Parsons Product and Industrial Design welcomes Shanjana Mahmud (she/her) and Luke Eddins (he/him), co-founders and Executive Directors of Seaweed City, an environmental organization focused on regenerative urban aquaculture to restore our marine ecosystems, clean our water and promote community investment in the NYC estuary.

Shanjana is an artist, activist and sea farmer. Luke is a designer focused on composting, zero waste and urban aquaculture. They met while working in a fabrication shop in Queens on the banks of the Newtown Creek.

Beginning in the industrial waters of Newtown Creek—one of NYC’s Superfund sites—Seaweed City has grown sugar kelp to study its potential to improve water quality and mitigate climate change. Expanding to Governors Island with New York’s first seaweed nursery, they are now experimenting with warm-water species and envisioning seaweed farms as living classrooms, aquaculture labs and green infrastructure woven into the city’s future.

In preparation for their visit, volunteers from across Parsons have been experimenting with Seaweed City’s kelp biomass to create new biomaterial samples. These in-progress explorations will be showcased on October 27, alongside additional seaweed-based materials from the Healthy Materials Lab.

Join us on Monday, October 27, for a conversation with Shanjana and Luke on design, ecology and collective stewardship of New York’s waters.

Check out their website and follow-them on instagram:

https://seaweedcity.org/
@seaweed_city

Make sure to stay for our SCE Community Event: Mad Scientist Mixer that follows! More information and registration can be found here.

Curious about what’s next with SCE public programming? Check out here.