It’s only… SEAGRASS AWARENESS MONTH! ‘Seagrass Awareness Month’ has been designated as March ever since I started learning about these underappreciated ecosystems 6 years ago. However, the state-wide habitat engagement initiative appears to have been limited so far to just Florida in the USA. Why haven’t we made more of
Hello again folks, So, we’re less than 8 weeks out from the London Marathon (23rd April) and the training is going well. My longest distance so far is 17 miles and we’ve got an 18-mile run in the diary for this weekend. The mornings are beginning to get lighter earlier (sunrise was
For nearly 10 years I have been teaching, writing, tweeting, speaking, blogging, presenting and workshopping pretty much around the clock, in my role as a science teacher, a diving instructor, and now presently as a Science Communicator here at Project Seagrass. I’ve learnt to use all the communication tools I
Hello! My name is Sarah Jane Pope and this year I am running the London, Edinburgh and Stockholm marathons this year to raise money for Project Seagrass. I’ll get straight to the point… You can sponsor me here! http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SJPopester I decided to take up this challenge because I wanted to
There’s an odd bunch of people with a strange sounding passion – a passion for seagrass. You’d think that anything with grass in its name might be boring, especially when compared to ecosystems like tropical rainforests, filled with birds of paradise or the vast savannas of Africa filled with elephants
In a previously life I was a Secondary School Science Teacher, and I was privileged to work at a fantastic school (alongside some of the most innovative and enthusiastic teachers the UK has to offer). I know these teachers took their pedagogy seriously, and I was reminded of this dedication when I
With every year that passes we’re given a unique opportunity to look back and reflect on what we’ve achieved. I’ll be honest, every year since our inception in 2013 we’ve been immensely shocked at just how much we’ve achieved given that we’re on a shoestring budget. 2016 was certainly no
As I sit at my desk looking back at 2016 it occurs to me that one of the biggest challenges we faced as an organisation was “getting the word out” about ISBW12. It’s one thing getting the global seagrass community on board (and transported to a VERY SMALL village in north
Let me introduce ‘SJ’ (Sarah Jane Pope). SJ has been with Project Seagrass from the very start, she used to act as our secretary when we were based out of the front room of my house in Swansea; collecting post, answering the phone, and sending mail on to the relevant people… Things
It’s already been one month since the 12th International Seagrass Biology Workshop began at Nant Gwrtheyrn in Wales. This time last month the world’s foremost seagrass scientists were descending on the Llŷn Peninsula and the Project Seagrass team were in the midst of the final preparations for hosting the largest International Seagrass Biology Workshop
It’s only… SEAGRASS AWARENESS MONTH! ‘Seagrass Awareness Month’ has been designated as March ever since I started learning about these underappreciated ecosystems 6 years ago. However, the state-wide habitat engagement initiative appears to have been limited so far to just Florida in the USA. Why haven’t we made more of this outreach opportunity? I see no reason why, as a community, we can’t take ‘Seagrass Awareness Month’ global. Engagement this year from nations such as Norway suggests that there is appetite to build on the science communication momentum generated at the 12th International Seagrass Biology Workshop in Wales, and come together across the hemispheres to celebrate seagrass meadows! I know that as a Project Seagrass team we’ve spoken about the lack of an internationally recognised ‘Seagrass Day’. Yet, over in Texas, USA they will be celebrating their 8th Annual World Seagrass Day on the first Friday in April (April 7th, 2017). Celebrations will begin with a ‘World Seagrass Day’ parade, a state of the seagrass presentation and a half day science-based Seagrass Conference for fourth and fifth grade students from local schools. The team organizing the event estimate that just over 1,000 students will become more aware of the importance of seagrass meadows both to the local ecology and the local economy. I mean WOW! More of this is needed! Previously the Gulf of Mexico Foundation proclaimed the establishment of World Seagrass Day to be celebrated on the First Friday in the Month of March which would link in nicely with Seagrass Awareness Month. In fact, it might be worth settling on March the 1st as a day to kick-start the Seagrass Awareness Months’ festivities? Let’s get the discussion going, the World Seagrass Association will be meeting again in Singapore in 2018. Meanwhile here at Project Seagrass we’ll continue to develop our Seagrass Education and Awareness (SEA) resources. Do you like our new leaflet? We’ll be at the Edinburgh International Science Festival from the 10th-14th April and back at the Glasgow Science Festival on the 18th June. Drop in, we’ll have plenty of colouring opportunities for the kids and we’d love to chat with anyone who is keen to help us raise awareness of this essential ecosystem. Our Seagrass Education and Awareness (SEA) materials have been a hit with children It would be nice to think that by then we may have celebrated our first truly global World Seagrass Day and taken Seagrass Awareness Month to the international stage. Join the conversation, we’d love to hear your opinion. Contact us on Twitter @ProjectSeagrass or send us your thoughts at hello@projectseagrass.org. RJ
