In the News

Newspapers and Magazines

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Sometimes Nature needs a little TLC, The “KelpLady” is here to help Forbes Magazine
Nancy Caruso inspired an army of ocean-lovers to jump in and get inspired to restore ocean ecosystems. She and her team of volunteer ocean advocates have…… 

Get Inspired about abalone restoration in Orange CountyCalifornia Diver magazine
Interest in abalone conservation work is stirring again. Get Inspired, a southern California non-profit organization, is the first to try to restore the tasty marine snail in southern California….

Rare Shellfish: Restoring Abalone to CaliforniaNature world News
In the 1950s and 1960s, many Californians could walk down to a beach and harvest abalones — succulent snails in big iridescent or curled shells — then steam them in a beach bonfire….

No baloney, abalone: The lowly mollusk has a champion in Nancy CarusoOrange County Register
If Nancy Caruso has her way, in a short while there could be thousands of abalone babies off the Orange County coastline again…

Devil weed threatens kelp off Orange County Orange County Register
While the tropical waters of El Nino have brought a bountiful variety of sea creatures to local beaches, its effect on growing kelp beds recently on the rebound off Orange County has been less enriching….

Is California kelp making a comeback? Scuba Diving Magazine
Between 2014 and 2015, two warm water events swept the Pacific coast of North America. The first, nicknamed “the Blob,” affected mainly surface waters, but it was promptly followed by a mighty…

Northern California divers battle to save abalone — with a giant sea-urchin vacuum San Francisco Chronicle
Usually, the first weekend of April is when abalone divers pack up their wetsuits and fins and head off to campsites along the Sonoma and Mendocino coast….

Nostalgic for California abalone? Why they disappeared, and how 1 project aims to bring them back -Orange County Register
John Warren thinks back to the days when getting his hands on abalone was as easy as jumping on a surfboard and plucking the plentiful shellfish off a reef…

Are abalone reproducing off the coast? A 3-year survey in Orange County’s tidepools may solve that mysteryOrange County Register
Mike Couffer’s body floats with the motion of the ocean, his eyes peering through his face mask at the rocky tide pools beneath the chilly water’s surface…

Abalone Enthusiasts Dine and Learn at Newport Dunes Newport Beach Independent
With the sun-soaked days of summer rapidly coming to an end, about 150 people turned out last week to celebrate their favorite sea snail — and support its restoration.  The beloved abalone…

Mounds of kelp washing up on OC Beaches? It’s a good thing experts say Orange County Register
The mounds of kelp that recently washed onto local beaches point to a thriving offshore ecosystem created by restoration efforts over the past decade, experts say…

Nostalgic Abalone Feed benefits ocean restoration projectsStu News, Newport Beach
On Friday, Aug. 2, the nonprofit Get Inspired hosted its “2nd annual Abalone Feed” at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort. The event was a re-creation of a nostalgic social gathering that was commonplace…

Saving California’s underwater forests– Oceanographic Magazine
Harbor seals dart in and out of the channels as large schools of perch, garibaldi, senoritas and sea bass hide among the fronds. Sea stars and sea hares mingle on the rocks, a few purple

We Salute… Nancy Caruso call her the Johnny Appleseed of the Ocean -Coastal Living Magazine
Call her the Johnny Appleseed of the ocean—she and local students are sowing underwater fields of giant kelp off the Southern California coast.

Kelp Fest celebrates ocean environment -Orange County Register
Residents and volunteers celebrated the return of kelp forests to local waters at a festival Saturday. The first Kelp Fest, which organizers hope to make an annual event, featured an underwater video…

How to save dwindling abalone? Grow them in school -Orange County Register
Their distinctive hole-punched shells are still familiar, but the creatures that live inside them — abalone — have nearly vanished from Orange County shores. Marine biologist Nancy Caruso says she has a plan for …

Scientist catches elusive abalone off the OCOrange County Register
An Orange County scientist who spent years growing kelp forests offshore is firing up volunteers for her newest project: breeding green abalone in local schools, then releasing them into the wild…

Growing Abalone and Cultivating Ocean Stewards Laguna Beach Independent
Some Thurston Middle School sixth-graders started monitoring abalone growing in a classroom tank in November, part of a fledging project led by marine biologist Nancy Caruso to reintroduce the mollusks…

Kelp Makes a Comeback -Laguna Beach Independent
Local kelp beds, an indicator of marine ecosystem health, have bloomed this year due to a combination of favorable ocean conditions and likely the…

H.B. High science program wins state Golden Bell Award: Curriculum awarded for innovative way of teaching environmental science and biology – Orange County Register
Huntington Beach High School’s Scientific Research Program has won a prestigious statewide award for its innovative curriculum. Teacher Ken Ostrowski accepted…

OC Register: 100 Most Influential People in Orange county: Nancy Caruso -Orange County Register
A longtime restorer of marine ecosystems, Caruso has helped to bring back kelp and white sea bass to the waters off Southern California. She lives in Garden Grove.

