Seagrass planting bids to restore nature along Scottish coastline
The £2.4 million project aims to plant 14 hectares of seagrass, described as a wonder plant, 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 with an estimated 7% of seagrass meadows being lost every year.
Launched on World Seagrass Day on Saturday, the initiative is a partnership between the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution.
Grants have been awarded to four organisations that span the whole of Scotland, from Shetland to the Kintyre peninsula.
These are: Mossy Earth's Wilder Firths project; Kintyre Coastal Network's East Kintyre Biosphere; Wester Ross Fisheries Trust's seagrass planting project; University of the Highlands and Islands – Restoring Shetland's Marlie Meadows project.
Seagrass is home to a vast number of species, and is a food source for many others.
It 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 and containing 8,000 species or more.
SMEEF is hosted by NatureScot, whose chief executive Nick Halfhide said: 'This is a wonderful example of business and the public sector joining forces to make a real difference to improve the health of our seas, helping to tackle the nature and climate emergencies.
'Nature and climate are closely linked; if one is suffering, the other will be as well.
'So we need to take care of our seas, and our seagrass, and restore nature at scale.'
Shirley Robertson, SSEN Distribution's head of strategic planning and sustainability, said: 'We are honoured to be involved in this ongoing partnership and welcome these four organisations, based in SSEN's north of Scotland distribution area to the programme.
'Their support will further enable the vital restoration of these areas of seagrass, previously lost around some Scottish coasts.
'The positive contribution of seagrass to the environment cannot be underestimated, which is why at SSEN we made the commitment in our 2023-28 business plan to help fund the restoration of these underwater meadows.'
Scotland's Acting Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said: 'It is great to see this investment by SSEN into seagrass restoration, which will benefit wildlife and coastal communities all around Scotland and which really demonstrates the value of SMEEF as an innovative vehicle to attract investment into nature.
'Tackling the twin nature and climate crises cannot be achieved by any government alone – securing private investment is vital to meeting the scale of these challenges.'
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