Hello again folks, So, we’re less than 8 weeks out from the London Marathon (23rd April) and the training is going well. My longest distance so far is 17 miles and we’ve got an 18-mile run in the diary for this weekend. The mornings are beginning to get lighter earlier (sunrise was at 07:08 this morning) Luckily for us, the mornings are beginning to get lighter earlier and so I am no longer starting my runs in the dark before I start work. The Edinburgh Marathon (28th May) is still a little over 12 weeks away and so there is a nice gap between the first two marathons. However, I think the real challenge will be backing up for the Stockholm Marathon (June 3rd) just a week later! We were in Stockholm this weekend, and whilst sunny it was cold! Let’s hope for a warmer marathon weekend! But why I am I doing this challenge? To raise money for Project Seagrass of course! I’m not a scientist, but I wanted to help the team in a way that I can and support them on their mission to raise awareness of seagrass meadows. Personally, I have learnt so much about these amazing ecosystems and I admire the dedication these guys have shown in growing Project Seagrass into the successful organisation it is today. I mean what an amazing achievement to build a charity from scratch whilst working full time! Surely their efforts alone are worth some sponsorship? Donate SJ x If anyone, like SJ, has a desire to challenge themselves for charity then we are all ears! Simply contact us at info@projectseagrass.org
For nearly 10 years I have been teaching, writing, tweeting, speaking, blogging, presenting and workshopping pretty much around the clock, in my role as a science teacher, a diving instructor, and now presently as a Science Communicator here at Project Seagrass. I’ve learnt to use all the communication tools I can – from websites, books, and newspaper articles to photographs, videos, lectures and feature documentaries. I’ve done my level best to communicate science using kindergarten science kits, through to syllabus prescribed carbon chemistry, and through delving into the emotional narrative and philosophy that I surround climate change discourse with at the college level. Yet I still struggle with doubt that I’m not doing enough to communicate the importance of science and what science means to humanity. Principally what it means to adopt a rational, logical and Fact-Based Worldview. In this brave new world of ‘alternative-facts’ and an open war on science, and after the untimely news of the passing of a personal hero of mine Hans Rosling (a grief shared by many I’m sure), I felt it pertinent to put my stake in the ground for science. Furthermore, it was important to articulate my LOVE on Valentine’s Day – both for science (the pursuit of truth) and of course for my beloved “ugly duckling” – our disappearing seagrass meadows. Show your love for seagrass meadows this Valentine’s Day I guess this blog sort of starts with my trainee teacher year in 2007, and the need I had to learn to communicate national curriculum prescribed science to my science classes. At the time, I did my best to become a ‘good teacher’; I read up on the latest science, and I delivered the facts as I knew them to the class, making sure they would have the right information, to get the right answers come exam time. I ticked all the right boxes. All that information was important (of course!), but I did worry that by being so calm, clinical and methodical in my pedagogy, that perhaps I was implicitly sending the message that some of the more existential science we covered (global phenomena like climate change and ocean acidification) were these just more facts to learn on the way to exam success. I thought maybe the planet wasn’t in a crisis at all… After all, why else would I be so calm about it? Working as a Science Teacher is a privilege, but also a great responsibility. Perhaps another reason I struggled was because of guilt. To quote Naomi Klein; “Climate change is intergenerational theft”. Shouldn’t I be discussing how this makes my students feel? Shouldn’t I be showing more anger at the path we are choosing to follow? Shouldn’t I be doing everything in my capacity to open their eyes to these issues and encourage them to alter the course we’re taking? Luckily for me, in 2006, Al Gore released a ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, a documentary film about former United States Vice President Al Gore’s campaign to educate citizens about global warming and the science of climate change. (Quick heads up – ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’ will be in theatres July 28, 2017, and whilst I am here, you should also watch Before The Flood, November 6, 2016) To quote Naomi again; “The safety and habitability of our shared home is intensely emotional terrain, triggering perfectly rational feelings of loss, fear and grief”. Yet, despite these occasional emotionally charged narratives, climate discourse is often a clinical affair, weighed down with statistics (but yes we still need them!) and political jargon. Even in the sunshine, collecting data to be made into statistics can be an unengaging affair! Unfortunately, the tone of scientific discourse often fails to capture the feeling of what we stand to lose. Casting my mind back I remember when I first watched this passage from Al Gore I cried. (video link through text); “You see that pale, blue dot? That’s us. Everything that has ever happened in all of