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.
As a third year Biology Student from Cardiff University, I’ve been lucky to get involved with Project Seagrass, which has its offices within the University. I first started working with the team last summer when I took part in an 8 week CUROP placement (Cardiff University Research Opportunities Programme) at
The International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) is the primary international meeting for researchers who are focused on coral reef science and management. In fact, as a conference it has a similar ecosystem focus to the International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW) that we will be hosting in Wales this coming October. The Symposium,
Launched in 2007, Glasgow Science Festival (http://www.glasgowsciencefestival.org.uk) has grown to be one of the largest science festivals in the UK. The festival takes memorable events to non-traditional venues across the City of Glasgow where researchers, charities and non-governmental organistations are able to engage with people, from all ages and backgrounds.
During April I returned to the Llyn Peninsula, along with Project Seagrass directors RJ Lilley, Ben Jones and Richard Unsworth to conduct the Spring SeagrassWatch survey, 1/4 of the yearly seagrass monitoring survey that we’ve been conducting at Porthdinllaen for the past two years. In addition, we also checking seeds from Project ReStore and
Are they aliens, are they dinosaur eggs, or are they just some ‘organic’ bath sponges that fell of the ship from China?These are the questions people might rightfully be asking when they come across numerous fuzzy round balls washed upon the beach. Well in the village of Inverallochy, North of
Seagrasses grow all around the coast of the UK and around our islands within the intertidal zone. Scotland plays host to the highest abundance of seagrass when compared to the rest of UK, this is due to the better water quality and also a higher number of available sheltered sites
As a Marine Biology student at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, I was lucky enough to be accepted on to a Maters Work Placement. This course allows a few selected students to take a year between the 3rd and 4th year of their degree to experience working for an organisation
Our oceans and coastal resources have never been more important or under greater threat. Marine biodiversity has rapidly declined in the last 40 years, so much so, that marine populations have almost halved during this time. The very marine habitats and biodiversity that help ensure we have food to eat
Help us record the seagrass near you At Project Seagrass we created a conservation tool that could lead to new discoveries about one of the ocean’s most underappreciated habitats — seagrass. With our new phone app and website, Seagrass Spotter, ocean enthusiasts around the British Isles can become citizen scientists who
Seagrass meadows provide a suitable environment for eggstraordinary creatures to lay and secure their weird and wonderful eggs. As its Easter, we thought it would be a nice opportunity to introduce you to eggs that can be found in seagrass meadows around our coast. Cuttlefish eggs or “sea grapes” attached
The FANNS programme took place between 2024 and 2026. One of the focuses within the programme was on improving the natural environment through a series of restoration trials across multiple Special Areas of Conservation in South and West Wales. These trials aimed to establish the most effective methods of planting seagrass
On the 7th, 8th, and 9th May, the Project Seagrass team hosted our 2026 Open Days at our Seagrass Nursery in Laugharne. The Seagrass Nursery Open Days are an annual opportunity for funders, partners, and members of the community to meet the team and learn more about the exciting work
Heat stress from marine heat waves can create a toxic relationship between seagrasses and a hidden ecosystem of bacteria, transforming a previously beneficial co-existence between marine plants and microbes into a harmful one, a University of Sydney and UNSW study has found. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that act as
As our Fragment Walks from the 2025/26 season come to an end Project Seagrass Intern Anya Lamparelli reflects on this year’s efforts. A seagrass fragment is a precious and vulnerable thing. Torn free by winter storms and strong swells these delicate shoots with intricate root systems still attached wash ashore
A new study of the British Isles’ coastal ecosystems has revealed that nitrogen enrichment is significantly reducing the abundance and variety of marine life. The research, published by scientists at Swansea University and the charity Project Seagrass, warns that increasing nutrient flows are overriding local habitat conditions to restructure and
Residents and visitors to the Isle of Wight can now access information about the Island’s important seagrass habitats thanks to new signage installed through support from Seacology. The signage has been installed by Project Seagrass as part of ongoing efforts to protect and restore seagrass ecosystems within the Solent. The signs
