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.
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
Hannah Harrero and Stephanie Insalaco-Wyner, geographers from Florida, comment on differing methods of monitoring the resilience of seagrass meadows in Florida’s ‘Mosquito Lagoon’, following a number of extreme weather events. Florida’s Indian River Lagoon has been an ecosystem in decline going back to 2011, when harmful algal blooms led to a severe decline in
Heidi McIlvenny, PhD researcher from Queen’s University Belfast, comments on seagrass meadows in Northern Ireland and how seagrass meadows can recover but only if we tackle the pollution at its source. I spent last summer wading through seagrass meadows across Northern Ireland, from the sheltered waters of Strangford Lough to
Between the 17th and 23rd March 2026, members of the Project Seagrass team were on the Isle of Wight carrying out active restoration as part of the The Solent Seascape Project, the first project of its kind in the UK to initiate seascape-scale restoration. As part of The Solent Seascape
New research led by scientists at University of California’s San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography is shining a spotlight on one of the ocean’s most overlooked habitats: seagrass. Led by Scripps Oceanography Ph.D. candidate Rilee Sanders, the study documented the first successful restoration of open-coast seagrass (common eelgrass). The findings offer
Nursery intern Iestyn Comey details how fishing in seagrass meadows can be great to improve mental health and are vital nursery grounds for key fisheries species. Fishing is a hard thing to explain to someone who has never done it. There is no better feeling than the moment the line
Now seeking investment, the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund will unite funders, businesses, and individuals committed to securing a future for seagrass. With an ambitious target of £50 million, the Fund will support people-centred seagrass conservation for a healthier ocean and a fairer future. Project Seagrass has launched the Global Seagrass
Ewan Garvey, one of Project Seagrass’ Interns for the 2025-26 academic year, explores how seagrass can provide protection for coastal communities. As the seasons transition from autumn into winter, storms often become a pressing concern for coastal communities. In recent years, the growing impacts of climate change have become increasingly
Jasper Brown, one of Project Seagrass’ Interns for the 2025-26 academic year and 3rd Year Student in BSc Zoology with Marine Zoology at Bangor University, explores the need for both active and passive restoration to secure a future for our important seagrass habitats. Marine ecosystems worldwide are under threat. Rising
In September 2025, Project Segrass welcomed Anya, Dylan, Will, Grace, Iestyn, Jasper, and Ewan as our interns for the 2025-26 academic year. In this Q&A our interns share their experiences and highlights from their first three months as interns with Project Seagrass. What have been the highlights from your internship
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust have selected Project Seagrass’ Chief Conservation Officer and Co-Founder Dr. Benjamin Jones as the recipient of the inaugural Davidson Science Award. The award has been established to recognize transformative scientific contributions to flats conservation, coastal inshore waters utilized by anglers which are dominated by seagrass meadows.
In a new blog series, our Conservation Trainee Abi David explores some of the amazing creatures that call seagrass meadows their home. Sea snails are a hugely diverse group of marine gastropod found in all over the world. There is such a vast range of different colours, sizes, diets and
In 2024, the Project Seagrass team introduced the Seagrass Hug to our planting methodology. The method was developed by Anouska Mendzil, Senior Science Officer at Project Seagrass and Swansea University, and aims to determine whether surrounding seeding plots with more established transplants provides protection for emerging seeds in restoration practices.
