Melissa Hanson
About me
Melissa is co-founder and CEO at Kelpful Cooperative- a women founded seaweed company on a mission to grow the sustainable seaweed industry on the West Coast. She is the daughter of an oceanographer and a wetlands ecologist, and grew up foraging the ocean with her family. She learned at a very young age that the ocean is a sacred and magical place that can provide abundant food when treated with care and respect. With a combined background in activism and sustainable farming, she was excited to learn that farming seaweed can help mitigate the effects of climate change while producing nutrient dense food. For the past 5 years she has been building Kelpful with 2 other co-founders, starting with wild harvested seaweed to develop products and build a market that could support a future seaweed farm. During that time she has been growing her knowledge about the local seaweeds and other life in the intertidal zone. She is passionate about seaweed and its potential as a sustainable source of food, medicine, and fertilizer, and is happy to nerd-out on macro-algae while sampling what is available in the tidepools!
Certifications
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Reviews
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on October 25, 2023
Company: Kelpful
Perfectly perfect! Melissa was very knowledgeable and informative about all things kelp. The weather couldn’t have been better. Came home inspired and ready to start cooking with kelp.
By Sabine Z. on October 26, 2023
Trip: Private Coastal Foraging
With Melissa H. on November 06, 2022
Company: Kelpful
Awesome course. Loved learning the nerdy details about kelp and harvesting some kelp! Also, Gene is great! Super knowledgeable and a lot of fun!
By James M. on November 09, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on September 28, 2022
Company: Kelpful
It was so much fun! Melissa is super nice and very knowledgeable. Looking forward to attending another one. It was beyond my expectations! THANK YOU, MELISSA!!!!
By Julie M. on September 30, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on August 28, 2022
Company: Kelpful
I had a wonderful time tidepooling & learning. I was surprised to learn that a liscense isn’t required to harvest marine plants. Well, I looked into it and turns out it actually is required. You need a sport license and then you can harvest with certain requirements. It’s actually on page 56 of the sport fisherman’s booklet. Since this is a newly emerging market of wild harvesting, I would love to see more in depth focus on harvesting ethically, legally and approached with reverence.
By Jody B. on September 19, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on September 03, 2022
Company: Kelpful
Melissa provides a super fun and informative experience that everyone will learn from and enjoy --highly recommended!
By Adam M. on September 04, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on September 03, 2022
Company: Kelpful
Melissa was so fun and informative. We have dried our seaweed already and have enjoyed it in our salad tonight!
By Nancy D. on September 04, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on September 03, 2022
Company: Kelpful
Super fun and educational experience! So glad to now know all the wonderful uses for these seaweeds I see almost everyday. Very kelpful ;)
By Elizabeth P. on September 03, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on September 03, 2022
Company: Kelpful
What a great experience! Very informative and fun. A little pricey for the group size , but none the less a great educational experience and just amazing the bounty the sea has to offer if maintained. I would highly recommend for fun or to get started on the seahrvesting experience.
By Darrell R. on September 03, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on August 28, 2022
Company: Kelpful
Melissa is a fantastic seaweed foraging guide. I now feel knowledgeable and empowered enough to forage on my own. Many thanks to Melissa and Kelpful!
By Heather C. on August 29, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on August 28, 2022
Company: Kelpful
Loved the trip! My goal was to work on getting re-familiarized with the Central Coast's marine ecosystem after living in Hawaii for years and determine and identify the best edible seaweed. I thought Melissa was pitch perfect.
By Barry B. on August 29, 2022
Trip: Seaweed Foraging Adventure
With Melissa H. on August 13, 2022
Company: Kelpful
Wonderful and very informative. Thanks Julie
By Janine B. on August 21, 2022