Project Update: Restoration Forth August 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.
Fieldwork notes from our summer seed collections
Read our fieldwork notes from our summer seagrass seed collection: North Wales Seed Collection A brilliant start to our annual seed collections, with summer finally arriving right on time! The weather has been fantastic, with underwater visibility not too far off 10m, and not a drop of rain so far… Here’s hoping it holds out until next week! It’s been a very busy start, but here’s just a few of the highlights: Day 0.5 – Day 1 | Saturday 27th – Sunday 28thAfter arriving in good time on Saturday afternoon and launching Gwen with no troubles, the team spent Sunday morning moving all our equipment into Cabin Gryff and Gwen, before setting up the temporary seed storage tanks. We then went through a few rescue refreshers. The dive team set up the keep nets on the RNLI buoys, which will be home to all the seeds collected by both teams during the trip. The team practiced diver recovery drills, before finishing the day with a first seed collection dive The snorkel team went out seed collecting, but having missed the morning Low Tide, learnt the hard way that duck diving for seeds is rather tiring! Day 2 | Monday 29thThe snorkel team, led by Amel, started the day as they will throughout the trip, with seed tank water changes! They then had a far more successful seed collection snorkel, bagging plenty of seeds. Charles has also started his VR footage collection using the 360 camera, capturing some fantastic images of the meadow. Fingers crossed some fun species ‘take the bait’. Meanwhile, Manning has been sampling sites as part of his Masters project, with the help of Richard, who has been out flying the drone round the LLyn, taking advantage of the clear skys! The dive team completed three meadow health surveys, which will help us assess the current state of the Porthdinllaen meadow, and monitor any potential impact of our seed collections going forward. We were joined by Katie Dubois, a lecturer at Bangor University, who helped with our afternoon seed collection dives. The meadow is bursting with seeds, so we should be set for a good collection! Day 3 | Tuesday 30thThe snorkel team had their best collection yet today, and were in the water battling the cold for a good 4 hours! Another big haul of seeds! The dive team ticked off half the mechanisation surveys, which will help wrap up the mechanisation project. We then went seed collecting, whilst dropping down Charles’s VR camera to catch some footage. Day 4 | 31st JulyWe arrived early to set up our stand ready for our FIRST volunteers. We also welcomed our Ambassador Miranda Krestovnikoff. Day 5 | 1st AugustOne quick water change later and we’re back in the water! We started by taking the VR camera out to get a series of snorkeling shots through and coming out of the seagrass meadow before placing down for an hour-long shot. We then proceeded to pick seeds joined by Leanne and Miranda. Once again, a perfect dive, with pristine waters and life abundant. To end our day off we did a quick evening session with the VR camera. It was an amazing shoot with many fish species and a perfect way to end the day. Day 6 | 2nd AugustToday we rested. Day 7 | 3rd AugustAfter an excellent rest day we proceeded to begin our week of volunteer seed collections. We started the day by transporting volunteer divers off before getting everything prepared for the snorkel volunteers. The day went brilliantly, with all snorkelers/waders returning, smiling and with happy faces. We chatted, and met so many fantastic people! Day 8 | 4th AugustOnce again, Amel and Emma were up bright and early to transport volunteer divers before joining the rest of the day. We joined WWF for a Philanthropy Day, a day for all of our donors and backers. The day started with a quick meal before returning to set up all equipment and stand ready to take our donors for a quick snorkel. All came back with smiles and a successful day all around. The dive team been out every day for seed collections, seed collections, seed collections! Jake Davies and Neil Shone have joined throughout, and we had Dr Katie Dubois (Bangor University) with us again on Sunday! Day 9 | 5th AugustA windy and rainy storm has scarpered all snorkelling activities! We’ve all but finished the mechanisation trial surveys (there’s a few buoys missing so we may have to return and drop shot lines on the coordinates). The best news is there are still lots of seeds coming up after every dive! We’ve all but filled three keepnets (the total we managed last year), so hopefully we should be well on target for 1.5 million by the end of the trip! We’ll be out to install another keepnet tomorrow. Volunteers divers have also been joining since Saturday, with great feedback from all. Day 10 | 6th AugustToday was the first of our snorkel and wading volunteering sessions and it went really well! We were joined by 51 volunteers including WWF, Iwan Rheon, the Crown Estate, North Wales Wildlife Trust (with their Youth Forum and Interns) alongside lots of Project Seagrass volunteers! BBC joined us and interviewed Leanne and Rich! The dive team carried out two more dives (for me at least) with lots of seeds collected. We are into our fourth keepnet of seeds, which exceeds last year’s total already, and we’re hopeful the reproductive shoots are bearing more seeds than previous years too. Day 11 | 7th AugustCharles, Andrew, and volunteer Antje headed to Porthdinllaen this morning to capture more footage for the VR Project while Andrew and Corinne headed to Hafan y Mor to install a seagrass information sign. Another successful snorkel and wading volunteering session delivered in the afternoon/early evening. Over 30 volunteers joined us including representatives from the Crown Estate, WWF, and North Wales Wildlife Trust. BBC Radio Cymru joined to interview members of the
Underwater seagrass seed harvester – Support our Crowdfunder!
