Marine algae are the supreme eco-engineers of life: they oxygenate the waters, create habitat for countless other organisms, and form the base of a food chain that keeps our planet unique in the universe as we know it. Josie Iselin believes we can learn not only about the seaweeds, but also from them: their resilience, their resourcefulness, their poetry and magic.

Josie will join the California Native Plant Society to describe her path as an artist into the science of seaweed and share a few important seaweed stories from her newest book, The Curious World of Seaweed, highlighting why and how these foundational organisms succeed in their ocean niche. These stories also highlight pioneering, yet relatively unknown, women scientists who were crucial in bringing the world of seaweed to better understanding. Throughout the presentation, projections of Josie’s spectacular and colorful imagery of seaweeds—collected from her constant wanderings along our California coastline and beaches—will help explain the science and impart the wonder of this ocean universe.