Join the growing NY Kelp Community

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New York is fortunate in the wide variety of organizations that shape its current kelp landscape. Towns, nonprofits, schools, and garden clubs all shape the kelp landscape in NY. You’re joining a robust community of supportive growers.

  • hatcheries:A solid kelp industry starts with solid hatcheries. New York State is unique in its combination of town, nonprofit and commercial hatcheries that can support the wide variety of local nonprofit and for-profit commercial kelp programs. Lazy Point Farms is proud to support nonprofit programs by sponsoring their spool purchases.
  • equipment: we believe in you owning your most urgent opportunity for your group. Do you have a volunteer network that can help you process your kelp? Let’s get you growing, and if you see success, we’ll help support your ability to process it so that you can distribute your product to members of your group.
  • Permits: Lazy Point Farms is fortunate to connect David Berg, an expert with deep expertise on the current and future permitting landscape that growers face. By supporting his time and effort, we can provide growers with the same expert assistance that leads to the same success that several NYS growers have already enjoyed.

At this time, we only provide support to growers in New York State. If you’re a grower in CT, NJ, or somewhere else, we welcome you to reach out, and we can work to connect you with someone who can help you get started.

 
 

Resources for growers

Want to help build your local economy or help your town run in a healthier way? Learn more about how you can serve your local community by growing sugar kelp.  

Want to learn more about growing seaweed safely as a food? Check out this guide to processing seaweed courtesy of our friends at SeaGrant.

 
 
case studies
The Town of Hempstead
The Town of Hempstead

Hempstead is leading the way for how towns on Long Island can and should create opportunities for the communities they serve. In addition to cultivating kelp in local waterways as a water purification effort, researchers from the local Department of Conservation and Waterways have also been exploring ways to make use of their sugar kelp harvest locally.

Hempstead Is Working Towards Local Solutions Every Step Of The Way
Hempstead Is Working Towards Local Solutions Every Step Of The Way

Hempstead understands that local solutions are often efficient and eco-conscious solutions. Kelp spore spools are produced in the Town’s newly expanded shellfish hatchery and later placed for cultivation in bayside sites close to the town.

Growing Kelp For The Community
Growing Kelp For The Community

The Hempstead project is leading the charge for community-based projects by involving members of the local community at every step of the process. Members of local organizations like the Lawrence Garden Club and local high schools have volunteered their time to help with the kelp cultivation and harbor restoration efforts.

Dried Kelp Makes An Excellent Soil Ammendment
Dried Kelp Makes An Excellent Soil Ammendment

Thanks to a greenhouse financed by the Lazy Point Farms project, the Town of Hempstead will soon be able to take local production one step farther: drying and processing their harvested crop to produce a nitrogen rich compost material that will be used in local gardening projects. It could even help fertilize other local community agriculture products that make use of the greenhouse in off-months!

The Huntington-Northport Oyster Reef Project
The Huntington-Northport Oyster Reef Project

This gorgeous kelp from the 2023 harvest is another excellent example of what community partnerships can accomplish. The Huntington-Northport Oyster Reef Project (HUNROP) is a partnership between the Town of Huntington, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Marine Program and local Rotary Clubs. Volunteers, researchers, and community government leaders are working together to simultaneously improve water quality and promote aquaculture.

Huntington Sugar Kelp Grown In Local Waters Drying
Huntington Sugar Kelp Grown In Local Waters Drying

The organizers of the Huntington project are cultivating oysters in the summer and sugar kelp during the winter months in Town embayments to reduce excess nitrogen in the water. The harvest (shown here drying) will be put to use in various local projects including use of dried ground kelp as a garden and park soil amendment.