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.
Our oceans and coasts are home to ecosystems that provide immense benefits to people, from food and livelihoods to carbon storage and coastal protection. In particular, seagrass meadows are archetypal social-ecological systems (SES), linking human well-being to ecosystem health. But to manage these systems effectively, we need access to both ecological
Beneath the surface of the Chesapeake Bay, a subtle but dramatic shift is taking place as eelgrass gives way to its warmer-water relative, widgeon grass. A new study from researchers at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS shows that this seagrass swap could have ecological impacts across the Bay’s
Seagrasses, foundational species in coastal ecosystems worldwide, are surprisingly few in documented diversity—with only about 70 species identified globally, despite their widespread distribution and ecological importance. Complicating matters, their high phenotypic plasticity within species makes precise classification challenging. Against this backdrop, a research team led by Prof. Zhou Yi from
The Project Seagrass team have had another busy summer of seagrass seed collections! This year collections took place in Yarmouth, Ryde, and Bembridge on the Isle of Wight in the Solent, and in Porthdinllaen in North Wales. Find out more about how this summer’s collections went: Solent Seed Collection |
Dr Richard Unsworth, Chief Scientific Officer at Project Seagrass, along with 35 other leading scientists from across the UK, responds to proposals from the UK government to make licensing for marine restoration more complex and costly. Dear Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP and team, This letter sets out our
Last month marked the opening of a newly constructed laboratory facility at Project Seagrass’ headquarters in Bridgend, South Wales. Project Seagrass CEO Leanne Cullen-Unsworth said: “We’re delighted to be able to launch this fantastic new facility within our existing working space in Bridgend. Thanks to generous support from funders who
July 2025 Emily Yates, Seagrass Nursery Lead Introduction It’s that time of year when the sun is shining and seagrass meadows around the UK are filled with flowering shoots, laden with maturing seeds. Much of July has been dominated by seagrass seed collection fieldwork and preparing for the seeds to
Earlier this year, Project Seagrass welcomed Rhys Bowen to the team to support our work in North Wales as part of the Seagrass Ocean Rescue North Wales programme. This follows on from Rhys’ involvement in the programme during 2024 where we worked as one of the Marine Futures Interns at
In a new blog series, our Conservation Trainee Abi David explores some of the amazing creatures that call seagrass meadows their home. Sea hares are odd looking creatures. They are mostly soft bodied but have a small internal shell, which separates them from their close relatives – sea slugs. The
Scientists warn that the future of our oceans and climate goals depends on reconnecting the ecological threads that hold coastal habitats together. A new study, launched at the International Seascape Symposium II at ZSL (Zoological Society of London), and published to align with UN Ocean Decade Conference represents two years
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
