Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and any members of the public are all invited to the Fall 2015-Spring 2016 series of Faculty Pub Night at LMU's William H. Hannon Library. Eight LMU professors (four per semester) are selected annually to discuss their latest publication or project in a comfortable setting and format that welcomes diverse perspectives for an inclusive conversation aimed to educate the entire community.

The first Faculty Pub Night of Spring 2017 features Tom Ford, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science at LMU's Seaver College of Science and Engineering. Professor Ford will present, "The Palos Verdes Kelp Restoration Project."

About the Presenter's Work:

Since 2013, The Bay Foundation has lead a team of partners, including fishermen and researchers to restore 150 acres of kelp forest off the coast of Palos Verdes.  This project increases the resiliency of the Los Angeles Coast in relationship to climate change stressors while retaining local jobs and increasing local seafood production.  This project has been Tom Ford’s passion for over 15 years and many LMU students have conducted lab work to support his research. 

Historically, Palos Verdes was wreathed by 100s of acres of beautiful kelp forest, supporting hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates.  Kelp forests are considered the “rainforests of the sea”, and are popular destinations for fishing and wildlife viewing.  One specific fishery for sea urchin, used for “uni” in sushi dishes, is worth millions of dollars a year, collecting sea urchins from kelp forests in southern California alone.

Unfortunately the kelp forest off Palos Verdes has decreased by 75% in the past 100 years.  What was once kelp forest is now “urchin barren”; where over-populous purple sea urchins, of no value to fishermen, eliminate the kelp and crowd out most other life.  The partners have spent thousands of hours SCUBA diving to transform the urchin barrens back to productive and stable kelp forest.  Creating a revitalized habitat that benefits wildlife, people and businesses. 

The project has captured the attention of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Environmental Protection Agency, and international interest in Canada, Japan and Norway.

About the Presenter:

Tom Ford is Executive Director of The Bay Foundation, the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, and the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Authority, collectively comprising the Santa Monica Bay National Estuary Program.  He is a Co-Director of the Center for Santa Monica Bay Studies at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), and part time faculty at LMU’s Fred Seaver College of Science and Engineering. Holding a M.A. from UCLA in Marine Ecology and a B.A. from the University of Rhode Island in Biology, Tom has been engaged in the study and restoration of kelp forests since his 1998 move to LA.  Other current projects include aerial surveys of southern California coastal waters, abalone restoration, abalone genetics and disease risk management, sea urchin gonad indices, and Biological monitoring of Marine Protected Areas. Tom serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Marine Institute and Southern California Academy of Sciences, as well as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Oil Spill Prevention and Response Technical Advisory Committee and the City of Santa Monica Clean Beaches Clean Ocean Committee. He has dedicated thousands of hours to understanding and correcting sources of pollution in Los Angeles, influencing national and international policies and practices that benefit the environment and public health.

Tom’s diverse background spans the Atlantic seaboard where his research on sea turtles involved nesting beaches, aerial surveys and coastal dredging projects. As a commercial shell fisherman in Rhode Island, he developed his deep appreciation for the working landscapes that our coastal waters comprise.

For more information about the Palos Verdes Kelp Restoration Project, please visit www.santamonicabay.org.

All Faculty Pub Nights are free and open to the public. Pub refreshments and snacks will be served courtesy of the William H. Hannon Library. For more information or ADA accommodations, please contact Ray Andrade, Programming Librarian, at (310) 258-4648 or randrade@lmu.edu.