World Seagrass Day

Living Coasts is marking a day dedicated to a vital wildlife habitat that few people have ever seen.

Seagrass is a flowering plant that forms dense underwater meadows in shallow, sheltered, coastal areas. These underwater gardens are home to many species, help support local communities and capture and secure carbon (in fact they trap carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests)

They are under threat; global estimates suggest an area of seagrass around the same size as two football pitches is lost every hour. Protecting what is left is vital – and that’s where Living Coasts comes in. Curator Clare Rugg explained: “For several years we worked with the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth on the Community Seagrass Initiative. Living Coasts is now leading the project - this is local people working to save a local habitat with international significance.”

Living Coasts conducts underwater surveys, researches ways of growing seagrass in aquariums, cares for local seagrass beds and partners with people who use the Bay to promote seagrass-friendly moorings for boats.

Search #WorldSeagrassDay.