Gathaagudu/Shark Bay is located on Malgana (pronounced Mal-guh-nuh) Country. It’s a place of great natural beauty and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The landscape is a stunning array of colors as the desert meets the ocean. Below the sea’s surface, 4,000 square kilometers of seagrass meadows sway. That’s equivalent to
January 2, 2025 In autumn 2024, Teigan joined the teams at Project Seagrass and Swansea University to undertake a PhD exploring the influence of water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from seagrass. Teigan’s PhD forms part of Accelerate Seagrass, a collaborative program with Climate Impact Partners, Deloitte, and the National
December 19, 2024 Seagrass Restoration Efforts to restore seagrass marine habitat at our two restoration sites on the Isle of Wight began in March and April this year under the Solent Seascape Project. A total of 132,000 seeds and 2,160 transplants have been planted across the two sites. There are plans
December 19, 2024 Following scientific trials in 2019, in 2020 many seagrass seeds were planted in Dale, supported by the community, school children and local organisations. Since planting, the seagrass area has been reseeded several times to infill gaps and support it as it develops. Despite some setbacks, the restoration
December 10, 2024 Content Team 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
December 10, 2024 In September 2024, Project Segrass welcomed Finn, Grace, and Heather as our interns for the 2024-25 academic year. Finn and Heather have joined us as interns from the University of St Andrew’s and Grace has joined us from Swansea University. In this interview Finn, Grace, and Heather
December 2, 2024 In 2024, Project Seagrass launched a new Fragment Walk initiative on the Isle of Wight to support community-based seagrass restoration as part of our work in the Solent. Seagrass Fragments Seagrass meadows are sensitive habitats which can be easily uprooted. As a result of storms or other
October 29, 2024 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
October 22, 2024 Content Team Scientists from the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass are undertaking seagrass planting experiments along the South & West Wales coastline, including a new planting site in Butetown along Cardiff’s Foreshore. Cardiff’s Foreshore is a popular place for sea-angling for species such as cod, which uses
October 15, 2024 Content Team Earlier this month Project Seagrass’ Senior Conservation Officer Katy Waring attended the yearly gathering for coastal communities from the Coastal Communities Network facilitated by Fauna and Flora International. The event was held on the island of Millport at their field studies centre. The 3-day event
Gathaagudu/Shark Bay is located on Malgana (pronounced Mal-guh-nuh) Country. It’s a place of great natural beauty and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The landscape is a stunning array of colors as the desert meets the ocean. Below the sea’s surface, 4,000 square kilometers of seagrass meadows sway. That’s equivalent to 226 AFL footy fields. The Shark Bay Heritage Area is home to 12 of the world’s 72 seagrass species. Unfortunately, more than a quarter of the seagrass died during the 2010/11 marine heat wave. To restore the seagrass, a deep knowledge of the area and its plants are needed as well as scientific tools for genetic testing. Malgana mob brought their knowledge and UWA researchers brought their tools. Together, they’re bringing the wirriya jalyanu back to life. A deep connection Malgana people have a 30,000-year connection with Gathaagudu. They have a deep knowledge of Country and are passionate about looking after the area. Aunty Pat is a Malgana Gantharri/Elder. She says Gathaagudu is paradise. “If we look after Country, Country will look after us,” says Aunty Pat. Malgana people had known Sea Country was changing for a long time. “The fishermen knew it,” says Aunty Pat. “Fishermen know Sea Country better than anyone. You talk to any of those fishermen and they will tell you stories about the changes in biology and the marine environment.” UNESCO only recognizes Gathaagudu as an important ecological site, not a cultural site. “We’re trying to [get] our cultural values listed alongside our natural values,” says Aunty Pat. “They’re of equal importance.” These cultural values and knowledge are key to the wirriya jalyanu restoration to provide a broader historical context of Sea Country in Gathaagudu. Teamwork Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at UWA. She worked with Aunty Pat and Malgana Traditional Owners to restore the seagrass. Sinclair says researchers have been working on the seagrass for around 15 years. Seagrass grows extremely well in Gathaagudu because the bay area is very shallow, has a sandy bottom and has no big ocean swells. The main seagrass disturbance is dugongs feeding on it. When seagrass is gone, the sandy floor is left exposed to tides. The sand shifts a lot, making the water cloudy. With sand constantly moving, it’s difficult for new plants to grow. This creates a system that’s hard to reverse. “By the time the heat wave came along and in the following years, it was clear that parts of the seagrass meadow were not going to recover naturally and they needed a bit of help,” says Sinclair. Sinclair and the research team looked at genetic markers in the seagrass DNA to understand how the population was structured and how to best restore it. Dugong feeding on seagrass. Credit: Anett Szaszi, Ocean Image Bank Distribution There are two large species of seagrass that grow on Gathaagudu Sea Country: ribbon weed and wire weed. These plants can grow up to 2 meters tall, creating an underwater forest and crucial habitat for marine life. Growing different types of seagrass requires different strategies. Ribbon weed grows like lawn, with new shoots emerging from the sand. “If you stick your head underwater, all you see is the