In the ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series, we are promoting knowledge exchange from restoration projects around the world. As part of Solent Seascape Project, the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and Project Seagrass are partnering to restore a combined total of seven hectares of seagrass beds. Seagrass meadows are internationally important habitats, serving as crucial nursery and spawning grounds for commercially important fish species, and playing a vital role in coastal protection and the fight against climate change. In this post, Iona Haines from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme speaks to Ellie Parker, Marine Officer on the Solent Seascape Project to find out more about seagrass restoration and the Seagrass Champions – a network of volunteers crucial to the project’s success.
Iona Haines: Could you introduce yourself and explain your role in the Solent Seascape project?
Ellie Parker: I work for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust as the marine officer focusing on our seagrass restoration efforts. I collaborate closely with Dr Tim Ferrero, who leads our seagrass restoration work. My role involves supporting the practical aspects of the project, managing our Solent Seagrass Champion volunteer programme, and coordinating various engagement events and activities.
Iona Haines: Could you explain the current state of the seagrass meadows in the Solent? What factors have led to their decline and why is restoration necessary?
Ellie Parker: We have internationally important seagrass meadows in the Solent, with two species of seagrass: Nanosostera noltei, which is also known as dwarf eelgrass, and Zostera marina, which is known as common eelgrass. These are the two main UK species, but there are 72 species of seagrass worldwide.
Seagrass meadows are incredible habitats that provide nursery and spawning grounds for commercially important fish species like plaice, pollock, cod, and sea bass. Sea bass actually spends seven years in the Solent and its estuaries before joining the migratory adult population. Seagrasses are the only marine flowering plant across the world. Unlike algae, they have roots, rhizomes, and veins which transport nutrients and minerals throughout the seagrass leaves and produce flowers and seeds.
Their roots help to stabilise sediment and their long leaves slow water flow rates and currents, protecting our shoreline from coastal erosion. They also have the potential to be fantastic carbon stores. They photosynthesise and take carbon dioxide out of the water column. That habitat function, where they have these long leaves that slow down water flow rates, encourages particles of organic matter, including carbon, to settle down into the seabed. Because of the salty and anoxic conditions, this means that the carbon can be locked and buried away. They also help to clean water by taking nutrients out of the water column. They’re amazing habitats.
Ellie Parker: Around the UK, we’ve lost up to 90% of our seagrass meadows over the past 100 years. The main reason is thought to be a wasting disease called Labyrinthula zosterae, which devastated seagrass in the 1920s and 30s. Modern pressures include coastal development, poor water quality from agricultural runoff and sewage, and impacts from recreational boating and fishing.
We have evidence that seagrass used to be very abundant up the River Hamble, but when we did a survey in 2011, we didn’t find a blade of it. Wildfowlers in Langstone Harbour talk about how there used to be so much seagrass that even when the tide went out, they used to be able to drag their boats along the seagrass because it was holding so much water. A lot of that seagrass has now disappeared.
Iona Haines: Thank you for explaining, I’m actually from the Solent area, so I find this all extra fascinating.
Ellie Parker: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s it. When we’re having these conversations and we talk to people who’ve been fishermen living in the area for 70 years, they’ve seen a big change in coastal habitats. Where there used to be seagrass or kelp, for example, now there’s none. So we’re asking our volunteers to help us look into historic records of seagrass in the Solent. They want to explore different avenues, like local history societies, sailing clubs, or just speaking to their local community to gather that local knowledge of where seagrass used to be. It’s really exciting to build more of a picture of what we used to have in the Solent.
Iona Haines: Would you be able to explain a bit more about the initiative and who the Seagrass Champions are?
Ellie Parker: Absolutely. We’ve now got over 270 volunteer Seagrass Champions signed up across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and they help us with all aspects of our seagrass restoration work.
In terms of surveys and monitoring, volunteers come out with us, learn the Seagrass Watch+ methodology, and are trained in those techniques. After training, we support them, but they collect the data, increasing their confidence and competence. Because of the amazing response, we’re now training some volunteers as Seagrass Survey Leaders. They receive training in outdoor first aid, risk assessments, PPE, and health and safety. We also teach them how to lead others, conduct risk assessments, and lead Seagrass Watch surveys.
Our work is limited by the number of low spring tides in the Solent, when the seagrass meadow is exposed, and we can reach them on foot. We have various sites and tasks, so by training Seagrass Survey Leaders, they can lead volunteer groups on the Hampshire coastline, for example, while we lead another group on the Isle of Wight. This increases our community reach, engagement, and the amount of data we collect on the health and condition of the existing beds.
Iona Haines: You’ve got such a great response, and it seems to be really popular. What have people said to you about why they want to volunteer?
Ellie Parker: Mainly because it’s something that’s practical and very positive. I think because it’s restoration and people feel that they can actively do something to contribute to the marine environment, it helps to ease eco anxiety and the fear that comes from climate change and biodiversity loss.
Seagrass meadows are also really wonderful places to be. We can do our work in the intertidal so you’re able to just put your welly boots on and walk out into this amazing habitat and see all this incredible marine life.
I think what Ian describes really nicely in the video is the sense of community and bringing people together. We’ve had people who have said that they were going through quite difficult times and that getting involved in the project – and volunteering and being outside and meeting people – has been hugely beneficial for them.
Iona Haines: Has anything surprised you about working on this project?
Ellie Parker: I think just how collaborative it is. We meet our volunteers at 5:00 AM on the shore, and the fact that people get up at dawn to do a seagrass survey is incredible.
That’s been very heart warming and reassuring. People care and want to make a difference where they can. It needs everybody working together, with different strengths. Even if it’s just a conversation with a friend, it raises awareness about seagrass and the Solent Seascape Project.
Iona Haines: I’ve got one final question. Why are the Seagrass Champions so important to the success of the project?
Ellie Parker: We simply wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our volunteers. It’s about having the numbers on the ground to support us. For the seed collection, surveys and monitoring, we need those numbers out on the shore.
Projects come to an end, funding comes to an end, and it’s the community or the legacy that keeps the work going forward. That’s why it’s so important to engage with them and spread the word because they’ll ultimately keep the work moving forward.
The Solent Seascape Project is supported by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme and East Head Impact. This article was first published on the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme website. To find out more about the Solent Seascape Project, visit their project page. If you’re interested in volunteering, see here. Cover image © Jodie Higgins.
Discover more posts from our ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series here. If you have an idea for a blog that would fit into this series, please contact Catherine Waite.
