Manx Wildlife Trust
Seagrass Restoration
Sea-Changers' grant:
£1200
Year:
2020
"It was a privilege and enlightening to be involved in the Isle of Man’s first seagrass transplant research project. Two dives, one hundred and sixty plants, four core samples, and more! Fingers crossed for the new seagrass meadow!"
Seagrass is an important marine habitat for many species but it is also estimated to uptake carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests making it one of our most important natural solutions to the climate change crisis. This research project, a collaboration between Manx WT and Seasearch, trialled the establishment of a new seagrass bed in an historic site off the Isle of Man coast. Sea-Changers funded dive boat hire for several dives during which volunteer Seasearch divers transplanted seagrass plants at this historic site and a further site was assessed for suitability for creation of a new seagrass meadow.
It's too early to tell how successful the transplanting has been but the team at Manx WT are monitoring the sites closely to see if the seagrass thrives and are sharing progress with DEFA.