Seagrass meadows are essential for the health of our oceans. They provide vital habitats for marine life, improve water quality, and store significant amounts of carbon. Unfortunately, these vital ecosystems are in decline. Here at Project Seagrass, we are on a mission to restore seagrass meadows to help create a healthier world and protect against the impacts of climate change. To achieve this, we are partnering with Tandem Ventures to develop an underwater seagrass seed harvester to help us to more efficiently collect seagrass seeds and scale up the restoration process. In order to do this, we need your help. We need to raise £30,000 to design, develop, and test this innovative new technology. Supporting our Crowdfunder will make seagrass restoration faster, more efficient, and scalable. Donate Today The Problem Currently, seagrass seed collection relies on divers using scissors – a slow and labour-intensive process. This bottleneck limits large-scale restoration efforts. We need to invent a new and radically better method this summer, while the seagrass is producing seeds. Time is ticking! Our Solution: The Underwater Seagrass Seed Harvester Key Features Automated Operation: Operates far more efficiently, reducing the need for manual labour. Efficient Collection: Gently harvests seeds without damaging the seagrass beds. Boat-Towed Design: Causes minimal disturbance to the seabed while covering large areas quickly. Adjustable: Key elements of the design can be adjusted to most efficiently collect Seagrass seeds in differing environments. Open-Source Design: Thoroughly documented and shareable plans, allowing replication and application worldwide. Join Us in Making a Difference We need to raise £30,000 to make this vision a reality. If we meet our target, the £30,000 will be allocated as follows: £6,500 for design, research and prototyping £15,000 for building the seagrass seed harvester £2,500 for documentation, and £6,000 for testing and iteration. Your support is crucial for the future of our oceans. By backing this project, you’re investing in innovative technology and a healthier planet. Together, we can restore seagrass meadows and protect marine life for generations to come. Donate via our Crowdfunder. Donate Today
Scientists and rangers share knowledge to restore seagrass
Scientists from The University of Western Australia have partnered with Indigenous rangers on a seagrass restoration project in Gathaagudu (Shark Bay) to help moderate climate change and conserve biodiversity. Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair and Professor Gary Kendrick, from UWA’s School of Biological Sciences and Oceans Institute, were co-authors of the paper published in Ocean & Coastal Management. “Solutions that integrate western science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge are key to improving restoration outcomes,” Dr. Sinclair said. Researchers partnered with Malgana Aboriginal Corporation Rangers on a program that included On Country workshop-based knowledge sharing in north-west Western Australia, with a focus on seagrass restoration. Malgana Elder, Auntie Pat Oakley said managing and caring for a living and dynamic Country are at the heart of well-being for all Indigenous Peoples. “The global rate of seagrass decline continues largely due to human activities, including the widespread impacts from climate change,” Professor Kendrick said. “Reversing this decline by restoring seagrass ecosystems and the benefits they provide is challenging and can take decades, even when human impacts are reduced.” The program found with the right resourcing and logistics, there are opportunities to support training workshops that develop expertise in seagrass restoration activities in Shark Bay. Sean McNeair, Malgana man and ranger coordinator, said field-based restoration workshops helped people reconnect with Country through two-way knowledge sharing. “We need to empower the Malgana Aboriginal Corporation Rangers and local Indigenous-led businesses to schedule restoration activities that help build seasonal local economies and increase the ability to restore seagrass at larger scales,” Dr. Sinclair said. More information: Elizabeth A. Sinclair et al, Healing country together: A seagrass restoration case study from Gathaagudu (Shark Bay), Ocean & Coastal Management (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107274 Journal information can be found here: Ocean and Coastal Management This article is republished from PHYS.ORG and provided by the University of Western Australia.
