Seed bags planted to help restore the health of Solent's waters
Four hectares of seagrass is being planted across the conservation area in a first-of-its kind project
Last updated 30th Nov 2021
Volunteers have been preparing 10,000 special seed bags to help boost the underwater eco-system of the Solent.
Research shows at least 44 per cent of the UK’s seagrass has been lost since 1931.
The Ocean Conservation Trust is carrying out planting four hectares of seedbags at the end of November and early December from Milford on Sea all the way to Chichester Harbour.
Volunteers, have been volunteering to pack 10,000 biodegradable hessian seed bags at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth.
This restoration work is part of England’s largest seagrass planting effort under the 'LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES partnership' led by Natural England.
Fiona Crouch, Natural England project manager for ReMEDIES, said:
"This is an exciting moment for our restoration work in the Solent and a real journey for our seeds as they make their way from the seabed to the lab and, eventually, back to the seabed again.
‘As well as restoring seagrass, our partnership is exploring the pressures that seagrass beds are facing from recreational activities in the marine environment. By working together to reduce the impact that these activities can have on the sensitive seabed, we hope to minimise further loss.
"Disease, pollution, and physical disturbance have all contributed to the loss of seagrass. But seagrass is important habitat, providing homes for sea life including juvenile fish and protected creatures like seahorses and stalked jellyfish.
"Seagrass also helps stabilise the seabed, reduce coastal erosion, clean surrounding water, and can be as effective at absorbing and storing carbon as our woodlands.
"The Ocean Conservation Trust is also trialling an alternative method of growing seagrass seeds to seedling using hessian ‘pillows’.
"The biodegradable pillows are stuffed with seeds and grown in the special cultivation lab at the NMA before being transferred to the seabed. Like the bags, the pillows breakdown naturally over time, leaving only the plant behind."
Amelia Newman, Ocean Conservation Trust seagrass cultivation officer for ReMEDIES, said:
“We’ve been working hard to trial new methods of seagrass restoration for the project.
"The advantage of using these pillows is that we can see the shoots come up and control light levels in the lab accordingly.
“Then we can transfer multiple seedlings - pillow and all - onto the seabed once the seedlings are strong, healthy, and their roots have begun to mesh. It gives them a great start and we’re excited to see the results.”
The four-year ReMEDIES project from July 2019 to October 2023 aims to plant a total of eight hectares of seagrass meadows - four hectares in Plymouth Sound and four hectares in the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation.
In spring 2022 there are plans for another half hectare of planting in Plymouth Sound, which will include transferring the hessian seedling pillows to the seabed, as well as two hectares of seed bag planting in the Solent.
In addition to seagrass restoration, volunteers for ReMEDIES and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust are observing recreational activities in the Solent during August and September.
This will give insight into the pressures that seagrass beds are under from shore- and water-based leisure activities such as boating.