Keeping you up to date with Project Seagrass news and views with a mixture of field notes and commentary on seagrass and marine conservation topics.
Dale Bay on a summer’s day bustles with a community in motion. Yachts bob on their moorings, a group explores rockpool life on the shore, holiday makers catch crabs from the pontoon and a local fishing boat putters out to check on shellfish pots. Setting off from the slip way,
Priory Bay in the Isle of Wight supports important seagrass meadows that provide a home for marine life as well as supporting healthy coastlines. The bay is also of great value for boating and recreation, and a popular summer anchorage. This project is exploring ways to protect the seagrass in
In this blog, our Chief Conservation Officer, Dr Benjamin Jones, shares the thinking behind the decision to refresh the Project Seagrass logo and wider brand identity, and explains why visibility matters so much for seagrass conservation. Honouring our roots, looking to the future Back in 2013, we founded Project Seagrass
New research finds that seagrass meadows support fish that can be more valuable for human nutrition than fish found on coral reefs Seagrass meadows play a majorly overlooked role in providing nutrition for coastal communities, a new study published in Cell Reports Sustainability has uncovered. The study, led by
Project Seagrass CEO and Co-Founder, Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth reflects on London Climate Action Week: I left London Climate Action Week inspired, challenged, and, at times, deeply concerned. Over the course of the week I joined conversations spanning nature finance, climate resilience, biodiversity, restoration, and global leadership. The speakers were exceptional.
Project Seagrass calls for urgent action from Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales as a major sewage leak in Afon Cynffig Kenfig River continues to have a devastating impact on local wildlife, conservation efforts, and communities, weeks after the incident was initially identified. Afon Cynffig Kenfig River borders
July marks the launch of SeagrassTools, a single unified suite for seagrass science, conservation, and management which will enable users to collect, download, analyse, and act on seagrass data more effectively than ever before. The new digital suite, which integrates citizen science, ecological data, restoration experiments, and spatial analytics, will support evidence-based decision-making
Field discovery reveals a healthy and apparently expanding seagrass meadow in one of the UK’s most challenging estuarine environments Marine conservation organisation Project Seagrass has found a previously undocumented intertidal seagrass meadow in Cardiff, within the Severn Estuary. The newly discovered meadow, which was found by Project Seagrass’ Chief Conservation Officer Dr Benjamin Jones, does
The latest edition of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report lands with a poignant message. Aquatic foods are no longer a marginal part of the global food system but are central to food security, livelihoods, nutrition, and the health of the Ocean. Global fisheries
The Careers in Conservation: Below the Surface series takes a deep dive into the variety of job roles available within the conservation sector. In this article, National Seagrass Action Plan Project Manager Carl Gough shares his experiences and the route he took to a career in conservation. Job Description Carl
Following scientific trials in 2019, in 2020 many seagrass seeds were planted in Dale, supported by the community, school children and local organisations. Since planting, the seagrass area has been reseeded several times to infill gaps and support it as it develops. Despite some setbacks, the restoration area is now
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. We’ve reached 30,000 oysters! October was a busy month for the Restoration Forth oyster team. We had an absolutely
In September 2024, Project Segrass welcomed Finn, Grace, and Heather as our interns for the 2024-25 academic year. Finn and Heather have joined us as interns from the University of St Andrew’s and Grace has joined us from Swansea University. In this interview Finn, Grace, and Heather share their experiences
In 2024, Project Seagrass launched a new Fragment Walk initiative on the Isle of Wight to support community-based seagrass restoration as part of our work in the Solent. Seagrass Fragments Seagrass meadows are sensitive habitats which can be easily uprooted. As a result of storms or other disturbances, fragments of
Two new studies call for clear framework conditions for CO2 sequestration in coastal areas, including a digital twin for projections and an independent body for certification and new legal structures for monitoring. The two papers led by researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon were recently published in Environmental Research Letters and Elementa. So-called “blue carbon ecosystems”
Seagrasses are special: they are the only flowering plants that have returned to sea from land. They are also known as the “lungs of the oceans” because of their ability to photosynthesize. And with the exception of Antarctica, they can be found on all continents, where they form extensive underwater