human history, has happened on that pixel. All the triumphs and all the tragedies, all the wars all the famines, all the major advances… it’s our only home. And that is what is at stake, our ability to live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilization. I believe this is a moral issue, it is your time to seize this issue, it is our time to rise again to secure our future.” It made me realise that sometimes we need to go beyond statistics, and harness emotions if we are to communicate a real sense of importance. Ever engaged with the humble seagrass meadow! Seagrasses have been termed the ‘ugly ducklings of marine conservation’ ecosystems and there are enormous stakes of losing these productive carbon sinks and fisheries powerhouses. I have previously written that the loss of seagrass meadows is a carbon time bomb and we have even tried to link our science to what we think people care about… “For the love of cod, let’s save our disappearing seagrass” I’ve been quoted before stating that it is the people we love and care about that depend on seagrass and have tried to phrase this in the simplest way I know how; “So many coastal fishing communities are dependent on coastal health. To put it simply, if there are no baby fish, there are no adult fish and if there are no adult fish, there is no fishing industry” I’ve even put my signature on the World Seagrass Association’s statement, and a ‘call for action’ to protect ‘the lungs of the sea’. However, despite all this, I still don’t feel that the emotion, the genuine care and passion for raising awareness of this ecosystem is getting across in my message. So, let me attempt a new tactic, one that moves beyond the statistics and the science. Let me simply declare a LOVE for the most underappreciated, unrecognised and unknown of marine ecosystems, the humble seagrass meadow. Seagrass you are Fulsnygg! Fulsnygg (Ugly-Beautiful) is Swedish, and is the feeling that somebody (or something) is attractive despite its lack of
Hello! My name is Sarah Jane Pope and this year I am running the London, Edinburgh and Stockholm marathons this year to raise money for Project Seagrass. I’ll get straight to the point… You can sponsor me here! http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SJPopester I decided to take up this challenge because I wanted to help support Project Seagrass cause, and help the team on their mission to raise awareness of seagrass meadows. Over the last 3 and a half years I have learnt so much about these amazing ecosystems and I have been constantly impressed with the dedication these guys have shown. It has taken a lot of personal sacrifice to build a charity from scratch in your spare time! It’s incredible to see how Project Seagrass has grown, from being a small NGO based out of our living room (i’m RJ’s girlfriend), to being a registered charity in both England and Wales (1162824), and now in Scotland (SC0467) However, despite the great cause, it’s also a personal challenge for me. I have a point to prove to myself. Back in 2013 I was training for the Edinburgh marathon with RJ and his pals to raise money for WWF Scotland when on my final long run (the 20 miler) I tripped over a tree root and injured my Iliotibial band (IT Band) – gutted! So now I’m back fit again, and ready to push myself a for a good environmental cause! Back in 2013 I had to look on as the team raised funds for WWF I first announced this challenge back in November 2016, when the sun was shining and we were experiencing unseasonably mild Autumn temperatures. I was perhaps naively expecting training conditions to be similar to what they had been like when I was training before in the south-west (Bristol / Cardiff / Swansea), which although inevitably WET, were WARM (or mild at least)! However, this was not the case! Scotland can be impressively cold! On the east coast, we are sheltered from much of the precipitation, and so we do get days which are cool and crisp. On days like these it is almost a pleasure to be training… November was cold and crisp However, on other occasions, when it does rain / sleet / snow the thought of going for even just a quick 5-mile run doesn’t bare thinking about (although I begrudgingly do it anyway!). The snow can be beautiful, but it can also be brutal. Also, the romance of snow is utterly ruined, there is very little magic in running in a snowstorm, although sitting with a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate knowing that you’ve earned it go’s some way to convincing you that this was a good idea (even though you can’t feel your fingers and or your face). Anyway, I thought I’d write this quick blog as I’ve just passed a landmark in my training – the ½ marathon! On Saturday RJ and I ran 14 miles around Arthurs Seat and The Meadows and we’re both feeling good with where we are at… I’ll check in again, closer to the time, but in the meantime, sponsor me! SJ x If anyone, like SJ, has a desire to challenge themselves for charity then we are all ears! Simply contact us at info@projectseagrass.org
