It stands about ten feet tall, with multi-colored kelp leaves making a kelp forest.
"There's one of the largest kelp forest right off of the coast of Santa Rosa Island," explained Cal State Channel Islands Art capstone student Karly Kennedy, one of the artists who created the Help the Kelp art sculpture on display at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The sculpture is created entirely out of recycled marine debris which was collected by fellow CSUCI students.
"Our research station has a marine debris program, they collect trash all year long, they log it and determine where it came from...and we made art with it!" she said.
The kelp art sculpture will be on display at the zoo for six months.
It marks the start of an official partnership between Cal State Channel Islands and the Santa Barbara Zoo, and the first of many projects that will link the two, now that they have formed a partnership. The projects will be part of many of the majors CSUCI offers, such as Biology, Environmental Science and Resource Management, Performing Arts, Spanish and many more.
