Blue Meadows is a holistic approach to seagrass protection, regeneration and restoration at scale.

The goal is to protect what we have, and over the longer-term restore what we have lost.

Protect what we have

A vital first step in our approach is our protection and regeneration programme.

Defining the area for protection and regeneration.

We will identify meadows where human activity is a major factor in its poor condition or decline, as well as meadows which are in good condition and have high carbon stores.

Marking the Meadows.

In partnership with Harbour Authorities, identified seagrass meadows will be marked with buoys to clearly define the area to water users.

Providing alternative anchoring options.

We will be installing low impact eco-moorings in partnership with Harbour Authorities. These will be used as an alternative to boats anchoring, removing a major cause of seagrass damage. (Find out more about eco-moorings).

Getting everyone involved.

We have created a platform to engage boat users, local stakeholders and communities with the marine environment, to raise awareness of the importance of seagrass and plan what we can all do to look after it and help it flourish.

Measuring the impact.

The Blue Meadows approach stands out for its emphasis on measuring impact. Each site undergoes at least 3 years of monitoring by our biologist dive team to assess progress through the following:

  • Condition of the seagrass meadow – measuring meadow health and meadow growth.
  • Biodiversity – establishing the key species present in the meadows, and the development of that biodiversity over time.
  • Stored carbon – cores will be taken at each site to provide estimates of stored Carbon and this will support research into sequestration rates.

Restore what we have lost

Whilst protecting and allowing existing meadows to regenerate, we are also working on refining a holistic process to enable large-scale seagrass restoration. To do this we have constructed a 400 square metre purpose-built facility for plant aquaculture. It’s the largest seagrass nursery site in England, where we are researching different restoration techniques!

Scaled restoration of seagrass meadows is hampered by multiple factors, including lack of seeds, poor germination rates, plants only flowering once a year and the high cost of seed collection. Our research and development programme aims to tackle these problems and enable large scale restoration of this important habitat.

Get Involved

How often does the chance to make a real difference come along?

How often do we get to be a part of it?

Our partners

The essence of the Blue Meadows approach is one of the co-operation to solve a critical problem and grasp a wonderful opportunity.

We would like to thank all our partners for helping us bring Blue Meadows to fruition, as without their help, support and knowledge, none of this would be possible.

Protect a meadow – Join Blue Meadows now, together we can make a difference.

Email bluemeadows@oceanconservationtrust.org to find out more.