Seagrass saviours in line for honour

A battle to save the seagrass off the Torbay coast has given Paignton Zoo's Wild Planet Trust the chance of winning a top, David Attenborough-inspired award.
The Trust, together with the Ocean Conservation Trust, have been nominated for the prestigious Great British Wildlife Restoration award.
The competition, which is a new initiative from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, has been inspired by David Attenborough’s ‘Wild Isles’ documentary. It seeks to raise the profile of the hard work being undertaken by zoos and aquariums to help protect native species.
Wild Planet and Ocean, the charity behind the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, have been nominated for their work saving the seagrass.
The two organisations have been working within Torbay to turn the tide on seagrass destruction and ensure that seagrass meadows are recovering.
For Wild Planet Trust, this includes installing mooring buoys to stop boats anchoring and damaging existing seagrass and regularly monitoring the species found within the seagrass meadows, while the Ocean Conservation Trust has been growing and replanting seagrass in St Mary’s Bay. In addition, both organisations have held a range of engagement activities to spread the message about marine conservation.
Seagrass is incredibly important to our ecosystem, as it supports a vast number of species, ranging from young cod and herring to shrimp and seahorses.
Seagrass is also a valuable carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. In addition, these plants help to stabilise the seabed, which in turn helps to prevent coastal erosion and flooding.
Despite being such a vital resource, the UK has lost more than 90 per cent of its seagrass meadows in the last century, due to anchoring, dredging and other damaging fishing methods, as well as poor water quality and environmental changes.
Dr Andrew Bowkett, Wild Planet Trust Projects and Partnerships Manager, said: “We are very excited to be nominated for this award and to be recognised for the work we’ve been doing to support seagrass. As an island nation, rehabilitating our seagrass meadows should be a priority for us all.”
The Blue Meadows initiative is one of 22 projects that have been shortlisted for the Great British Wildlife Restoration Award. Members of Parliament and Members of the House of Lords will now vote for their preferred projects before the winner is announced at a reception in the Houses of Parliament in January.