green shoots,” says Sinclair. “You don’t see [a] massive network of roots.” In Gathaagudu, most of the ribbon weed is one giant clone that is 180 kilometers long. That’s longer than the drive from Perth to Bunbury. It’s the largest known plant on Earth. Knowing how the seagrass is genetically connected informs how the team approaches restoring the meadow. Wire weed grows entire seedlings that break off and float around until they land in the sand. This distribution strategy means wire weed has much more genetic diversity spread further around the bay. “We have the genetics to understand how the plants are related and then we use that information to figure out which plants to collect and where to grow them,” says Sinclair. Underwater gardening The Malgana rangers were heavily involved in the restoration process. “Rangers collected a lot of the restoration material because some now have dive tickets,” says Sinclair. “If you’re working in really shallow water, you can do it on a snorkel, but it’s much easier to do it on scuba.” To collect ribbon weed, rangers would take 10–15cm cuttings. These could be replanted and held in place with a U-shaped piece of wire for about 6 months until they grew new roots. For the wire weed restoration, the team collected seedlings and replanted them at a new location. Instead of being secured with wire, they would hang onto snaggers, a “sand-filled sausage” with a hessian coating. The hessian provided an anchor for the wire weed seedlings to attach to. Aunty Pat says the rangers loved working with the research team because it was a meaningful way to care for Country. “They couldn’t get enough of it,” says Aunty Pat. “To be working in a trial like that, they learned so much. They were happy to be doing something that was meaningful.” ‘Medicine for us’ Opportunities for Malgana people to return to Country are few and far between. They can’t participate on a regular basis because of a housing shortage at Gathaagudu. “The Malgana Aboriginal Corporation currently have several rangers in the program, unfortunately everyone has to rely on staying with family or friends who live in Gathaagudu because there isn’t enough accommodation due to the housing crisis,” says Aunty Pat. These types of partnerships enable Malgana people to work on Country and the younger generation the chance to reconnect to the land. “It helps them with their healing [and] their cultural and personal identity,” says Aunty Pat. Shared knowledge “Shared knowledge leads to an improved understanding of our environment,” says Sinclair. “As Western researchers, we come in, look at a site and focus on one little thing … We have fairly narrowly focused research areas. When you start talking with Traditional Owners, maybe they don’t have that detailed knowledge of the seagrass, but they understand how it
January 2, 2025 In autumn 2024, Teigan joined the teams at Project Seagrass and Swansea University to undertake a PhD exploring the influence of water quality on greenhouse gas emissions from seagrass. Teigan’s PhD forms part of Accelerate Seagrass, a collaborative program with Climate Impact Partners, Deloitte, and the National Oceanography Centre to fund UK seagrass recovery and unlock long-term finance to save and reinstate vital seagrass meadows. Find out more about the Accelerate Seagrass program here. We spoke to Teigan about her PhD and what inspired her to pursue research in seagrass ecosystems. Read the full Q&A below: What inspired you to pursue research in seagrass ecosystems? From the moment I first learned about seagrass meadows during my second year of university, I was captivated. I found it astonishing that these vital ecosystems exist while we still understand so little about their dynamics and functions. For my third-year dissertation, I knew I wanted to complete a seagrass-based project. I explored the feasibility of using satellite imagery to track seagrass populations. I developed a model employing image classification techniques to predict seagrass distribution, further deepening my appreciation for the field. This is what sparked my passion for pursuing research in seagrass ecology. Seagrass is truly extraordinary, and I am continually inspired by its unique ecological role and significance. Can you share an interesting fact about seagrass that most people might not know? Here are two of my favourite facts about seagrass that most people may not know! Some species of seagrass exhibit remarkable resilience with instances of growth documented as far north as Greenland! Additionally, despite covering just 0.1% of the ocean floor, seagrass ecosystems play a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of global warming, highlighting their ecological significance. What’s the most fascinating discovery you’ve made so far in your research? I have been involved in this project for just under two months, so I am still in the process of reviewing literature and familiarizing myself with potential site locations to complete the gas analysis. However, one notable realisation is the significant gap in knowledge regarding the role of seagrass in greenhouse gas emissions. Surprisingly, only a handful of studies have addressed this topic. What is the biggest challenge you will face in your research into greenhouse gas emissions from seagrass, and how do you think you’ll overcome it? The most significant challenge I anticipate is constructing the chamber required for the gas analysis. This will be my first experience designing and building field equipment. To address this, I plan to collaborate closely with experts who previously developed suitable chamber designs to ensure the equipment is fit for purpose. Another challenge I anticipate is the microbial work associated with this project. While I have limited experience completing microbial work, I will work closely with my second supervisor and experienced PhD students to acquire the necessary skills and support for this aspect of the project.