There’s an odd bunch of people with a strange sounding passion – a passion for seagrass. You’d think that anything with grass in its name might be boring, especially when compared to ecosystems like tropical rainforests, filled with birds of paradise or the vast savannas of Africa filled with elephants and migrating wildebeests. However, seagrass ecosystems hold a few surprises that might make you change your mind. 1. Seagrass buffers against ocean acidification. Seagrass uses carbon from the surrounding water in order to photosynthesise and grow. As the carbon is taken out of the water and into the plant, the seas acidity decreases. This may protect coral reefs from bleaching and allows corals to have calcification rates that are up to 18% higher. Seagrass helps coral to thrive. 2. Seagrass protects our coastline. As well as helping coral reefs, seagrass also helps to stop our coastlines from being eroded away. Even when a turtle has got the munchies and nibbled the seagrass right down to the roots, or a storm has come through ripping some of the meadow away, then seagrass still protects our coastlines despite its damaged state. The remaining stumps and strands reduce the energy crashing on to our shore lines by slowing wave speeds. A green turtle munching on seagrass. 3. It’s still sensitive! Just because seagrass keeps giving when damaged does not mean it is surviving. Seagrass restoration is a tricky and slow process. The conditions must be just right- when the surrounding bed is damaged the water will be flowing faster, taking with it any seeds or new shoots, as soon as the bed is damaged a vicious cycle of degradation begins. Scars in a meadow as a result of boat propellers ripping up the seagrass. 4. Endangered animals call seagrass home. When our local shop has sold out of iceberg lettuce, then we can try something else green and leafy, maybe some spinach. A lot of seagrass residents don’t have this luxury however, for dugongs it’s munching on seagrass or a rumbling tummy. Many endangered seahorse species can relate to this reliance on seagrass as it’s their one safe home where they can blend in and hide in the scenery. A grazing dugong. 5. It helps put food on our plates! When a meadow is in good condition then it provides protection for juvenile fish, including those which are commercially important. The Walleye Pollock, for example, is one of the world’s top 10 most landed fishery species and it commonly relies on seagrass to be a safe haven for it’s young to grow big and strong before ending up on our plates. For some communities the plant itself is also an important food source; the Seri grind the seeds to make a porridge like substance and others eat a part of the plant called the rhizome, raw. Florida Bay scallop growing strong in a seagrass bed.
In a previously life I was a Secondary School Science Teacher, and I was privileged to work at a fantastic school (alongside some of the most innovative and enthusiastic teachers the UK has to offer). I know these teachers took their pedagogy seriously, and I was reminded of this dedication when I saw a few familiar faces at ‘the bett show’ this week. Bett is the former British Educational Training and Technology Show and showcases the use of information technology in education. Founded in 1985, it is held annually at the ExCeL centre in London, England. The mission statement of bett is ‘to bring together people, ideas, practices and technologies so that educators and learners can fulfil their potential’. Transforming Education – The mission statement of the bett show Each year I attend bett, but I do so these days whilst looking through a different pedagogical lens. I attend with the explicit aim of learning about how advances in information technology could be harnessed by science communicators to help enhance marine education. In this case, our Project Seagrass – Seagrass Education and Awareness (SEA) program. There are numerous small exhibitors offering a suite of novel technologies To give you a flavour of the innovators that attend bett we should perhaps focus on a recent success story. One of the stand-out exhibitors of the past few years has been Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi is a series of credit-card sized, single-board computers manufactured in Wales by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Their mission statement is to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools and in developing countries. Just this week Google has announced it is planning to bring artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to the Raspberry Pi… don’t panic though, there are still plenty of other options for complete beginners! So was there anything could be useful for marine education at bett this year? Well yes, quite a lot actually. Immersive interactive were demonstrating their immersive classrooms for primary, secondary and special education needs education. Their stand demonstrated how a combination of high-end graphics, sound effects and animations could transport a child from the classroom into an ‘atmospheric panorama’ of the chosen place; be that an ancient Egyptian tomb, a humid Rainforest, or in my head, a Seagrass Meadow bustling with life! “‘It’s ‘not a teleport’, but at the moment it’s the ‘next best thing!’” Another take on creating a virtual reality though technology is ClassVR, which manufacture virtual reality headsets designed specifically for use in schools. Whilst wearing this headset I was able to take a dive into the open ocean with a Great White Shark, a friendly fella who swam right out of the blue to come and check me out. Virtual Reality in the Classroom One of the interesting developments for me personally was Kudlian’s new service; they now offer Civil Aviation Authority licensed lessons to use drones in schools. At Project Seagrass we have used drones for mapping coastal habitats and the scope for scientific advancement using this newly accessible technology seems limitless at the moment! In primary and secondary schools Kudlian propose using drones for; • Literacy – creative writing