N.S. artist helps kelp grow in homemade clay pots in underwater art installation

A Dalhousie University pupil is mixing their passion of christ for preservation and artistry in a call to help regrow native kelp populations.

Kelp is a food source and provides shelter for many marine species, but warmer ocean temperatures have decimated its population in Nova Scotia.

That is why Kit Tymoshuk made clay pots that can house baby kelp, keeping it anchored and helping it grow.

“There's this type of restoration method called green gravel where you grow kelp on little pieces of rock and then you can kind of disperse them in the water where you're hoping to regenerate degraded kelp forests,” said Tymoshuk. 

“And so it kind of sparked the idea of like, what if we grew kelp on something that wasn't little rocks? Like could I grow it on pots of clay?”

Tymoshuk said they received a $5,000 grant from Ocean Wise, a B.C. Environmental organization, to make their vision a reality, and took off to different bogs during the summer to collect the wild clay that would be in these pots. 

Tymoshuk said they favoured wild clay over commercial clay because they wanted to make sure the materials were locally sourced. They collected over five kilograms of clay, which was reduced in size after removing impurities. 

They had to test all the clay collected to make sure it would throw correctly and withstand the high temperatures in the kiln.

The current oceanography master's candidate and former Nova Scotia College of Art and Design student settled on clay from Stewiacke, N.S., and Annapolis Royal, but ended up having to mix some commercial clay into it as well. 

Then, Tymoshuk had to design a pot that was both appealing and functional. 

“I needed the outsides to be very textured to make sure that the kelp had, like, a good foundation to adhere to,” they explained. “And then I also tried to kind of at least keep the walls pretty straight just to make sure that they had the best chance of, like, light accessing all sides so as much kelp could grow as possible.”

They said they also wanted to make the pots look like they belong in nature, which is why they took inspiration from corals, trees and barnacles. 

Tymoshuk brought their clay and designs to their pottery wheel, which is in their backyard. 

Their roommate and close friend Teigan Labor said she immediately took an interest in this project after seeing the process, and offered to document the project. 

“It's been special to watch,” she said. 

When the pots were ready, Tymoshuk took them to the Aquatron Laboratory in Dalhousie University, where they started the process of getting kelp spores into a controlled environment, and then dunking the pots in the water so that the spores could settle in them. 

After five weeks, baby kelp started to grow from the top of the pots, and they were ready to be transported to their new home. 

Labor, who is an avid snorkeller, helped Tymoshuk take the pots to Cranberry Cove, a popular diving spot near Peggys Cove, in December.

“It's been very interesting to see this art project develop as they go from foraging the wild clay and processing it … and then finally to returning the kelp into the ocean in the form of art,” she said. 

Tymoshuk said they have not been back to check on the pots since, but they hope other snorkellers will help keep an eye on the kelp’s progress, as well as enjoy what they call an underwater art installation. 

They said kelp typically grows faster in the winter, so they hope next time they visit, the kelp will have grown into the classic string shape the species is known for. 

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Reporter - Editor

Giuliana is a journalist originally from Lima, Peru. She is interested in stories about rural Nova Scotia, science, the environment and more. If you have any story tips, you can reach her at giuliana.grillo.de.lambarri@cbc.ca.

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