https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd65j7jd3z5o
'A £2.4m seagrass planting programme has been launched to help restore the
plant in seas around the north of Scotland.
The project aims to plant 14 hectares (34.6 acres) of seagrass, often described
as a "wonder plant" by conservationists, over the next three years.
Seagrasses are often likened to rainforests because they provide food and
shelter for thousands of species, but they have been declining globally since
the 1930s.
In the last century 92% of the plants have been lost from Britain's coasts and
areas once covered by seagrass are now "lifeless seabeds", according to
research by University College London.
The new initiative is a partnership between the Scottish Marine Environmental
Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).
Grants have been awarded to four organisations that cover areas from Shetland
to the Kintyre peninsula.
These are Mossy Earth's Wilder Firths project (based around the Black Isle),
Kintyre Coastal Network's East Kintyre Biosphere, Wester Ross Fisheries Trust's
seagrass planting project and Restoring Shetland's Marlie Meadows - a project
by the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Seagrass is home to a vast number of species, and is a food source for many
others.
It can purify water and slow down waves, protecting coastal areas from flooding
as a result.
The plant also takes in CO₂, making it useful in tackling climate change.
The partnership said Scottish seas are a special place for marine habitats like
seagrass, with the country's coasts stretching 18,000km (11,185 miles) and
containing 8,000 species or more.'
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-sustainable-dispersed-tourism/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