using aerial video and photographs; writing control manuals • Math – estimating and measuring heights, speed, distance travelled, time taken, angles, bearings • Computing – drones can be programmed using mobile devices • Geography – GPS logging, map reading, course planning • Media Studies – aerial footage in videos and media work • Physical Education – film matches and plays from different angles, • PSHE – debate the ethics of using drones and, of course, Science! The final exhibitor that struck a chord with me this week was AIPTEK. Whilst not specifically targeting pedagogy, AIPTEK definitely strive to make mobile teaching easier by developing a number of ‘mobile projection’ products. I was particularly impressed with the Boombox Projector P800 (a HD Projector with 360° Sound-System). For those of us who spend time at Science Festivals, or on the road travelling to give talks (in sometimes small and remote places) this is an all-in-one portable system that projects a clear picture whilst offering a crisp sound. Perfect! On a personal note, it was great to see ‘Hwb’ at bett this year! Hwb is a website and collection of online tools provided to all schools in Wales by the Welsh governement. It was created in response to the ‘Find it, Make it, Use it, Share it’ report into Digital Learning in Wales. The main site contains over 88,000 bilingual resources. In addition teachers and learners with accounts can sign in and access a range of other online tools and resources. Included in this is a school specific Learning Platform (Hwb+) It was great to see a Welsh presence at bett 2017 At we believe that education is the best approach to generate both awareness and understanding of both seagrass and the marine environment. Please support us in delivering our work by sponsoring SJ on her Three Before Thirty martahon challenge! Thanks and best fishes! RJ
With every year that passes we’re given a unique opportunity to look back and reflect on what we’ve achieved. I’ll be honest, every year since our inception in 2013 we’ve been immensely shocked at just how much we’ve achieved given that we’re on a shoestring budget. 2016 was certainly no different. January We kicked off 2016 with a bang as Richard and myself released our paper discussing the “The perilous state of seagrass in the British Isles”. This was subsequently picked up by the BBC and the Daily Mail amongst others. Additional to this, RJ headed to the BETT show in London to explore the potential use of IT in marine education. Every year, the BETT show sees some of the most innovative education service providers and distributors “take to the stage”, and it opened our eyes to the potential that technology has for marine conservation – a theme that would shape some of our ideas for the year to come. In January Ben and Richards paper made the headlines February Fast forward to February and we were continuing to build on the momentum be built up in January with a hugely successful Seagrass Education & Awareness (SEA) day with Ysgol Morfa Nefyn, complete with seagrass species sand monsters and even a seagrass meadow treasure hunt! We completed the first (albeit cold!) Seagrass-Watch survey of the year, and checked up on our restoration trial that we’d started back in November 2015. Unfortunately, winter storms had battered the site which we’d chosen, and after finding a few seed bags out of the sediment, we weren’t sure of the success of their placement. However, we did observe some signs of germination which gave us hope for the future. Further to this, I was invited to speak live on BBC World News on the topic of marine litter, and we saw a pivotal moment for seagrass research, with seagrass featuring on the cover of Nature. In February Ben was invited to speak live on the BBC. March When I think back to March, it almost seems as though that month alone deserves its own blog post. Back in 2015 we entered the #PeoplesProjects, a competition held by the Big Lottery Fund and ITV to win up to £50,000 of National Lottery money. The Peoples Projects aimed to give organisations the chance to build upon previous projects they had completed with help from the Awards For All funding scheme. We came up with Mission SEA, which aimed to bring the ‘coast to the classroom’ and the ‘classroom to the coast’ to engage Wales’ children with our marine natural heritage. The education scheme we proposed, which would have involved 15,000 children from the counties of Gwynedd, Ceredigion and the Isle of Anglesey, sought to teach children about the resources that our seas provide, whilst inspiring them to become future guardians of our oceans. Although we didn’t win the funding, we finished in the Top 5, and we accompanied the campaign with our hugely successful Project Seagrass Official Launch and the launch of our novel seagrass mapping application, SeagrassSpotter. March was also the month we made our views clear on the EU referendum. “Don’t let the UK become a fish out of water: For the sake of our seas let’s stay in the EU.” Finally Leanne and Richard released a publication that explains in simple terms how to improve the health of the worlds seagrass, at the same time releasing a summary video on YouTube! In March our “Mission Sea” outreach activities were a great success! April While SeagrassSpotter picked up its own pace throughout April, RJ took a lead in expanding the range of Project Seagrass to Scotland, opening a new base of operations, albeit from his living room, in Edinburgh. I spent time in Cambodia, setting up a Cardiff University research project and additional