Seagrass Gets Major Boost On Island As Regeneration Efforts Continue

Hundreds of thousands of seagrass seeds have been planted across the Solent as part of the largest restoration effort undertaken by the Solent Seascape Project to date.

On the Isle of Wight, work at Thorness and Priory Bay saw 175,416 seeds and 1,154 seagrass transplants planted by Project Seagrass, helping to restore an area larger than one-and-a-half football pitches. Across the Solent, further planting has taken place at Calshot and along the River Hamble.

Volunteers played a key role in the success of the programme, assisting with seed collection, preparation and planting. More than 60 volunteers took part in the latest phase of the project, contributing over 100 hours of work at Calshot alone.

Seagrass meadows provide an important habitat for marine species including seahorses, pipefish, cuttlefish and thornback rays. They also help capture carbon and stabilise seabed sediment, supporting efforts to tackle climate change and coastal erosion.

Anouska Mendzil, Senior Science Officer at Project Seagrass and Swansea University, said the success of restoration projects depended heavily on volunteers, whose support, local knowledge and long-term commitment help protect and improve important marine habitats.

The latest planting follows a major seed collection effort last summer, when volunteers contributed more than 600 hours of work at sites including Seaview and Calshot.

This year's work means more than four football pitches worth of seagrass have now been planted on the Isle of Wight, with the wider Solent Seascape Project aiming to restore the equivalent of nine football pitches overall.

The five-year initiative brings together a range of organisations to restore seagrass meadows, saltmarsh, oyster reefs and seabird habitats across the Solent.