Marin Conservation League
Climate Action Working Group Meeting
Wednesday 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
In-person/ Zoom Hybrid

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwoduysrDMsGt16JMYC3r6_mA1R0EYqLgKn

June 17- Blue Carbon: Coastal Wetlands and Nature Based Carbon Capture

Conversations about carbon sequestration often focus on emerging technologies and large-scale engineered solutions. Increasingly, researchers and policymakers are also recognizing the role natural systems can play. Coastal wetlands, marshes, and estuaries can capture and store carbon while also supporting habitat, improving shoreline resilience, and helping communities adapt to sea level rise. Scientists refer to this as “blue carbon,” and it is becoming an increasingly important area of climate research and policy.

To explore what that could mean for California and the Bay Area, MCL’s Climate Action Working Group will be joined on June 17 by Lydia Smith Vaughn, PhD, Senior Scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute.

Lydia co-leads ecosystem carbon and Delta landscape work at SFEI, where she brings expertise in carbon cycling and greenhouse gas quantification to projects involving ecosystem restoration, shoreline resilience, watershed management, wetland monitoring, and multi-benefit landscape planning. Her work includes research on Delta Wetland Futures and Leveraging Wetlands for a Better Climate Future, as well as efforts to integrate blue carbon into shoreline adaptation planning for San Francisco Bay.

Lydia will discuss:

• What blue carbon is and why wetlands matter
• How coastal marshes and estuaries capture and store carbon
• Strategies for restoring and protecting wetlands
• New research and emerging opportunities in blue carbon science

As California works toward ambitious climate goals while preparing for sea level rise and other climate impacts, understanding the role natural systems can play is becoming increasingly important. Join us for a discussion on a growing area of research with implications extending well beyond carbon alone.

Please register here to join us.