Seagrasses filter human pathogens in marine waters
An international team of researchers discovered that coastal urban seagrass ecosystems can significantly reduce human bacterial pathogens, including those with widespread antibiotic resistance, in marine bivalves—a vital food source for people around the world. The study, published Aug 2 in the journal Nature Sustainability, sheds light on the significant role seagrass meadows play in their ecosystems. Not only do they serve as crucial habitats for marine life and contribute to biodiversity and clearer waters, but they also act as natural filtration systems, reducing bacterial pathogens in the surrounding waters. This is important because the current economic burden of human infectious diseases in marine environments is estimated at $12 billion annually. Furthermore, the looming threat of antimicrobial resistance, projected to cause over 300 million deaths and cost the global economy $100 trillion, underscores the urgency of such natural interventions. “Our paper presents the first evidence that coastal urban seagrass ecosystems can reduce human bacterial pathogens, several with known widespread antibiotic resistance, in a food source that has the potential to support over half of global seafood production and consumption,” said Joleah Lamb, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences, who led the research with Drew Harvell, professor emerita of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell. The team analyzed mussels deployed by Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Mussel Watch across 20 Puget Sound beaches with varying seagrass presence. Mussel gills from locations with seagrass showed a 65% reduction in bacterial pathogens compared with those from places without seagrass. Phoebe Dawkins performs seagrass health surveys in Puget Sound. Credit: Cornell University This study adds to Lamb and Harvell’s previous work showing 50% reductions in pathogenic bacteria in Indonesia seagrass meadows, and suggests that intact seagrass ecosystems in both tropical and temperate waters could play a vital role in ensuring safer seafood and enhancing public health. “Seagrasses have untapped potential to contribute to the chain of survival for humans and our coastal biodiversity,” Harvell said. “Seagrass meadows are prime feeding grounds for wild birds and shelter crabs, oysters, mussels and sea stars, and so the role of lower bacteria has yet unmeasured benefit for wildlife as well as humans.” Harvell’s Cornell research team of postdocs, graduate students and undergraduates has been studying the health of seagrass and drivers of decline in the San Juan Islands and Friday Harbor Labs for over a decade. The Cornell-based research team for this project included not only Lamb, but also Phoebe Dawkins, then a graduate student in Harvell’s lab, and undergraduate Evan Fiorenza ’17. The potential applications of this research are vast, Lamb said. As global food demand accelerates, securing safe and sustainable seafood from a healthy ocean is critical. Seagrass meadows, which are already recognized for their high-value services such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and shoreline protection, now present an added layer of public health benefits. The study’s model estimates that 1.1 billion people currently live within 50 kilometers of seagrass ecosystems, highlighting the immediate opportunity to integrate these natural infrastructures into urban planning and conservation strategies. This research aligns with numerous global sustainability initiatives, including the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It provides timely evidence to inform policies and commitments aimed at reversing the decline of seagrass ecosystems, which are disappearing at an alarming rate of 7% per year. The study’s implications extend beyond immediate public health benefits, Lamb said, offering a blueprint for sustainable urban development that leverages nature’s powers to address global challenges. Lamb has called for a concerted effort from policymakers, urban planners and conservationists to recognize and harness the benefits of seagrass ecosystems. “As ecosystems continue to decline globally, there is an urgent need to invest in environmental conservation and assess the value of ecosystem services,” she said. “By doing so, we can make significant strides in addressing the biodiversity and climate crises while simultaneously improving human health and food security.” This research was supported by the Sea Doc Society, a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis; the University of California, Irvine; and The Nature Conservancy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt3za0G6ack&t=56s Credit: Video produced by Bob Friel and the SeaDoc Society. Narrated by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos. More information: Phoebe D. Dawkins et al, Seagrass ecosystems as green urban infrastructure to mediate human pathogens in seafood, Nature Sustainability (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01408-5 Journal information: Nature Sustainability This article is republished from PHYS.ORG and provided by the Cornell University.
