The Climate Project: Seagrass

What is The Climate Project: Seagrass?

Seagrass, the world’s only marine flowering plant, has all of the properties of an underwater carbon-locking super plant. But many people still don’t know what it is or the great carbon capturing properties it has. The Seagrass Ocean Rescue project is working with the BMC to spread awareness of this special habitat and bring it back to our Welsh waters.

Why protect seagrass?

There are two true seagrass species in the UK that form incredible, dense underwater meadows. These meadows host thousands of marine species, including our two native seahorses! Seagrass provides food, shelter and breeding grounds for larger species like catsharks and turtles, and smaller species like whelks, starfish and anemones.

Did you know that seagrasses are one of our most important natural solutions to the climate crisis? Seagrasses sequester, or capture, carbon dissolved in our seas at a greater rate than tropical forests! In fact, carbon is taken from the water and used to build the seagrass’ leaves and roots – once the plants die, the carbon can then be stored in the seafloor for thousands of years!

Unfortunately, we have lost up to 90% of British seagrass meadows in the past 100 years, mainly through disease and human-induced poor water quality. Globally, it is estimated that the equivalent size of two football pitches of seagrass is lost every hour.

Seagrass Ocean Rescue

Protecting what seagrass is left in Wales is essential. The Seagrass Ocean Rescue project - a collaboration between North Wales Wildlife Trust, Project Seagrass, WWF, Swansea University and Pen Llŷn A’r Sarnau SAC and funded by several funders including the National Lottery Heritage Fund - is aiming to do just that!

The exciting project engages with volunteers, local community groups and stakeholders to get involved with some hands-on seagrass restoration work in North Wales. In August 2023, hundreds of thousands of tiny seagrass seeds were hand collected at one of the UK’s largest seagrass meadows in Porthdinllaen on the Llŷn Peninsula! These seeds will then be cleaned and processed in Swansea University’s laboratories, before returning to North Wales to be prepped and planted by staff and volunteers in specially chosen sites!

Dive into some seagrass volunteering

As well as the volunteering dates above, currently you can get involved with the Seagrass Ocean Rescue project by running your own self-led citizen science, by becoming an individual volunteer with Project Seagrass or by joining North Wales Wildlife Trust with your community group or society with regular site visits and hands-on opportunities available.

• Visit North Wales Wildlife Trust’s website and follow their social media channels to keep up to date with the Seagrass Ocean Rescue project
• Contact Project Seagrass at volunteers@projectseagrass.org to register as an individual volunteer or join the ‘Project Seagrass Volunteers’ Facebook Group to keep up to date with upcoming opportunities.
• Contact Reece Halstead of North Wales Wildlife Trust at reece.halstead@northwaleswildlifetrust.org.uk if your community group is interested in getting involved

The Climate Project: Seagrass is a campaign by the BMC's Access and Conservation Trust. Working alongside North Wales Wildlife Trust.