Project Seagrass

Read the full report here: ow.ly/Oov450YnbG8

Photo by Bobbie Lee Photography
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Endorsed as an official Ocean Decade Activity as part of the United Nations UN Ocean Decade the symposium demonstrated how scientific collaboration and community-driven restoration can contribute to the global mission of healthy, resilient oceans by 2030
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This World Seagrass Day, we're delighted to share the report from the UK Seagrass Symposium 2025!
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Developed as a people-centred funding mechanism, grounded in science, the Fund aims to build capacity, close knowledge gaps, and mobilise funding and resources for local partners.

Find out more about the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund and donate today: ow.ly/CV7s50YgzhM
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Launching today on World Seagrass Day, the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund intends to address these six challenges through long-term investment in people, partnerships, science, and evidence, working across scales from local meadows to global policy.
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The Global Seagrass Challenge Fund exists to change this trajectory.

Scientists have identified six global challenges facing seagrass meadows, six interconnected priorities that need to be addressed if we are to conserve seagrass globally.
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Despite their immense value, seagrasses continue to disappear at alarming rates, and largely remain unseen, undervalued, and underfunded.

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Seagrass meadows are one of our planet’s most important yet overlooked ecosystems. They protect coastlines, sustain fisheries, store carbon, and support the livelihoods and cultures of millions of people worldwide.
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Six global challenges. One powerful solution: Introducing the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund.

Donate this World Seagrass Day to secure a future for seagrass: ow.ly/CV7s50YgzhM
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From conversation to commitment: reflections on Coastal Futures | Project Seagrass Despite global challenges, the Coastal Futures Conference brought together a hopeful community determined to make 2026 a year of real action

In a new blog article, Project Seagrass CEO Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth reflects on how the Coastal Futures Conference brought together a hopeful community who despite global challenges are determined to make 2026 a year of real action.

Read here:

Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes | Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures | Cambridge Core Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes - Volume 4

As the UK’s first major seagrass restoration project, integral to the long-term success of the project in Dale has been the co-production between scientists, stakeholders, and local communities.

Read more: www.cambridge.org/co...
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Effective marine restoration requires far more than sound ecological science.

Our new paper presents Dale in West Wales as a case study of the importance of co-production, in support of long term sustainability for marine restoration projects.
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At the UK Seagrass Symposium 2025, Rebekah Bajkó presented on their research, Coastal Roots: The History of Seagrass in Northern Ireland.

In a new blog article Grace Cutler, one of our 2025-26 Project Seagrass interns, reflects on Rebekah’s research: ow.ly/cMGi50XZAGq

A vibrant poster with a green background showing a red squirrel, Scottish wildcat, and puffin wearing party hats. They are surrounded by green and pink confetti, streamers, and balloons holding up a banner that reads: “MSPs voted to pass the Natural Environment Bill! Scotland WILL have legally binding nature recovery targets.

Big win for Scotland’s nature! The Natural Environment Bill passed by MSPs will bring in legally binding targets to restore wildlife and habitats. Huge thanks to LINK’s members and supporters who helped make this happen! Let’s keep pushing for strong action and funding to restore Scotland’s nature.

In a new blog article Ewan Garvey, one of Project Seagrass’ Interns for the 2025-26 academic year, explores the role that seagrass plays in providing protection for our coastlines.

Read here: ow.ly/K0su50XKbO1

📸 Seagrass under Sorrento Pier, Australia. Credit: Sam Glenn / Ocean Image Bank

Seagrass meadows could be good for your health – yet they’re disappearing fast Marine biodiversity underpins human health such as at Porthdinllaen in north wales where seagrass is part of a marine social ecological system.

We argue that healthy coastal ecosystems such as seagrass meadows are not optional extras, but essential infrastructure for resilient societies.

Read more in our article in The Conversation: theconversation.com/seagrass-mea...

Our new paper in the journal BioScience applies this idea to seagrass meadows for the first time: academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

The One Health concept (a term now widely used by the World Health Organization) captures this connection by recognising that human health, animal health and environmental health are inseparable.

Yet growing scientific evidence shows that marine biodiversity is fundamental to the health of people, animals, and the planet.

By contrast, the benefits of the ocean are more commonly associated with fishing, exciting creatures such as whales and dolphins, or adventure watersports, rather than as a living system that directly supports human wellbeing.

The wellbeing benefits of nature are often linked to forests or habitats that support diverse pollinators. Spending time in green spaces reduces stress and anxiety, for example.

Read here: www.projectseagrass....

Photo: Seagrass bed, Lakshadweep Islands Credit Umeed Mistry Ocean Image Bank
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In a new blog article Jasper Brown, one of Project Seagrass’ Interns for the 2025-26 academic year and 3rd Year Student in BSc Zoology with Marine Zoology at Bangor University, explores the need for both active and passive restoration to secure a future for our important seagrass habitats.
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Importantly for those planning their own projects, SeagrassRestorer provides a unique opportunity to learn not just from each other’s restoration successes but, perhaps more importantly, each other’s restoration failures.

🌱 Open Access
🌍Global Data
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SeagrassRestorer allows users to share and download information on where, when, and how seagrass restoration projects have been undertaken.
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Since its launch, 51 organisations globally have recorded 61 projects and 224 seagrass restoration sites on SeagrassRestorer! 🌱

Explore the platform here: ow.ly/8v7g50WtU3H
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LinkedIn This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

Explore SeagrassSpotter data and upload your own: https://lnkd.in/g5yYpnn
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Looking to contribute to global seagrass monitoring?

Aligned with the seagrass Essential Ocean Variable, seagrass sightings uploaded to SeagrassSpotter are linked to the GBIF: The Global Biodiversity Information Facility and Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) with all data being open access.
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Implementing these guidelines will support the collection of more comparable, compatible, and combinable seagrass data.

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This new paper provides a global framework for seagrass monitoring as an Essential Ocean Variable, key to aligning seagrass researchers and managers around a common approach to seagrass monitoring.
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