December 19, 2024 Seagrass Restoration Efforts to restore seagrass marine habitat at our two restoration sites on the Isle of Wight began in March and April this year under the Solent Seascape Project. A total of 132,000 seeds and 2,160 transplants have been planted across the two sites. There are plans to continue this planting in spring 2025 using the same methods. Continued monitoring of the restoration sites and WWF seagrass planting trials are undertaken during fieldwork on a monthly basis. Summer Seagrass Seed Harvest During July, we collected seagrass seeds (Zostera marina) from three meadows around the Isle of Wight. We were joined by 117 volunteers and some of our funders and project partners as part of our seagrass seed harvesting wade and pick event. We collectively harvested 101, 710 seeds in total, which will contribute towards 2025’s restoration efforts. Seagrass Safe Sailor We’ve been working with the boating community on the island to explore Advanced Mooring Systems (AMS), and promote seagrass safe sailing practices. Two AMS have been designed and are in the final stages of being installed at Seaview. These AMS provide a demonstration of how AMS can work safely in a challenging tidal environment with moving sediment and currents, whilst reducing scarring on the extensive seagrass meadow here. In 2025, we’ll be monitoring seagrass recovery at Seaview, and working with local stakeholders to map the seagrass meadow. You can explore our Seagrass Safe Sailor resources here. Fragment Walks This year we, and many volunteers have also been restoring seagrass through fragments (washed up seagrass). We have: Set up two fragment collection points at St Helen’s and Arc Biodiversity in Sandown Run eight fragment collection walks Planted 329 plants over 17m² Run two school-focused fragment collection walks Worked with over 200 volunteers. To find out more about our Fragment Walk initiative visit our blog article. Looking Back and Moving Forward: A Big Thank You to Our Volunteers! This year has been incredibly busy, and we couldn’t have succeeded without our amazing volunteers. Your dedication has been invaluable. As we plan for an exciting 2025, we’re eager to welcome familiar faces back and meet new ones. Let’s make next year even better together! Thank you for being a vital part of the seagrass community.
December 19, 2024 Following scientific trials in 2019, in 2020 many seagrass seeds were planted in Dale, supported by the community, school children and local organisations. Since planting, the seagrass area has been reseeded several times to infill gaps and support it as it develops. Despite some setbacks, the restoration area is now doing well, with a great increase in growth this year seen in recent monitoring. The natural patch of seagrass closer to the shore (Frenchman’s Bay area) is also doing well, likely due to seagrass seeds being transported to this area from the restoration area, and natural growth. Scuba divers went out in autumn 2024 and covered 3,000 m² of the restoration area, surveying in ten distinct lines. The results show that the average number of shoots within each seagrass clump has greatly increased since 2023. This means that the clumps of seagrass are larger, with the potential to patch together with more growth to form a meadow. The seagrass in the restoration is looking healthy and growing well! The average number of shoots across the whole restoration area has also increased since 2023, and recovered since a trawling and storm incidentthat impacted the seagrass from 2021 to 2022. Leaf length of the seagrass has remained stable from 2023 to 2024, suggesting that the seagrass is reaching it’s maximum length for the environmental conditions. We’ve also been co-delivering many seagrass related activities with local businesses – including seagrass paddleboard and snorkel safaris, art activities, seine netting, community meetings and more. We have our first Sensitive Ecosystem Responsible Fisher (SERF) and are trialling seagrass friendly lobster pots. We also continue to support the visitor moorings located outside of the restoration area – with donations encouraged for use. We couldn’t have achieved what has been without the ongoing support of Dale Seagrass Stakeholder Group, who continue to provide oversight to the project.
