Seagriculture Speaker

Donna Collins-Smith is an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Shinnecock Elder's Council member, former Tribal Council woman and member of the six multi-generational, indigenous women known as the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers.

Donna has always had an interest in nature and learning ways to live sustainably while also tapping into the traditional customs of Shinnecock. This interest led to her work creating a Native Garden Project for the Shinnecock youth years ago, and now fuels her work as a Kelp Farmer doing the seasonal hatchery setup, microscopic kelp seed spool preparation, daily maintenance, water exchange and planting seedlings in the Bay to help restore the beautiful water of her childhood.

Mamowenene - together we move forward.

Company info: 

We are a multi-generation collective of six women who are enrolled members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, leveraging our 10,000+-year-old traditional relationship with the sea and with seaweed to capture carbon and nitrogen that has poisoned the waters of Shinnecock Bay and beyond. 

Presentation:

We will describe the impact that seaweed has had on our Tribal community for generations, how kelp is healing our waters today, and how our traditional teachings are combining with climate science to scale up.