- December 10, 2024
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 amazing number of volunteers dedicate over 900 hours of their time this autumn to help us get the last 10,700 oysters through the biosecurity process, stringed so they were ready for monitoring, and then safely deployed in their new home. This brings our total oysters restored to the Firth of Forth to 30,638, exceeding our 30,000 target! We really can’t thank everyone enough who joined us over the last year to make this possible, it really could not have been achieved without all your hard work.
In August, the Heriot-Watt University team were also out monitoring the oysters that were deployed in the spring. We are very pleased to share with you that there was an incredible 85% survival rate of the oysters monitored! This survival rate is such a great start for these oysters, we can only hope that monitoring continues to show them doing well in their new home.
Seagrass processing completed
In summer 2024, the seagrass team collected reproductive seagrass shoots in Orkney, Inverness, and Burntisland. With the help of over 150 volunteers, all seeds have now been separated from the seagrass material, ahead of planting in March 2025.
Eleri and Lyle delivered the seagrass seeds to the Project Seagrass nursery, where they will be stored over the winter.
Thank you to all our volunteers that have helped process seagrass material over the past couple of weeks.
Understanding Scotland’s Seagrass Survey
You are invited to participate in a short, online survey focussed on better understanding Scottish seagrass ecosystems.
Local knowledge is invaluable in understanding this habitat, the challenges it faces and its impact on communities connected to it.
The survey aims to explore:
- The location and status of local meadows
- Possible, localised reasons for decline
- Community perspectives, including; concerns, barriers and needs
Responses will identify how best to support coastal communities in seagrass conservation, ensuring local voices play a central role in shaping future strategies by those working in this field.
Find out more and access the survey here. (Scots Gaelic speakers can access a translated version using the drop-down box on the survey).
We hope to reach communities across Scotland’s coastline, a big task! As such, sharing in your networks is greatly appreciated. The higher the participation, the stronger an impact this research can have.
Any questions please contact katy@projectseagrass.org
Citizen Science Update
Thank you so much to those of you who submitted survey data for our oyster citizen science. We have collated all the results that were submitted up until September, and a summary of those results can be found here. An amazing 130 surveys were submitted altogether across Fife, Edinburgh and East Lothian! This data is incredibly useful in conjunction with other site suitability assessments to help identify future locations for oyster restoration.
Outcome of the Nature of Scotland Awards!
We won! Restoration Forth are delighted to have won the Coast and Waters award at this years RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards. Thank you so much to all who have helped make this project a success!