December 10, 2024 Content Team 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!
December 10, 2024 In September 2024, Project Segrass welcomed Finn, Grace, and Heather as our interns for the 2024-25 academic year. Finn and Heather have joined us as interns from the University of St Andrew’s and Grace has joined us from Swansea University. In this interview Finn, Grace, and Heather share their experiences and highlights from their first three months as interns with Project Seagrass. What have you been up to during the first three months as interns with Project Seagrass? Heather: My time at Project Seagrass has been spent on a really diverse set of tasks so far, ranging from practical fieldwork out in North Wales, to desk jobs back at HQ analysing data or building equipment. One of my favourite jobs so far has been processing the seeds harvested in the summer. This task was based in the warehouse at HQ and involved separating the seeds from their protective seagrass sheaths using a water-tower. Apart from being a very satisfying job, doing this also allowed me to spend time looking at the infauna living among the vegetation and also to see, first-hand, the huge natural variation present in the seeds we are working with. In the end, we helped process over 1,000,000 seeds like this in the space of one month. Grace: Since starting I have assisted various projects within Project Seagrass, getting to know the team and building my knowledge base. Some of the major parts were aiding Isle of Wight and West Wales monitoring and mapping fieldworks, and processing seagrass seeds at HQ, as well as breaking down fieldwork data to analyse the results. In this short time I feel I have developed my confidence in field data collection and analysis, and am beginning to understand the precarious status of seagrass meadows in the UK. Finn: I have done so many different things since starting my internship with Project Seagrass – helping out with seed processing, building fieldwork equipment, visiting the nursery to help with monitoring the seagrass growing there, taking part in engagement events, and completing a review of the seagrass microbiome as well as various other tasks at HQ. A big part of my internship has also been going on fieldwork to the Isle of Wight every month to monitor restoration plots of seeds and transplants planted in the spring. What have been your highlights so far? Heather: My highlight so far was the sunny afternoon I spent surveying the seabed of the Cymyryn Strait by kayak. We found a really dense, healthy seagrass meadow there with all three British seagrass species present – it was also the first time I had ever seen Ruppia! Grace: My standout experience at the moment has to have been going on fieldwork in South and West Wales. Participating in mapping new sites for potential seagrass restoration is very satisfying, especially when I can plot out our GPS tracks on a map afterwards, and have a nice little record of where we’ve been. I’ve also enjoyed developing my programming knowledge with real data to make useful and interpretable figures. Finn: My highlight so far has definitely been going out on fieldwork and seeing my first seagrass meadow in the UK!! It was awesome to see the work Project Seagrass has done paying off and being able to see seagrass seedlings and transplants still surviving and growing. As well as the seagrass itself, I have seen some cool animals living within the seagrass. It can be a muddy, wet, and cold job but despite that fieldwork is still my favourite part of my internship. What are you looking forward to in 2025? Heather: At the moment, I am working towards setting up a controlled tank here, in HQ, in anticipation of the New Year when I will be beginning my undergraduate project. For this, I will be looking at the seeds we have processed in more detail, aiming to quantify their natural physical variation as well as determine if there are any links between this and the seeds’ ability to produce successful young plants. At the moment, this subject is not well resolved in the literature and so it will be great to push this knowledge boundary, even a little, and have the chance to continue working with the seeds I have already put so much energy into caring for. Grace: Moving into 2025, I’m looking forward to starting and linking together some smaller projects surrounding site characteristics. These include combining the physical parameters measured in different fieldworks at each site with background information to assess their suitability for seagrass restoration. As part of this, I’m excited to spend some time in the lab analysing site sediment samples and may also investigate programming models for site assessment. Finn: I’m looking forward to more fieldwork and taking part in the planting of seagrass seeds in the spring. Alongside the usual fieldwork, I am also going to be collecting data for my undergraduate project investigating the physical and biological factors that determine the distribution of seagrass on a fine and site-specific scale on the Isle of Wight. This data will help inform future decision making about selecting the best sites for seagrass restoration to hopefully increase the success of restoration. I have already collected some data, carrying out biotope mapping to characterise the habitats and species present alongside seagrass meadows and restoration sites. Each year Project Seagrass welcome a group on interns to develop their skills. These opportunities are available for students studying a university course that requires a year in industry as part of their studies and are advertised on our website. Keep an eye on our social media channels for announcements of future opportunities.
