Plant your own wee seagrass meadow with Mossy Earth

Plant your own wee seagrass meadow! Over the next 2 years, the Mossy Earth Wilder Firths team are working to restore 4.2 hectares of seagrass meadows in the Inverness, Beauly and Cromarty Firths, and we'd love for you to help! 

What is seagrass coring?

Seagrass coring involves using sections of pipe to take "cores" or sods of sediment containing seagrass plants and roots from a donor site, and transporting them to a recipient site.

When you transplant a core of seagrass, the sediment you collect has a whole plant in it - roots, stem, leaves and all. This gives a plant the best chance of surviving in its new home. 

Where we'll meet

The Life Sciences Innovation Centre is on the UHI campus, right opposite the main building, and has plenty of car parking outside. We'll car share from here to our seagrass sites.

The activity is in two parts. On each day, we'll first travel to Longman Bay, near Milton of Culloden, to collect our seagrass cores. Then we'll transport them straight to Redcastle, west of North Kessock, to be planted. We hope to transplant 75 cores of seagrass each day.

Good to know:

• This event is for over 18s only. You'll need to be able to walk over short patches of rough, rocky and muddy ground, and be steady on your feet.
• We'll provide all equipment.
• Waders are needed for this activity as we spend a lot of time kneeling in the mud! If you don't have your own, please let us know what size you need when booking and we'll provide some.
• If you do book and then can't make it, please cancel your place so someone else can join. Spaces are limited to 2 per day.
• Dress warm and take some spare layers. Don't wear your best clothes - be prepared to get a bit muddy.
• Things may change at short notice - we don't go out in severe winds, rain or snow! We will always contact you if things change.
• Any questions, just ask: wilderfirths@mossy.earth

Why seagrass matters

Seagrass meadows are important  because they support many creatures, including shellfish, spawning fish like plaice, and even seahorses. They help to protect coastlines from flooding and erosion by stabilising the seabed and absorbing wave energy. They also store carbon, so can help fight climate change! Sadly, around 92% of seagrass meadows in the UK have been lost in the last century, mostly since the 1980s,  so restoring these meadows is vital for the resilience of our coastlines and fisheries for the future.

You can find out more about our seagrass restoration and what we've achieved so far on our YouTube channel and our website.