As our Fragment Walks from the 2025/26 season come to an end Project Seagrass Intern Anya Lamparelli reflects on this year’s efforts. A seagrass fragment is a precious and vulnerable thing. Torn free by winter storms and strong swells these delicate shoots with intricate root systems still attached wash ashore
Residents and visitors to the Isle of Wight can now access information about the Island’s important seagrass habitats thanks to new signage installed through support from Seacology. The signage has been installed by Project Seagrass as part of ongoing efforts to protect and restore seagrass ecosystems within the Solent. The signs
As our Fragment Walks from the 2025/26 season come to an end Project Seagrass Intern Anya Lamparelli reflects on this year’s efforts. A seagrass fragment is a precious and vulnerable thing. Torn free by winter storms and strong swells these delicate shoots with intricate root systems still attached wash ashore from subtidal seagrass meadows. If left stranded on the sand they will soon dry out, but on the Isle of Wight they are being given a second chance. Once a month at low tide, volunteers gather at Priory Bay, all eyes trained on the shoreline for a flash of green. Seagrass! Each fragment found is carefully collected and replanted into a growing community meadow. Since the initiative began three years ago 311 volunteers have joined the Project Seagrass team. Collecting 1,104 fragments over 16 fragment walks. 624 fragments have been replanted at Priory Bay, covering an area of 27 m2. Each month the volunteers revisit what they have already planted and monitor how the meadow is establishing, making field observations on what factors might be influencing its growth and survival. The remaining fragments have been replanted at the Seagrass Nursery in South West Wales; they will soon be used to support the team’s wider restoration work in the Solent. Fragment walks unfold under all conditions. Brilliant unbroken sunshine, pink sunsets, and cold grey mornings where the sky and sea blur into one. Yet the turnout remains steady, demonstrating the interest in and growing connection to seagrass meadows in the Solent. Many volunteers bring with them a deep lived knowledge of the coastline. They know how the beach shifts through the seasons, where sediment builds and erodes and when storms have reshaped the coast. This local insight has become an invaluable part of the project, helping guide where and how we replant seagrass. In turn, we can share our knowledge of ecosystem restoration and marine life. Creating a shared partnership where practitioners and locals learn from each other. Project Seagrass are working to restore 3.5 hectares of seagrass on the Isle of Wight as part of the Solent Seascape Project. Fragment walks allow us to trial new restoration methods while connecting with the local community. Thank you to every volunteer who has joined us in the Solent, we look forward to welcoming you back when the fragment walks restart in September 2026.
Residents and visitors to the Isle of Wight can now access information about the Island’s important seagrass habitats thanks to new signage installed through support from Seacology. The signage has been installed by Project Seagrass as part of ongoing efforts to protect and restore seagrass ecosystems within the Solent. The signs have been designed to raise awareness of seagrass meadows around the Isle of Wight in addition to highlighting ways that individuals can support these fragile ecosystems including through participation in Fragment Walks and uploading seagrass sightings to citizen science tool SeagrassSpotter. New seagrass signage installed at St Helen’s Duver Members of the Project Seagrass team installed new signage at locations on the Isle of Wight Two signs were installed in Seaview, the location of one of the Island’s extensive Zostera marina meadows and where Project Seagrass, Blue Parameters, and WarrenBoats have recently installed two Advanced Sustainable Mooring Systems (ASMS) to relieve pressure on the Island’s important seagrass habitats. A further sign has been installed at St Helens Duver, Priory Bay, the location of the start of our Fragment Walks and the site of one of our active restoration sites. Further poster versions of the signs will be installed at Ryde and other locations around the Island. Anouska Mendzil, Senior Science Officer at Project Seagrass and Swansea University said “The Isle of Wight is an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, home to some of the most ecologically important marine and coastal habitats under threat – seagrass meadows. Across the Isle of Wight, new information signs now share the story of seagrass restoration and conservation, an effort led by Project Seagrass and the collective power of local community action, to contribute and enhance ecosystem recovery.” Seagrass signage installed at Seaview slipway Signage installed on the Southern Water building at St Helen’s Project Seagrass is grateful for the generous support from Seacology for making the creation and installation of these seagrass signs possible. Project Seagrass is also thankful to our stakeholders for their continued support and permission to install the signage.