December 2, 2024 In 2024, Project Seagrass launched a new Fragment Walk initiative on the Isle of Wight to support community-based seagrass restoration as part of our work in the Solent. Seagrass Fragments Seagrass meadows are sensitive habitats which can be easily uprooted. As a result of storms or other disturbances, fragments of seagrass (individual seagrass plants with the rhizome or reproductive root and node system still intact) can become dislodged, uprooted, and washed up onto beaches. However, there is still an opportunity, for these plants to thrive by replanting the dislodged fragments. This presents a unique opportunity to involve the local community in seagrass planting at our Isle of Wight restoration sites. Seagrass meadows are critical and beautiful marine habitats that are essential for people and our planet. By undertaking active seagrass restoration on the Isle of Wight we can ensure that threatened and diminishing seagrass species can thrive, and additional fragment planting alongside our restoration efforts through advocacy and local community involvement presents an additional opportunity and involvement for all and reconnection to the seascape. Anouska Mendzil Project Seagrass Fragment Walks In spring 2024, we delivered a Fragment Walk pilot project where members of the public joined us to collect seagrass fragments at Priory Bay. This enabled us to gauge the level of interest for volunteer opportunities of this nature amongst the local Isle of Wight community. We were pleased to see positive uptake and interest in the initiative and went on to expand the project to include the following: A fragment collection point at St Helens A fragment walk to collect seagrass fragments A fragment preparation workshop Fragment planting at our restoration sites Monitoring our planted seagrass During the fragment preparation workshop, volunteers attach fragments to a pin using natural twine. This provides an anchor point for when the fragments are replanted, increasing the chances of re-establishment. During 2024 we have undertaken a total of 6 fragment walks, with 214 volunteers attending. We have also started to plant fragments in our restoration area at Priory Bay, Isle of Wight, with a total number of 329 fragments planted. Our fragment collection point is located at St Helens Duver (What3Words: invest.cropping.scatter). I attended a seagrass fragment walk at St Helens on the Isle of Wight with Becky. It was such a positive experience to find out about the successful work of Project Seagrass and everything they are doing around our shores to protect and restore this critical and fragile habitat. Becky was super knowledgeable and presented the information in a way that non-scientists could easily understand. Then we went on an easy stroll along the tide line, looking for any fragments that still had roots. These were deposited into the fragment bins for replanting later. It was really great to chat to the other folk who had come along to the walk, and make connections with islanders who care about their marine environment. Steffie Haynes Fragment Walk Attendee For me, being involved with Project Seagrass has been inspirational. Seeing and learning about this world renowned species in our local sea and playing a small part in it’s restoration has given me both hope and joy. I am so looking forward to continuing our journey towards it’s restoration Lindsey Newberry Fragment Walk Attendee Fragment Collection Points In addition to our direct engagement through the Fragment Walks we have additionally installed two Fragment Collection Points in Sandown and St Helen’s. These collection points enable members of the public to collect and place seagrass fragments found on the beach into the fragment collection points, which can then be retrieved and replanted in local seagrass meadows and restoration sites. Project Seagrass in the Solent Project Seagrass is working to restore 3 hectares of seagrass on the Isle of Wight as part of the Solent Seascape Project alongside undertaking planting trials as part of the Seagrass Ocean Rescue: Solent programme. Fragment Walks enable us to engage with members of the local community and trial another approach to seagrass restoration on the Island. If you would like to set up and run your own fragment walks around the Solent or further afield we will be releasing this as a marine practitioner protocol in 2025. Keep an eye on our social media for the dates of future Fragment Walks or contact volunteers@projectseagrass.org to be kept informed about future opportunities.
