Plymouth's underwater success story for COP26 

Planting grass on the seabed in Plymouth is one of the UK’s green success stories being shared at COP26 in Glasgow. 
 
The ambition to take seagrass seeds from healthy underwater meadows, cultivate them in the laboratory and then plant a total of eight hectares sounds like science fiction. But already one hectare – the equivalent of 2.5 football fields - has been planted at Plymouth Sound Special Area of Conservation (SAC) earlier this year. A further half hectare will be added in late November and early December. 
  
Visitors enjoying the Green Zone programme of events at Glasgow Science Centre will hear the story of England’s largest seagrass planting effort thanks to the LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES partnership, along with other nature-based solutions from Natural England at the Inter-Agency Climate Change Group stand.  
  
Fiona Crouch, the ReMEDIES project manager for Natural England, said: “The seabed is a mostly hidden environment but its features are important for wildlife and people. 
  
“Collecting and cultivating seagrass seeds before replanting them is a first for England at this scale. But it is only part of the job. Raising awareness of these sensitive seabed habitats, their location and importance, and inspiring people to care for them is vital if our work is to have a lasting impact. And being at COP26 to share this message will only help.” 
  
Seagrass meadows provide important habitat for young fish and for protected creatures like seahorses and stalked jellyfish. Seagrass also helps clean the water as well as capturing and storing carbon. But recent research has suggested that the UK may have lost up to 92 per cent of its seagrass1. Natural England is leading the four-year, £2.5m partnership, funded by the EU Life Programme, to protect and restore seabed habitats in five SACs in southern England. 
  
ReMEDIES’ restoration lead – the Ocean Conservation Trust - aims to plant four hectares of seagrass in Plymouth Sound and four hectares in the Solent Maritime SAC.   
 
ReMEDIES is also working to protect existing seagrass meadows. Through its partner, the Royal Yachting Association, it is engaging the recreational boating community to find out more about the impact of anchoring and mooring practices on the seabed and share best practice guidance with boaters. It is also trialling and installing Advanced Mooring Systems (AMS) for boats. These systems are specially designed to reduce interaction with the seabed.