Seagrass Ocean Rescue Volunteer Profile: Bob
As our 2024 seagrass seed collection in North Wales draws to a close we spoke to Seagrass Ocean Rescue volunteer Bob Pethers about his experience of volunteering as part of the project. Tell us a little bit about yourself: I’m Bob Pethers, originally from London but have lived and worked in North Wales for 40 years. I have taken early retirement from the NHS and currently volunteer with North Wales Wildlife Trust and Project Seagrass. How did you first get involved with the seagrass restoration community project? At the end of a Shoresearch rocky shore survey for the North Wales Wildlife Trust we were given a short presentation on seagrass restoration and I realised immediately that this combined my concern for the health of our seas with my enthusiasm for gardening! I ended up on a seagrass monitoring course run by Project Seagrass, and the rest is history. What are your hopes for this restoration work? That it makes a difference to the health of our seas, and it will! What inspired you to get involved, what drives your commitment to this cause? I jokingly say that I’m involved in seagrass restoration purely out of self interest as one of my hobbies is sea fishing, and healthy seagrass meadows lead to healthy fish populations! In reality I’ve always been concerned about the environment and nature and considered myself an environmentalist from when it really wasn’t fashionable. Looking back I realise we could have done more (hindsight is a wonderful thing), but still proud of our efforts to find peat free compost 30 years ago! Now I have the opportunity to make a difference around my local shores, and the thought of thriving seagrass meadows in the future drives me forward on those cold and rainy spring tides. What does it mean to you to spend time in nature, what do you feel nature provides you with? Being in nature enhances my physical and mental health, nothing can beat being in the moment. What seagrass restoration activities have you taken part in? After agreeing a planting area with Project Seagrass, I started off collecting fragments at Porthdinllaen and planting these (after cleaning off other lifeforms and soaking in fresh water for 24 hours) at Traeth Crugan. This has continued with various tweaks to the methodology through research and discussion and evaluating the success rates. Now I concentrate on the big spring tides and planting on mass to maximise success, and on the last survey this year’s plantings had an encouraging 56% success rate. Inevitably I was talking to the Project Seagrass team a lot, and ended up helping with the seed planting (sacks, seed balls and injection), monitoring, and have just completed the circle by snorkelling at Porthdinllaen for seagrass seeds! What part of this restoration work are you most proud of? I’m most proud of all the other volunteers I meet over the course of the year. Their enthusiasm is both inspiring and heartwarming. The Seagrass Ocean Rescue Project is managed by WWF, in partnership with Project Seagrass, the North Wales Wildlife Trust, Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Swansea University. The project is made possible with support from funders that include the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, and the Moondance Foundation. Principal Funders Partners
Project Update: Restoration Forth | July 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. Seagrass – the outcome of monitoring Back in March, 128 volunteers helped Restoration Forth plant more seagrass seeds along the Firth of Forth. The team and volunteers have been keeping a close eye on their growth. A HUGE thank you to all the passionate and dedicated volunteers for your time! Although we don’t have the full picture yet, fewer shoots have emerged than we hoped, so we are working to understand why. We know the nature of restoration projects can be challenging, but what we’ve learned through this process has been incredibly helpful. We’ve also been trialling the transplantation of dwarf eelgrass cores – by transplanting cores (seagrass with the sediment) from established meadows to adjacent bare sediment. With this method we are hoping to extend the current seagrass area in the Firth of Forth. This year we have transplanted 400 cores, and last year we have transplanted 480 cores. This method seems to be working well, and we’ll be monitoring them more closely in coming months. Keep your fingers and toes crossed! Oysters We recently launched our new citizen science resource and are running some training events in our oyster citizen science activities in the coming weeks, including some family friendly sessions aimed at getting young people involved in citizen science. You can find the activities and all the information on how to take part on the webpage here under ‘Help Restore the Firth of Forth’. As we start to near the end of summer it is time to think about our next oyster deployments. We aim to release a further 10,000 oysters into the Firth of Forth in Autumn, so keep an ear out for opportunities to be involved in our biosecurity days soon.
