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 taking place on site.
On the 7th and 8th May, the team were joined by representatives from Carmarthenshire Council Coastal Protection Team, Celtic Deep, Cygnet, Harth, Laugharne Citizen Science group, SeaLife, Marine Conservation Society, National Trust, Natural Resources Wales, Neath Port Talbot Council, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, qinetiq, Severn Estuary Partnership, Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales Swansea Group and 360 Aquaculture. Working collaboratively is essential for successful seagrass recovery and these events provided an opportunity for local stakeholders to discuss existing projects and opportunities for collaboration.
On the 9th May the Seagrass Nursery opened its doors to members of the local community with visitors from Laugharne and the surrounding area joining the team to learn about recent developments at the site and seagrass restoration activity taking place in their local area.
During the Open Days, visitors had the opportunity to join Nursery Manager Emily Yates for a guided tour of the site. This provided an insight into how the team are growing seagrass, our approach to storing seeds, and the research being undertaken into the best methods for seagrass cultivation.
“The Seagrass Nursery Open Days are among some of my favorite days of the year! They provide a fantastic opportunity to welcome the local community to the site to show what we’re doing in Laugharne, as well as the wider work of Project Seagrass. It is great to meet so many enthusiastic people interested in our work whether it’s a first time or a returning visitor. Each year the Open Days provide us with an opportunity to share how the Nursery is developing and evolving over time.” Nursery Manager, Emily Yates.
During 2026, 3,300 seagrass transplants were sent out from the Project Seagrass Nursery to support restoration projects across the UK and over half a million seeds stored from in-field seagrass seed collections.
Significant developments are currently underway at the site, with plans for 12 additional ponds to be constructed within a second polytunnel over the summer. This will support our ambitions to develop a reliable, scalable source of UK-grown seagrass plants to supply restoration projects.
A range of experimental work is currently taking place on the site. Visitors learned about the team’s recent restoration activity in the local area from Senior Science Officer Emma Fox. This has included planting trials across multiple Special Areas of Conservation in South and West Wales aimed at establishing the most effective methods of planting seagrass out into the field to support habitat recovery. Find out more about the planting trials.
Katie Lee, Horticulture Supervisor at site partner Salix hosted a stand to discuss the work taking place on the wider site in Laugharne and Salix’s work to provide sustainable solutions to the challenges found in soil erosion control and river restoration projects.
Seagrass meadows are havens of biodiversity, providing habitat, food, and shelter to thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, and birds. Visitors also had the opportunity to experience the abundance of life within a seagrass meadow through Project Seagrass’ new VR experience. With music from the organisation’s patron Coldplay and footage from Welsh seagrass meadows, the experience provides an insight into the important role that seagrass plays for wildlife.
Project Seagrass is grateful for the support of our Seagrass Nursery funders who make this work possible.
