The Boy in the Submarine – Season 2, Episode 5: Kelp

Kelp grows in huge forests, which cover 0.1% of the ocean floor. That might not sound like a lot, but some Kelp forests are so huge you can see them from space! Each kelp stalk is rooted on the ocean floor, but thanks to the air it traps in its stalk, it floats up, looking like a kind of underwater tree. Some stalks can get as tall as 175 feet (54m) tall.

Kelp forests are the home to thousands of species that use it as food, a place to hide, and as a nest. It is one of the most important life forms in for getting the sun’s energy into the water. And it also fixes almost 3% of the ocean’s carbon… making it one of the world’s big heavy lifters for protecting us from climate change and the greenhouse effect.

People use kelp as a source of food and dry it and burn it to heat homes. Some kelp can be used as a gelatin substitute, and so we used to use it as an ingredient in ice cream! You can often find dried kelp chips to eat at the health food and organic section of your supermarket.