Project Seagrass Fragment Planting Walks

As part of Project Seagrass's restoration efforts around the Solent, we will be restoring 3.5 ha of seagrass. For this project to be a success we need the support of the local community! - This is where you come in!

During the winter storm season, strong winds and waves dislodge fragments of seagrass which then wash up along local shores. We will be harvesting and replanting any of these dislodged fragments found along the beach from St Helens.

Location: Meet by the Old Church at St Helen's. This is a pay and display carpark, however there is free road parking and buses to the site.

Meeting Point: Old Church

We will begin the day by meeting at the Old Church before heading out to the site. Our usual route will be followed, but in reverse order for this visit.

Plan for the Day

• Meet at the Old Church
  Brief welcome, overview of the day, and safety notes.

• Head to the furthest plots first
  As the tide will be out when we start, we will take advantage of this by going directly to the previous plots first.

• Monitoring and inspection
  We will check and monitor the earlier planting sites and assess how they are progressing.

• Collecting fragments on the return journey
  As we work our way back, we will collect suitable fragments along the route.

• Transporting fragments to the nursery
  The fragments will not be planted on the day. Instead, they will be taken back to the nursery to propagate, with the aim of supporting and supplementing our ongoing planting projects.

• Wrap-up and return
  Final check-in and end of activities back near the starting point.

Personal Kit: 

• For this event you will need a set of wellies and suitable clothing for the weather (we will be walking through some shallow water at times so wellies or equivalent is a must to take part) 
• We will be out processing fragments for between 2-3 hours, remember your layers! 

Project Seagrass will provide: Gloves and antibacterial gel, as well as all the necessary kit for harvesting fragments, and spare head torches (We are a small charity and so we cannot guarantee we will have spare torches, if this is an issue please contact us before the event and we will be happy to help- a hand held torch will also be acceptable).

Important Note! We are not limited by weather conditions, so we will not be cancelling upon wet and windy weather. In the unlikely event that we do have to cancel, we will contact participants by email. 

We are really looking forward to meeting you. 

Project Seagrass Team