More than 100,000 seagrass seeds have been collected from underwater meadows in the Solent as part of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s ongoing efforts to restore one of the UK’s rarest marine habitats.
Volunteers gathered the seeds during low-tide sessions at Seaview here on the Island and at Calshot in Hampshire, carefully collecting mature seed-bearing shoots from seagrass meadows.
The collection forms part of the Trust’s long-term restoration programme, launched in 2021 to help reverse the dramatic decline of seagrass in the Solent. Around 90% of the UK’s seagrass has been lost over the past century due to disease, pollution, dredging and coastal development.
Dr Tim Ferrero, Senior Specialist at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, has said:
“This year’s collection has been a fantastic success and simply wouldn’t have been possible without our volunteers.
“Every seed we collect is another opportunity to bring seagrass back and support wildlife, cleaner water and healthier seas.”
The collected shoots have been transported to the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Marine Sciences, where seeds will be extracted, cleaned and stored over winter before being planted at restoration sites across the Solent next spring.
More than 300 Volunteer Seagrass Champions now support the project, helping collect, process and plant seeds across the region.
The work forms part of the Solent Seascape Project and the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project, which aim to restore seagrass and other important coastal habitats across the Solent.
