We spoke to Moray Ocean Community about their volunteering in the Moray Firth area and how they integrate the SeagrassSpotter app into their activities. Read the full interview below:
Can you tell us about Moray Ocean Community and how it started?
Moray Ocean Community started to come together over two years ago when founding members were either looking for snorkelling buddies, interested in seagrass, or had read the NatureScot Community-led Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Handbook and wanted to join their local coastal community group but there wasn’t one in the Moray Firth area!
Through some wonderful connections we got together and formed Moray Ocean Community.
For our first year we were an informal volunteer group heading out to do snorkels, swims, and citizen science surveys. When we realised how many folk wanted to learn more about the coastline around the Moray Firth and that there was funding available we officially became a Community Interest Company in February 2024.
Can you tell us about your volunteering and the groups and organisations you work with?
We have completed surveys for a variety of citizen science projects including Seasearch, Project Seagrass’ SeagrassSpotter, Beachwatch, Big Seaweed Search, and Shorewatch. We are also the community collaborator for the Mossy Earth led restoration project Cromarty Seascape focusing on native oyster and seagrass restoration in the firths surrounding the Black Isle, and work closely with the Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Rivers Trust on seagrass surveys in Findhorn Bay, as part of their Findhorn Watershed Initiative.
All our seagrass survey data has been uploaded on to the NatureScot data platform as well as onto SeagrassSpotter.
And of course we have fun! We get together for social events to enjoy being next to, on, or under the sea through swims and recreational snorkels and paddleboarding.
We find SeagrassSpotter a really easy way to introduce seagrass and citizen science to volunteers and we have been learning a lot about it ourselves! It was fantastic to hear from the Project Seagrass experts at the training day in Findhorn earlier this year which covered the app and building on some other survey techniques including quadrats and transects.
We have even used it beneath the water when we have been out with the local Burghead Sub-Aqua Club and from paddleboards!
What are some of the challenges you face in your activities?
As we are all volunteers it is sometimes a juggling act to get all the organising done like funding applications and we are currently working with Fauna and Flora to help us increase our capacity as an organisation which has involved strategy meetings and paperwork but we know it is all so important and worth it so we can get as many people out there learning and protecting the coast as possible.
Can you share a success story or a milestone you are particularly proud of?
We all really enjoyed supporting a citizen science taster day for students of the Inverness Royal Academy where we worked with partners to introduce three citizen science projects. One was with Whale and Dolphin Conservation to run Shorewatch whale and dolphin surveys (sadly all the dolphins turned up after the school bus left!). One was with ourselves Moray Ocean Community showing students how to use SeagrassSpotter on their phone and try some quadrat measuring. And the final one was with the Marine Conservation Society doing a beach litter survey. The students were fantastic and all our volunteers had a brilliant time and we would love to do more school engagement as we grow and get more folk learning and excited about seagrass!
What activities have you got coming up and how can people get involved?
We are always up for welcoming new volunteers to our Rising Tides whatsapp group – please do look out for us on social media (links below) and drop us a message to be added. We share swims, snorkels, surveys, and other information there while we work to get some funding to set ourselves up with a website and mailing list.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Project Seagrass for all the support as we grow as a new organisation, from information and training to opportunities like sharing our story on your blog. We hope to see some visitors back to the Moray Firth soon!
You can catch up with Moray Ocean Community‘s interview on the BBC Radio Scotland Out of Doors programmeand follow Moray Ocean Community on social media to find out more about their work and how to get involved: