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June 26, 2025
Dr. Rachel Carlson
Assistant Professor and Co-Director
Strength in Small Places: Why the Ocean’s Best Days Aren’t Behind Us
Dr. Rachel Carlson is an Associate Professor at UC Berkeley and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Ocean Futures. Her research focuses on resilience in coastal ecosystems, particularly where we might least expect to find it.
At Ocean Hoptimism, she presented Strength in Small Places, showing how some corals are thriving in turbid, murky waters once thought inhospitable, and how rocky intertidal shellfish communities in the Pacific Northwest are showing surprising resistance to ocean acidification. Her message was clear: resilience is real, and looking closely at overlooked places can reveal new hope for the ocean’s future.
Even in the face of global climate change, small places hold powerful potential. Local actions at the coast can ease climate stress for corals, kelp forests, and other nearshore ecosystems. At the Berkeley Center for Ocean Futures, we connect science with grassroots actions and community-driven solutions to catalyze ocean change. We believe there's a role for everyone in this effort.
—Dr. Rachel Carlson
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