time in Myanmar taking the first detailed look at seagrass communities in the Myeik Archipelago. In April Ben had help on his hunt for seagrass in Myanmar May In May I presented some of my work at MSEAS in France at a conference focussing on understanding marine socio-ecological systems (including the human dimension in Integrated Ecosystem Assessments) and later this month Greg (our regional ambassador for the East of England) conducted some outreach at The Deep in Hull. Richard attended a Zostera Experimental Network gathering in Davis, California. In May Richard attended a Zostera Experimental Network gathering in Davis, California June In June we discovered some long lost seagrass (the first time Zostera marina has been recorded at the location since 1891!) and RJ and Lauren delivered a very successful event at Glasgow Science Festival’s Science Sunday Big Birthday Bash! The stickers, postcards and posters were a huge hit with Glasgow’s young folk so we made sure we had plenty of materials to hand out to Scotland’s next generation of marine biologists! In June the Glasgow Science Festival was a huge success! July July kicked off with a trip down south for Lauren who did some work with the Cornwall IFCA to help understand the juvenile fish value of seagrass in Cornwall. At the same time Laura was working with James Duffy (a PhD student from Exeter University), they began a summer of mapping seagrass using a variety of drones in Wales. Ben and Josie did some outreach with many of the thousands of people who enjoyed Kate Humble’s inaugural Big Day Out festival. Richard led a workshop in Makassar, Indonesia in collaboration with Hasanuddin University and Alex joined us in the field on a Work Experience placement. To round off July, Richard gave a plenary talk about seagrass and food security to The 1st Indian Seagrass Ecology Conference. In July Lauren headed south to work with the Cornish IFCA August In August we heard of our success in applying for charitable status in Scotland and RJ helped to run a workshop at IMCC4 on “Bringing fishermen to the table” using online “Bambuser” technology. A simple concept, yet one that marks a pretty important development considering a lot of commercial fishermen (from both developed and developing countries) who cannot attend conferences like IMCC4 or other such events. In August we were awarded Charitable Status in Scotland: Charity number SC046788 September In September, Evie organised the delivery of some excellent outreach at the British Science Festival and the team began assisting the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) with the development of a seagrass and dugong e-resource kit.
As I sit at my desk looking back at 2016 it occurs to me that one of the biggest challenges we faced as an organisation was “getting the word out” about ISBW12. It’s one thing getting the global seagrass community on board (and transported to a VERY SMALL village in north Wales!), but it’s quite another communicating the importance of such an event to the public… Why should they care? The benefits of bringing the global seagrass community to our home patch have been numerous, and not just linked to what knoweldge and experience we have taken from the experience as a team. Intangiably we have also helped raise the profile of seagrass ecosystems in a country where traditionally they have been little discussed or even acknowledged. Part of the job of communcating this conference was therefore in marketing ISBW12 through social media and traditional media channels. Social media communication is a medium in its own right, but there is still a lot to be said for the value of a coherent press release. Whilst not all of your press releases may make the final cut and get published, it is still worth taking the time and effort to customise your press relases to suit the particular news outlet, be that for a global provider such as the BBC, a national newspaper or more local press. “Know your audience” – rural Wales will have a different appetite for news to urban Scotland. For example, below is a press relase I wrote specifically for The Scotsman newspaper (this one was never used since I was invited to write an opinion piece instead). The key here was to acknowledge the audience. The event was taking place in Wales, so why should anyone in Scotland care? In this case it was important to take the time to personalise the piece to the audience, principally how does it relate to Scotland? For example, are Scottish scientists involved? Or are Scottish scientists attending? Knowing your audience and news outlets writing style is key to getting the word out there. We recieved a lot of news coverage during the conference and a lot of that success comes down to being prepared to tell the same story but in a different way… I want to wish the best of luck to the team oraganising ISBW13! I hope this little reflection provides some insight effective science communication. What I must stress though is that there is no substitute for expertise, and so I want to publically acknowledge the contribution of science communication guru Edd Hind-Ozan in making ISBW12 such a success! Personally i’ve learnt a lot from you… So cheers buddy, it wouldn’t have been the same without ya! RJ Press Release Example: Scottish scientists support global call to protect “lungs of the sea” More than 140 scientists have signed a statement ahead of next week’s International Seagrass Biology Workshop, urging the world’s media to publicise the plight of one of the planet’s most overlooked, yet important natural