Over the past three days, Jasmine and I have been helping out with seagrass seed collection at Spurn point. The fieldwork we participated in will contribute towards ‘Wilder Humber’, a partnership programme between Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Ørsted, with aims to restore Humber habitats and biodiversity.

Wilder Humber is a five-year programme targeting marine habitats and species within the Humber estuary. This restoration effort is being made following Natural England’s decision that the estuary was in ‘unfavourable condition’ in 2012. The habitats within this area are invaluable for marine life, and the programme hopes that a ‘seascape-scale’ approach to restoration within the Humber; targeting seagrass meadows, saltmarsh, sand dunes and native oysters, will be beneficial to biodiversity throughout the estuary.

During our time working at Spurn Point this week, the focus was on seagrass restoration. Wilder Humber hopes to enrich 40 hectares of protected habitats within the estuary, 30 of which are seagrass meadows. With this in mind, we had to work hard to collect as many seagrass seeds as possible during our time in the field!

The seagrass seeds are carefully harvested by hand, and then sieved to separate the seeds from the mud and sand that can get picked up during the collection phase. Once sieved, the seeds can then be moved to a tank beneath a UV light, where they can continue to develop and the rotting phase can begin. During the rotting phase, fully developed seeds will drop to the bottom of the tank, where they can be collected. The seeds are then placed in handmade seed bags, ready for the planting season. A Pottiputki tool is then used to plant the seagrass seed bags in the sand, ready to start growing and restoring the seagrass meadow.

Why is seagrass so important?

Seagrass is an incredible natural carbon capture store, and can therefore act as a great nature-based solution in combatting climate change. These seagrass meadows act as carbon sinks, with the ability to capture carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforest. They also act as a nursery for several marine species, can help stabilise sediment on the seabed, and assist in improving water quality.

With all these benefits, you can start to understand the importance of projects like Wilder Humber, and the purpose behind restoring these precious marine environments!

Find out more about Wilder Humber and the seagrass journey at www.wilderhumber.org.uk