- September 3, 2024
Restoration Forth aims to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature.
Find out more about the project here.
Restoration Forth August Fieldwork | Seagrass highlights from Orkney
The seagrass team are not long back from Orkney, where they spent just under a month conducting this year’s seagrass seed harvest as part of the Restoration Forth August fieldwork.
Many snorkel sessions were conducted to harvest seed baring reproductive shoots to further drive our restoration trials here in the Forth.
Despite the fair-weather conditions and ample snorkel sessions the team have returned with slightly less material than what was collected last year. However, this should not prohibit our restoration ambitions next spring. Whilst in Orkney the team were able to deliver a range of community events, which included participating in this year’s Stromness shopping week.
MSPs Ariane Burgess and Liam McArthur joined Restoration Forth’s community snorkel sessions in Orkney where, along with members of the local community, they met the team and learned about how projects like Restoration Forth aim to restore nature and drive future restoration. Increasing knowledge amongst elected representatives about the importance of these habitats is an important part of highlighting the need for the Scottish Government to bring forward legislation to protect and restore Scotland’s nature.
In addition to the seeds collected from Orkney, the team will be visiting the Moray Firth. In the first week of September the team will meet up Mossy Earth and Moray Ocean Community to organise an intertidal seagrass pick. This community and knowledge exchange intends to bring our projects closer together and further our collective knowledge. Intertidal seeds gathered from the Moray coast will provide insights into whether there are differences in germination rates between subtidal and intertidal seeds.
Newhaven Oyster Mural is going ahead!
We are pleased to announce that the Oyster Mural planned for the Heart of Newhaven’s Anchor building has been granted planning permission. Thank you to everyone who was involved in workshopping ideas for the design, including Victoria Primary school.
Natasha Russell, Edinburgh based illustrator and mural artist, has created the design to incorporate many of the local species that people expressed an interest in. The mural aims to engage passers by with the wonders of local biodiversity.
Captured within the oyster shells in the design, there are scenes and stories that represent the cultural importance of oysters in the Forth, including the fishing of, and release of oysters into the water. It celebrates the oyster’s return to the Forth and their key role within the local ecosystems, whilst acknowledging the deep local history with the oyster fishing trade.
The mural will be painted in September. Come along to the Doors Open Day at the Heart of Newhaven on the 28th September at 11.00, to see the unveiling of the mural.
