About this Event
In a matter of decades, a spectacular cold-water paradise thirty million years in the making is succumbing to warming oceans. Kelp forests are largely out of sight, hidden under the ocean's surface, yet they are one of Earth's most wonderous and underappreciated marine habitats. It's an ethereal light-infused realm of sharks, otters, eels, sea stars, crabs, rockfish, and myriad other species vital to a functioning ocean and the countless coastal communities that make their living from the sea. Unlike coral reefs, whose similar plight plays out in tropical waters highly visible to vacationing tourists, kelp forests thrive along cold-water coastlines far from tourist centers. What will it take to stop the decline before these underwater playgrounds bursting with colorful life become vast fields of lifeless urchin barrens?
For readers who know kelp only as tangles on the ocean surface or smelly mounds of seaweed littering beaches, Forest of the Sea reveals a thriving three-dimensional underwater world of color and beauty whose loss if allowed to happen will reverberate in unimaginable ways for both nature and humans. David Helvarg, a veteran journalist and accomplished scuba diver, takes us on a memorable journey beneath the waves through kelp's natural and human history, the billions of dollars of products and services it contributes to our global economy, the unwitting human activities that threaten its survival, and the hopeful movements around the world to restore kelp habitat. Helvarg introduces us to Indigenous leaders promoting sea otter reintroduction, out-of-work urchin fisherman, documentary filmmakers, and ocean scientists all working in an unlikely collaboration to restore and protect kelp forests while promoting a growing range of uses for food, medicine, and energy.
Forest of the Sea is the first book to document what is at stake if we lose these irreplaceable marine jewels, helping readers to understand how these natural systems might adapt and survive.
David Helvarg is joining us on the Busboys stage to share more about this “breathtaking dive into one of the least known enchanting wonders of our planet's ecosystems” (Ralph Nader, author and consumer advocate). Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Helvarg will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Doors open to guests at 5:30pm. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of FOREST OF THE SEA will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
David Helvarg is an author and Executive Director of Blue Frontier, an ocean policy group and co-host of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast. He has written seven books, the latest Forest of the Sea (2026). He's co-founder of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards and a Senior Fellow with the Center for the Blue Economy. An award-wining journalist, Helvarg has been a war correspondent in Northern Ireland and Central America and covered issues ranging from the military and health to climate and politics reporting from every continent including Antarctica. He’s produced documentaries for PBS, Discovery and others. His print work has appeared widely including in The New York Times and National Geographic. He's done radio commentaries and reporting for Marketplace, AP and Pacifica and workshops for fellow journalists around the world. He is also a licensed Private Investigator, body-surfer and scuba diver.
BOOK DETAILS
Forest of the Sea
The Remarkable Life and Imperiled Future of Kelp
By David Helvarg
May 05, 2026 | Hardcover, 264 pages, $30.00
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Busboys and Poets 14th & V, 2021 14th St NW, Washington, United States
USD 0.00