Scientists outline 10 golden rules for seagrass restoration
196 of the world’s nations are committed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to tackling nature loss. Habitat restoration is a major pathway to tackling this loss. For marine habitats such as seagrass, such restoration is often portrayed as an easy answer to fighting many of our planetary ills causing this nature loss. But as evidence grows of the issues and challenges of such activities, scientists from Project Seagrass and Swansea University have outlined ten golden rules to help improve this restoration. Their work is published today in an Open Access article in the journal Plants People Planet. The article responds to the increasing pressures faced by seagrass ecosystems globally and the need to rapidly rebuild marine life. The authors highlight throughout that in order to restore our ocean biodiversity, we first need to focus on reducing the stressors to these habitats, namely water quality, boating and coastal development. The authors who have been studying seagrass conservation and restoration argue for a shift beyond a singularised view of restoration as being about planting new meadows to a combined view where damaged and fragmented meadows are rejuvenated; threatened and diminishing meadows are protected; and more meadows become resilient. The rules confirm the need for collaborative approaches to restoration which create biodiverse ecosystems that support coastal communities and improve communities. Dr Richard Unsworth, lead author on the paper who is the Chief Scientific Officer at Project Seagrass and Associate Professor at Swansea University said, “To rebuild marine life at the scale and speed required to fight the biodiversity crisis and the climate emergency we need to think bigger, whereby we bring degraded habitats back to life at the same time as creating vast new habitat in support of coastal livelihoods, and community resilience” The paper has been published following the International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW15) hosted in Naples, Italy earlier this year, the theme of this which was “Seagrasses in the Anthropocene”. As human activities place ever-increasing pressure on seagrass ecosystems at both a local and global scale the resulting changes in environmental conditions have altered seagrass ecosystems to an extent that has not previously been observed. The challenge currently facing the global community is the need to establish a new baseline and protect, restore, and rehabilitate the seagrass ecosystems that currently remain. Dr Benjamin Jones, Chief Conservation Officer at Project Seagrass and author of the paper says: “Coastal environments suffer from excess nutrients and contaminants from poor land management, deforestation and ineffective pollution management. If we are to place seagrass on a pathway to global net gain, for restoration to have any meaningful contribution, we also need to think about restoring watersheds and thinking upstream – restoring the land to restore the sea”. The ten golden rules originally developed by Unsworth and Jones for seagrass restoration, and outlined below, aim to ensure that existing seagrass is protected, that multiple and diverse stakeholders are involved in planning to support the selection of appropriate sites and ongoing stewardship, that appropriate restoration methods are utilized, and that realism is adopted in the face of the challenges surrounding global restoration efforts particularly in light of ongoing climatic pressure. Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, CEO at Project Seagrass and an author of the paper says: “Fantastic progress is being made in the field of conservation and restoration of seagrass meadows, but in order for this to happen at the scale and speed required, we wanted to set out a series of holistic guidelines, based on available research and experience, that practitioners can follow for improved chances of success.” 10 Golden Rules for restoration to secure resilient and just seagrass social-ecological systems (set out in detail below) Protect existing seagrass first Work together Create biodiverse ecosystems with multiple functions for people and planet Select appropriate sites for restoration Determine appropriate restoration methods Use resilient plant materials and future proof your project Maximize the potential opportunity of the restoration Plan ahead for infrastructure, capacity, and restoration material Develop realistic informed goals and reporting Make it pay 10 Golden Rules (Detailed summary of the paper) 1. Protect existing seagrass first Amidst the context of growing interest in seagrass restoration, the authors emphasize that it is much slower, more difficult, and more expensive to re-plant seagrass meadows than it is to protect those that currently remain. Protection from localized stressors can relieve pressure on our existing seagrass be this through the implementation of improved water quality from better catchment management, reduced boating damage, establishment of Marine Protected Areas or through the encouragement of alternative low-impact livelihoods, tourism, and fishing practices. The authors also outline the need to prioritise which seagrass meadows to protect taking into consideration predicted future climatic conditions such as changing temperatures, sea level rise, land use change, and the gradual topicalization of temperate systems. 