environments – seagrass meadows. This includes scientists based at Scottish marine conservation charity ‘Project Seagrass’. Seagrass meadows, like those we have in Scotland, are critical habitats for marine life and are a home to many species important to the national fishing industry, such as cod and plaice. “Seagrass meadows are at least as economically and ecologically important as better known tropical rainforests or coral reefs,” said marine scientist Richard Lilley, founding director of conservation charity Project Seagrass and co- ordinator of the Scottish Seagrass Network. “Globally, seagrass meadows create an amazingly productive habitat for a plethora of fish and well-known seafood species like seabreams, lobster and shrimp”. A signatory to the statement, Lilley continued, “Destruction of seagrass meadows leads in turn to the loss of the marine animals they support. Protecting such value into the future is critical.” ‘ECONOMICALLY AND ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT’ The statement highlights the global importance of seagrass meadows, which are comprised of underwater flowering plants rather than the more common seaweed. These “powerhouses of the sea create life in otherwise muddy environments”. The statement describes how the ocean prairies are “key fishing grounds”, as well as “one of the most efficient oceanic stores of carbon on earth”, the latter meaning that they play a crucial role in preventing human emissions of carbon dioxide contributing to damaging climate change. The statement, organised by Project Seagrass co-director and president of the World Seagrass Association, Dr Richard Unsworth, calls on all national governments and international policy-makers to “take local, regional and global action to ensure the future survival of seagrass meadows”. The motive for the statement’s release is to bring an end to “the loss of seagrass from human induced impacts such as poor water quality, coastal development, and destructive fishing.” In Scotland, much work is already being undertaken by scientists and conservation charities to prioritise these threatened habitats. This includes the development of a new initiative called ‘Seagrass Spotter’, a ‘citizen science’ project which any member of the public can volunteer to take part in. SeagrassSpotter, downloadable as a smartphone or tablet app (www.seagrassspotter.org), encourages the general public to report sightings of seagrass around the Scottish coast. “So far, Seagrass Spotter has been embraced by a number of groups around the Scottish coast with sightings coming from the Isle of Barra to the Firth of Forth. But, we need to understand more about where our seagrasses are and their health status. By taking photos and answering simple questions about the seagrass we can begin to understand more about the status of this amazing resource.”, explained Lilley. ‘SECURING A FUTURE FOR SEAGRASS’ NERC funded PhD student Maria Potouroglou of Edinburgh Napier University has been quantifying the extent to which Scottish seagrasses are able to absorb and store carbon dioxide in the coastal sediments. “Seagrasses in Scotland have already stored around 20 Megatonnes of carbon dioxide in our coastal sediments, stored carbon that would otherwise have ended up in our atmosphere contributing to climate change”. Keen, however, to emphasise that humans are also the answer to the travails of seagrass, the marine experts raise hope through
Let me introduce ‘SJ’ (Sarah Jane Pope). SJ has been with Project Seagrass from the very start, she used to act as our secretary when we were based out of the front room of my house in Swansea; collecting post, answering the phone, and sending mail on to the relevant people… Things are a bit more formal these days! SJ has been a keen supporter of Project Seagrass since it began. SJ is a keen runner and owner of a massage company called SJ Holistics based in Edinburgh, she specializes in offering Swedish, Deep Tissue and Pregnancy Massage, but also offers general conditioning advice. Like others at Project Seagrass, SJ likes to challenge herself, and she will be blogging about her upcoming challenges on her website… which brings me to the subject of this blog post! SJ has agreed to run 3 marathons next year for Project Seagrass: The London Marathon on the 23rd April, the Edinburgh Marathon on the 28th May and then just seven days later, the Stockholm Marathon on the 4th June! The London Marathon is always well supported and a big day for charities SJ worked as a massage therapist at last years Edinburgh Marathon so has seen what it takes The idea behind the challenge is three-fold, first, SJ has never run a marathon and has always said she wanted to do “three before thirty” and with time running out she needed to get on the case! Second, she was keen to raise money for a good cause (so what better cause than Project Seagrass!?) and finally to use the marathons as a platform to raise awareness of seagrass internationally. Marathons can be great opportunities to get your charity seen by many people and so we hope to make the most of these three events! SJ has already been training in the Pentland Hills We will be hoping to collect sponsorship in the weeks ahead so make sure you check back with us to see how the training is progressing! The link to SJs sponsorhip page is here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SJPopester Personally, I have completed two marathons in my life, and one of the hardest challenges (particularly for London) is the training that needs to take place through the winter months. For SJ this marathon will be even harder than mine since she will be training through a Scottish winter! Training throughout the cold Scottish winter will be one of SJs biggest challenges I’m sure you’ll join me in thanking SJ for her continued support of Project Seagrass and wishing her the very best with her training program as the nights draw in! Good luck SJ, the seagrass thanks you! #TeamSeagrass