H.B. High students dive to new depths for scienceOrange County Register
There aren’t many marine organisms that humans can grow in a controlled environment and then release into the ocean. But students at Huntington Beach High School are part of a program doing just that…

Out of the Blue, KelpLady inspires Laguna beach -Laguna Beach Daily Pilot
A few years back, when I first heard of a woman called the Kelp Lady, I couldn’t help but imagine a dowdy, eccentric widow, with stringy, unkempt hair swept around her torso. The kind that talks to…

The Kelp CrusaderOrange Coast Magazine
It began slowly and far away. Coursing over the ocean floor, the disaster struck along the California coast without warning.  The devastation was swift, deadly, silent, and the vast majority in Orange County…

Meet Nancy Caruso, the Woman Behind This Saturday’s Kelpfest -The Patch
The waters off Laguna Beach are filled with kelp, but it wasn’t always like this. Kelpfest celebrates the 10-years-in-the-making restoration.

H.B. High students contribute to replenishing ocean’s white seabass
Partnering with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and an ocean restoration nonprofit called Get Inspired! Inc., students in an AP environmental science class are able to raise the fish from when they’re…

Replanted kelp forest thrives offshore -Laguna Beach Independent
Diving 50 feet to the ocean floor off Laguna Beach’s coast was like landing on a desolate, evacuated planet.  There was no sign of life. Not even a lone, drifting kelp spore or a tenacious purple spiny sea urchin to devour it.

Thousands Celebrate KelpFest at Main Beach -Laguna Beach Daily Pilot
A small crowd performs an “earth hug” on the green grass during the fifth annual Laguna Beach Kelp Fest at Main Beach on Saturday.

Kelp Is on the Way -Los Angeles Times
Laguna Beach’s annual Kelpfest was born out of frustration. Every time Nancy Caruso heard people grouse about kelp washing up on local …

Kelp abundant on Laguna beaches over the summer -Los Angeles Times
This past summer was memorable not only for periods of extreme heat, but also for the amount of kelp that washed ashore on Laguna’s …

Videos

TEDx Talk: “Want to save the ocean? Let us restore it!” TEDx Laguna Beach
Nancy Caruso gives a powerful talk on the obstacles of ocean restoration…

Film: “The KelpLady” My Hero Project
The Kelp Lady features marine biologist Nancy Caruso, who led the move to regrow Orange County’s kelp forest. She’s also involved in many different causes aimed at replenishing sea life…

Film: Today I’m BraveToday I’m Brave Project
Ever since she was a child, Nancy Caruso knew she wanted to become a marine biologist. After years of hard work, she bravely followed her dreams and founded Get Inspired an organization that…

Film: “Do good works” -Do Good Works Productions
See some of the amazing work being done from extraordinary citizens. In this episode, Nancy Caruso and her intrepid team is working to restore species along our coast…

TV News clip: “White sea bass growing in classrooms” – PBS “Real Orange” news
Over the past 50 years the amount of white sea bass off the coast of California has been declining. A program at Huntington Beach High School has students playing a role in…

Radio Programming

Radio show: Nancy Caruso and her Ocean Restoration ProjectsKX 93.5 FM

Radio Show: How a determined marine biologist and a team of volunteers restored giant kelp -Public Radio International

Radio Show: how a determined marine biologist and a team of volunteers restored giant kelp -Living on Earth-Public Radio’s Environmental News Magazine

Music

Song: The Lonley Abalone– written and recorded by Birdsong and the EcoWonders
Written to highlight the biological and ecological wonders of this charismatic gastropod.  Inspired by Get Inspired’s Green Abalone Restoration Project.

Podcasts

Nancy Caruso -Called To the Sea – Everyday America -Episode 004
Since before she saw the ocean at the age of 10 she’d wanted to be a marine biologist.  Nancy talks about how she fell in love with the sea and what it takes to remain

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