2. Work together Restoration is a collaborative process and the authors discuss the importance of the involvement of multiple and diverse stakeholders, expertise, and experience throughout all stages of the restoration process. Seagrass social-ecological systems support diverse uses and livelihoods, from fishing and recreation, to harvesting of raw plant material. Rights and equality are central, and stakeholders should be encouraged to continue activities, not just undisturbed, but enhanced by increased seagrass resilience. Engaging local communities and stakeholders during the site selection period is essential as these groups will often become the long-term custodians of the restoration site. Without working together, long-term seagrass restoration at scale is simply not possible and finding ways to bring people together to co-design restoration projects will enhance the social capital of resulting habitats. 3. Create biodiverse ecosystems with multiple functions for people and planet The overarching aim of seagrass restoration should be to maximise the biomass and biodiversity of meadows such that they support diverse and resilient ecosystem functioning and services for people and planet. The authors discuss how natural systems simultaneously produce multiple ecosystem services that interrelate in complex and dynamic ways. An overly narrow focus on a limited set of ecosystem services can lead to
Seagrass Network Cymru submit National Seagrass Action Plan to Senedd
Seagrass Network Cymru have submitted a National Seagrass Action Plan to the Senedd. Seagrass meadows are critically important allies to tackle the global climate and biodiversity crises and the National Seagrass Action Plan is a direct response to the current condition of seagrass habitat in Wales and the need for a coordinated approach to deliver against current policy commitments. Wales has the opportunity to lead the way in seagrass recovery and the plan presents a blueprint of action over the next five years to achieve a vision where Welsh seagrass meadows are supporting marine biodiversity, vibrant communities, a sustainable economy and making a valuable contribution to the climate emergency response. The 4 priority areas of action needed to achieve this vision are: Mapping Wales’ seagrass Building partnerships across land and sea Halting seagrass loss Reversing seagrass loss Read the full plan here. Seagrass Network Cymru is a collaborative group of NGO’s, academics, commercial businesses, government, and management agencies from across Wales working towards the protection and restoration of seagrass meadows along our Welsh coast.
Project Seagrass hosts Seagrass Nursery Open Days
On the 9th and 10th of July Project Seagrass welcomed local organisations and members of the community to our Seagrass Nursery in West Wales as part of a series of Open Days. On the 9th July representatives from Pembrokeshire Council, Carmarthenshire Council, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, Rebel Energy, SeaLife, Bodorgan Estate, South & West Wales Wildlife Trust, Swansea University, Carmarthenshire Local Nature Partnership, Sea Trust, and Welsh Government visited the Nursery as part of a networking day. Working collaboratively is essential to long-term success of seagrass restoration and the networking day provided an opportunity for local stakeholders to discuss existing work and opportunities to collaborate. On the 10th July the Seagrass Nursery opened its doors to members of the local community with visitors from Laugharne, Pendine, and St Clears alongside the wider Carmarthenshire area. “Excellent and exciting project – would be interested in its development” Community Feedback “Beneficial to learn more about the advantages to the environment” Community Feedback During the Open Days, visitors had the opportunity to join a guided tour of the Seagrass Nursery where members of the nursery team provided an insight into how we are growing seagrass, our approach to storing seeds, and the research we are undertaking into the best methods for seagrass cultivation. “It was lovely being able to welcome members of the local community and organisations down to our nursery site. The days were a great opportunity to showcase not only our work at the nursery but wider projects from across South and West Wales. Collaboration is key in so much of our work, being able to network with groups while welcoming the local community and harness local knowledge was invaluable.” Emily Yates, Nursery Lead Our South & West Wales project lead Emma Fox provided a talk about our existing work in West Wales including our ongoing monitoring and conservation work in Dale. Emma also shared our upcoming plans to trial further seagrass restoration within the area. Dr Betti Walter, Marine Science Lead and Sam Rees our Research Assistant discussed our work to scale up the seagrass restoration process, providing visitors with an insight into the range of mechanisation projects that we have been exploring from seed planting sleds to underwater robots. Our Seagrass Nursery partner Salix joined us for the open days to discuss the work taking place on the wider site in Laugharne and their work to provide sustainable solutions to the challenges found in soil erosion control and river restoration projects. The work at our Seagrass Nursery is generously supported by Salix, Waterloo Foundation, Aviva Community Fund, and Ozone. Our Volunteer and Outreach Officer Jo was on hand to discuss opportunities to support our restoration work. It was fantastic to see so many people keen to support future seagrass planting and monitoring projects. If you would like to get involved, sign up to join our Volunteer Database.