It’s already been one month since the 12th International Seagrass Biology Workshop began at Nant Gwrtheyrn in Wales. This time last month the world’s foremost seagrass scientists were descending on the Llŷn Peninsula and the Project Seagrass team were in the midst of the final preparations for hosting the largest International Seagrass Biology Workshop in recent times. Immediately prior to the conference The World Seagrass Association released a statement that had been endorsed by 122 scientists across 28 countries. The statement described how the international seagrass research and conservation community together with the World Seagrass Association called on all governments and global institutions to take local, regional and global action to ensure the future survival of seagrass meadows. This statement was instrumental in generating media coverage, and the conference was picked up by both local and national media outlets including the BBC. The conference itself kicked off with a healthy dose of #OceanOptimism which set a positive tone for the rest of the week. We learnt how seagrass science is reaching new audiences and how citizen science projects and novel educational tools are bringing seagrass meadows to the general public like never before. “Securing a future for seagrass” – Ocean Optimism was a central theme running thoughout the conference. The presentations and workshops that formed the bulk of the conference program provided numerous occasions to discuss the current key themes in contemporary seagrass science. These themes range from from ‘Blue Carbon’ and ‘Ecosystem Services’ to ‘Genetics’, ‘Physiology’ and ‘Resilience’. Critically, the conference also afforded the opportunity to discuss local management solutions to recreational boating impacts. Here the conference provided an opportunity to harness global seagrass knowledge and expertise in attempting to address a local concern. Despite the travel and costs involved, conferences really are one of the best ways of facilitating the sharing of expert knowledge amongst scientists and other concerned stakeholders. Workshops enabled delegates to draw on scientific and management expertise from across the world. Mid-way through the conference we had organised a ‘fieldwork’ afternoon where delegates would have free time available. This was either an chance for them to take time and space for themselves or to take the opportunity to visit some of the local sights and attractions. The field trips organised by the commitee included a historical trip to Caernarfon Castle, a local guided walk around Nant Gwrtheyrn and what turned out to be an extremely popular Porthdinllaen nature walk and seagrass meadow visit. Never before has our local meadow received so much attention nor have we had so much valuable input as to the state of the Porthdinllaen meadow – so thank you all for that! The seagrass meadow at Porthdinllaen has never received so much attention! After local field trips, one of the favourite elements of any conference I have attended has to be the Poster Session(s). This is an opporunity for scientists to stand by a poster of the research they have done and use it as a tool to communicate their work to other scientists and managers. I enjoy these sessions primarily because you can spend as much time as you want with the researchers and really get to understand the context and methods behind the research being conducted. Personally, I thought the quality of posters presented at ISBW12 were some of the highest I have seen at any conference anywhere and I’m sure we were all impressed with the contributions from our student (and pre-student!) researchers. So well done #TeamSeagrass! So many of the posters were truly excellent! Including this poster from Theodora and Helen Horangic. As the conference week drew to a close the Conference Dinner provided a great opportunity for colleagues to relax and celebrate what had been a fantastic week of seagrass science. It was also the opportunity to inform everyone that the next conference, the 13th International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW13), which will be in Singapore in 2018. Dr Siti Maryam Yaakub SJ was able to share with us that the location of ISBW13 will be in Singapore in 2018. As the sun set on the final night of ISBW12 I felt a strong sense that this conference was surely just a springboard to the greater recognition of seagrass meadows globally. It’s great to see so many scientists sharing their stories in the media and championing the seagrass cause in their local area. One month on it’s up to us to make sure that the “Seagrass Surge” of ISBW12 was not just a flash in the pan, but the start of a genuine global movement to put seagrass meadows alongside other marine ecosystems at the centre of marine discussion. As the sun set on ISBW12 I believe the sun is only really beginning to rise on seagrass science as a whole. A big thank you to everyone who participated in ISBW12. It was a genuine pleasure to host the seagrass community in Wales and we are very much looking forward to seeing you all again in 2 years time… Until then! Keep up the good work! #TeamSeagrass
