healthy, local food for communities. His work has been profiled by CNN, Google Food, The New Yorker, Bon Appetit, and others. In 2015, he was the winner of the Buckminster Fuller Prize for ecological design and the Clinton Global Initiative award for ocean innovation. His writing has appeared in the New York Times and National Geographic. In 2013, Smith was chosen as one of six “Ocean Heroes” by Oceana and Future of Fish’s “Ocean Entrepreneur” of the year. He is an Ashoka and Echoing Green Fellow.

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