October 29, 2024 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: Facebook X-twitter Instagram
October 22, 2024 Content Team Scientists from the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass are undertaking seagrass planting experiments along the South & West Wales coastline, including a new planting site in Butetown along Cardiff’s Foreshore. Cardiff’s Foreshore is a popular place for sea-angling for species such as cod, which uses seagrass meadows as a nursery area. The Butetown site was identified as a potential location for seagrass restoration efforts based on the presence of small and isolated patches of existing seagrass growing naturally in the area. The scientists are using the experimental trials to explore the possibility of expanding these patches of seagrass for the benefit of biodiversity. Ben Jones, Chief Conservation Officer at Project Seagrass said, ‘We’ve known about these small patches of seagrass on the foreshore for some time, clinging on, in what looks and feels like quite an extreme site. There’s now huge potential to expand this and create a large and vibrant biodiverse space in this urban coastal environment.‘ Following site assessments and monitoring of the current seagrass patches over the last couple of years, Project Seagrass began small-scale seagrass planting trials earlier this year. 60,000 seagrass seeds, collected from a much larger seagrass meadow in Porthdinllaen in North Wales, were planted out on the foreshore in May, alongside 75 seagrass plants transplanted from a donor meadow in Llanelli. Emma Fox, South & West Wales Project Lead at Project Seagrass said, ‘The foreshore may not look like your typical site for a seagrass meadow, but exploring restoration within the shadow of Cardiff’s industrial past is an exciting, if challenging, opportunity to learn more about this versatile plant.” The scientists at Project Seagrass used experimental methods that have shown success in other parts of Wales, but unfortunately, initial monitoring has shown that the seeds and transplants planted in May mostly failed. A further 75 seagrass plants planted out in Llanelli at the same time were still present so the team will now use these failings as a learning exercise to devise new methods for use in the foreshore’s challenging environment. The planting on the Foreshore forms part of a wider programme of work to investigate sites along the South & West Wales coastline to identify and trial suitable restoration areas. The programme of work is delivered by Project Seagrass in partnership with Swansea University and with funding from Heritage Fund in partnership with Welsh Government; Wasserman Live; Rebel Restoration; and Ozone. To register interest for future volunteering opportunities as part of this programme please contact: volunteers@projectseagrass.org
October 15, 2024 Content Team Earlier this month Project Seagrass’ Senior Conservation Officer Katy Waring attended the yearly gathering for coastal communities from the Coastal Communities Network facilitated by Fauna and Flora International. The event was held on the island of Millport at their field studies centre. The 3-day event was inspiring; groups from around Scotland showcased their projects, held skill-sharing workshops, and collectively unpacked common challenges such as funding, advocacy, and management to explore collaborative solutions. Project Seagrass Trustee Rosslyn Barr was also in attendance with her project Edinburgh Shoreline. Rosslyn shared Edinburgh Shoreline’s story, including their part in Restoration Forth and news of an exciting new project they are developing looking at blue mussels. Many of the seagrass groups were in attendance, providing an opportunity to catch up and explore opportunities for collaboration in 2025. As part of the gathering, Katy delivered a pilot of a new survey developed as part of “Accelerate Seagrass” a new collaborative programme with Climate Impact Partners, Deloitte, and the National Oceanography Centre. The survey aims to connect with local ecological knowledge around Scotland on both current and historical seagrass and to understand localised drivers of decline. This data will help identify areas for tailored conservation and restoration work from a social-ecological perspective ensuring resilience of projects. Katy gathered valuable feedback from members of COAST, CROMACH, Eigg Environmental Action Group, and CLP nature action which will be used to inform further development of the survey. Thanks to these projects for their feedback, we are looking forward to sharing the final piece with you soon. The breadth of positive action delivered by these mostly voluntary ran community groups was inspiring and highlights the power of community. Thanks to the team at Fauna and Flora International for inviting us and the work they do supporting these groups to flourish. Find out more about the organisations in attendance: Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) Young Sea Changers Scotland Carna Conservation Initiative Clean Coast Outer Hebrides Dunoon Development Trust Kintyre Coastal Network Fair Isle Marine Research Organisation (FIMRO) CLP Nature Action Eriboll Community Craignish Restoration of Marine and Coastal Habitats (CROMACH) Eigg Environmental Action Group Moray Ocean Community East Have Together Edinburgh Shoreline Friends of Sound of Jura Fairlie Coastal Community Association of Lochs and Sounds (CAOLAS) Argyll Hope Spot The Scottish Coastal Clean Up Skye Seas Survey Initiative Friends of Loch Hourn
Registered Charity in England and Wales No. 1162824 and in Scotland No. SC046788.
