Playing our Part in Protecting and Restoring our Seagrass Meadows
Last week the team were back working on a project close to our hearts at CMS.
Blue Meadows is a project dedicated to protecting and restoring the vital seagrasses which grow in our seas. Seagrass meadows are a haven for biodiversity, defend our shorelines by anchoring sediments and absorb and store vast amounts of carbon.
We are committed to supporting the important work being carried out by the Ocean Conservation Trust, to explore the seagrass meadows and discover how much carbon is being stored.
We have been carrying out seabed sampling projects around the South Coast to provide the vital samples needed for the Trust’s scientific partners to analyse and try to work out how much carbon is stored, how quickly, and where it is most prolific.
Our team were working in Mounts Bay, Penzance and St Austell Bay on two sites of interest, collecting 3m cores samples which will now be sent to specialist labs at Exeter and Plymouth Universities for detailed analysis to measure carbon content, seabed composition and a whole host of other useful data for this project. The results will contribute to the Cornwall County Council led Blue Natural Capital project, funded by Defra and EAs Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF).
The team mobilised early Monday morning in Penzance Harbour and collected nine core samples from the Mount Bay seagrass meadows, before the vessel departed and steamed to Fowey. The team drove down to rejoin the vessel the following day and collected another nine samples in the St Austell meadows, which are one of the largest and most interesting in this region. The samples were unloaded at the end of each day and carried on their journey to the labs for analysis. Having successfully completed the site investigations for Blue Meadows the vessel and our team then headed off to Dartmouth to start another scope of work.
It was a very mobile, fast moving and demanding week for our team of geologists and operators, requiring them to be flexible and able to adapt to constantly changing environments. They delivered the results our clients were hoping for and we are very proud of the high level of professionalism shown throughout the week by them all.
We will continue to provide our support and resources to the Blue Meadows initiative in the coming years and we are proud to be playing a vital part in this important project, helping to protect and revitalise this precious resource hidden in plain sight beneath the water.
You can find out more about the project and how you can play a part by visiting the Ocean Conservation Trusts, Blue Meadows website, or visiting the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth where you can see the seagrass plants being nurtured for our future.