Tag: workshop

Seagrass meadows and their elusive inhabitants, dugongs, are under threat across Asia. To tackle this, conservation experts, policymakers, and researchers from across the region gathered in Bangkok in February 2025 for the First Asian Regional Dialogue on Seagrass and Dugong Conservation. The goal? To find real, actionable solutions to the challenges facing these vital ecosystems. At this event, we were invited to share our learnings from over two decades of hands-on experience across Asia, where research outputs from our executives, Leanne, Ben and Richard, have been pivotal in shaping understanding of the crucial role seagrass meadows play in supporting livelihoods and food-security – research that embraces our social-ecological systems approach to seagrass conservation. Our CEO, Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, whose own seagrass journey began in this region more than two decades ago was delighted to attend the event, reconnect, and talk about the Global Goals, specific global challenges for seagrass, and need for robust data achieved through broader scientific approached and transdisciplinary collaboration. Leanne presenting at the First Asian Regional Dialogue on Seagrass and Dugong Conservation Bridging the Gaps in Policy While many Asian countries already have laws to protect seagrass and dugongs, enforcement remains a challenge due to budget constraints and fragmented conservation efforts. Some countries manage seagrass and dugongs separately, which weakens conservation impact. Experts at the dialogue called for stronger, integrated policies, better coordination between government agencies, and increased scientific input to guide decision-making. Better Mapping & Data Sharing Accurate data is key to protecting seagrass meadows, but many countries struggle with inconsistent monitoring and difficulty accessing research. Political and security concerns can also make cross-border data sharing complicated. At the dialogue, Leanne emphasised the importance of community-driven data collection, improved mapping techniques, and innovative technology to track seagrass health and dugong populations. In her presentation, she highlighted how citizen science (building on our SeagrassSpotter programme) can drive more effective conservation. Participants also discussed the need for regional cooperation in data sharing to bridge knowledge gaps – efforts we’re leading by making SeagrassSpotter data accessible to all. A Coordinated Approach to Conservation From government agencies to NGOs and private companies, many groups are working to protect seagrass and dugongs – but often in isolation. The dialogue highlighted the need for better knowledge-sharing, and we hope to lead that charge. Our own strategic objectives align closely with the key outcomes of the dialogue. The message from the event was clear: protecting dugongs and seagrass in Asia requires stronger collaboration and smarter policies. By building on our own expertise and strengthening regional partnerships, we will secure a future where these vital ecosystems, and the communities that rely on them, continue to thrive. Presentations and a summary of the event from the organisers can be found here. Global expects converge to address gaps for seagrass and dugong conservation in Asia.

Between the 8th and 10th April 2025, Project Seagrass will join other scientists and conservation professionals in Arcachon, France for the 2nd European Seagrass Restoration Workshop. Hosted by The Seagrass Consortium the workshop follows on from the inaugural workshop held in Portinho da Arrábida, Portugal in 2010.   The 2025 workshop is centered around coalition and shared learning with the theme “Towards a European Seagrass Restoration Alliance” which centres the conference’s aim to mark the start of a new era for transnational collaboration for seagrass restoration in Europe.  Members of the Project Seagrass team will be involved in the following:  Workshops Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Richard Unsworth and Dr Per-Olav Moksnes (Göteborgs universitet) will be co-hosting a workshop on Zostera marina seagrass restoration with a focus on disseminating operational techniques whilst also exploring potential project synergies and the opportunity for future collaboration.  Nursery Lead, Emily Yates will be co-hosting a workshop with Dr Laura Govers (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) on the role of Seagrass Nurseries in supporting the scaling of seagrass restoration efforts in the field, but critically for developing the scientific knowledge that underpins restoration success.  Talks In her talk, Project Seagrass CEO, Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth will talk about the planetary role of seagrass conservation noting that seagrass is part of the highly complex jigsaw of planetary recovery. Everywhere there is seagrass, there are people that depend on it for food, subsistence, or cultural fulfilment. It delivers planetary and human wellbeing across its near global range. Seagrass has previously been dismissed as the ugly duckling of the marine world. But there is beauty in a plant that sustains millions of people across the globe. In fact, this marine plant contributes to most of the targets within 16 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals but it’s only as a connected, collaborative society that will we be able to rise to the global challenges facing seagrass. Dr Richard Unsworth will deliver a talk on current and future perspectives of Zostera marina seagrass restoration. Senior Scientific Officer, Anouska Mendzil will deliver a talk on the UK’s largest in-field seagrass (Zostera marina) scientific methodology planting trials, the Seagrass Ocean Rescue: Solent programme. Funded by WWF, the programme aims to identify and test the most successful and efficient planting methodology to enable increased seed germination and survival for active restoration projects at scale. The talk will discuss the methodologies utilized as part of the trials as well as emphasizing the importance of funding for monitoring being accounted for within projects long after the active restoration stage has been completed. Posters Alongside the workshops and talks, members of the team will be presenting posters at the conference.  Seagrass Restoration Research Assistant, Bridget Patterson will present a poster on the unpredictable challenges currently faced by temperate intertidal seagrass restoration projects, sharing lessons learned from Project Seagrass’ involvement in the Seagrass Ocean Rescue: North Wales programme. Bridget will discuss the reasons that intertidal Zostera marina planting efforts on the Llŷn Peninsula were unsuccessful as well as sharing the most effective planting method in this area.  Bridget will present a second poster calling for data for a new seagrass restoration meta-analysis. Building on our own Project Seagrass restoration data, we will be calling for other data from any seagrass restoration attempt. The aim is to build a meta-analysis that includes satellite-derived abiotic data to compare methodology and environment on a global scale. Bridget will discuss the findings of our meta analysis and talk to other restoration bodies about adding their data. Senior Science Officer, Dr Hannah Green’s poster will present the findings from experiments carried out at the Project Seagrass Seagrass Nursery to investigate the impact that timing, planting method, and sediment type used for Zostera marina seagrass restoration had on germination rate and seedling establishment under semi-controlled conditions in a nursery setup. Science Officer, Emma Fox will present a poster on Nanozostera noltii transplants. Higher success rates are needed to scale up seagrass restoration to ensure the level of ocean recovery required. An increasingly used method across the Northwest Atlantic has been the transplantation of Nanozostera noltii cores, resulting in varied success. This method relies upon the use of natural beds as donor material. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the impact of core removal on the natural beds in deciding whether this is a suitable restoration method when scaling up. To increase knowledge and develop best practices, recovery of the donor meadow was looked at across sites in Essex, South Wales and Scotland. Emma’s poster will present data from these sites, examining the length of time for the natural bed to recover and the variation in recovery rates. This research has implications for beds selected as donor material and, subsequently, has led to the development of trials using Nanozostera noltii from the Project Seagrass Nursery. Explore the full ESRW programme via the European Seagrass Restoration Alliance website.