NURSERY
NURSERY
In 2020 we set up our pilot nursery project to determine whether we are able to grow mature seagrass at scale to support restoration efforts in the field. The long term aim for the nursery will be to produce seagrass seeds and propagules in semi-controlled conditions to maximise germination success rates and seedling survival.
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Our nursery was the first of its kind in the UK. Initially just working with Eelgrass, Zostera marina, we have since developed the nursery to also house Dwarf Eelgrass, Zostera noltii.
In 2020, we built the UK’s first pilot seagrass nursery and have since run several planting trials to assess the biological factors affecting seagrass germination and growth. We have successfully grown mature eelgrass (Zostera marina) which have produced flowers and subsequently produced seeds.
Here, we developed our first large-scale controlled seed storage unit – housing over 600,000 seeds from 2 locations across the UK in 2022 and over 1.2 million in 2023. The seeds are stored in a way designed to inhibit germination so they can be kept long-term until they are ready to be planted.
In 2020, we built the UK’s first pilot seagrass nursery and have since run several planting trials to assess the biological factors affecting seagrass germination and growth. We have successfully grown mature eelgrass (Zostera marina) which have produced flowers and subsequently produced seeds.
Here, we developed our first large-scale controlled seed storage unit – housing over 600,000 seeds from 2 locations across the UK in 2022 and over 1.2 million in 2023. The seeds are stored in a way designed to inhibit germination so they can be kept long-term until they are ready to be planted.
Since developing the nursery, we saw a need for a global network to share knowledge, successes and failures. We co-founded the Global Seagrass Nursery Network (GSNN), running quarterly seminars and hosted a seagrass nursery workshop at the International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW) in Annapolis, collaborating with world experts and supporting developing nurseries globally.
After successfully growing and housing eelgrass seedlings, we are now working to successful grow dwarf eelgrass, Zostera noltii, cores to begin assess their optimal growing conditions and support restoration trials.
Since developing the nursery, we saw a need for a global network to share knowledge, successes and failures. We co-founded the Global Seagrass Nursery Network (GSNN), running quarterly seminars and hosted a seagrass nursery workshop at the International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW) in Annapolis, collaborating with world experts and supporting developing nurseries globally.
After successfully growing and housing eelgrass seedlings, we are now working to successful grow dwarf eelgrass, Zostera noltii, cores to begin assess their optimal growing conditions and support restoration trials.