The Eden Project has teamed up with Natural England to create an animated film that increases seagrass awareness, showcases the UK-based ReMEDIES restoration project and offers practical tips about how we can all make a difference.
The film, on show in Eden’s Core Building, features the voices of broadcaster and marine biologist, Monty Halls, and marine conservationist, Dr Imogen Napper, both of whom are passionate advocates for ocean health, helping spread the word that together we must protect and restore important blue carbon habitats such as seagrass meadows.
The animation explores how seagrass is one of nature's unsung heroes in the fight against climate change and the biodiversity crisis. It provides homes to thousands of species, absorbs and stores significant quantities of carbon, protects coastlines from storms, is a key nursery for fish and improves water quality.
Seagrass is found all over the world, around the coastlines of every continent except Antarctica. The UK is home to three species, over 8,000 rugby pitches worth of meadows, and Cornwall boasts some of the largest. In fact, just down the road from the Eden Project in St Austell Bay, a huge 359-hectare meadow, one of the largest known seagrass beds in the UK, was recently discovered as part of a Blue Carbon Mapping Project led by Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Natural England.
Sadly however, seagrass meadows are a critically endangered habitat. Almost 40% of UK seagrass has been lost in the last 40 years and it’s still declining by up to 10% each year.
Eden’s Content Curator, Rhiannon White said, “It’s been a pleasure to work with Natural England to help raise awareness of such an interesting species and important habitat. Many of us here in Cornwall are often walking, swimming or snorkeling close to some of the biggest seagrass meadows in the country and have no idea, and no idea just how important they are for biodiversity and the climate.
“As well as being beautiful to watch, I hope the animation inspires everyone to do what they can to help protect these critically endangered habitats.”
ReMEDIES (Reducing and Mitigating Erosion and Disturbance Impacts affEcting the Seabed) is a £2.5 million, five-year, marine conservation programme, aiming to increase the area of seagrass meadows in five special areas along England’s south coast.
ReMEDIES is funded by the EU LIFE programme and led by Natural England in partnership with The Royal Yachting Association, Marine Conservation Society, Ocean Conservation Trust and Plymouth City Council/Tamar Estuaries Consultative Forum.
Louisa Knights, Project Manager for Hidden Seas at Natural England said, “It’s fantastic to be able to work in partnership with the Eden Project to showcase our amazing underwater wildlife and the wonderful work that ReMEDIES are doing to help conserve British seagrass meadows.”
Supported by a host of enthusiastic volunteers, the ReMEDIES team are working hard - collecting seeds, growing seedlings in the seagrass lab at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, and planting them out in the sea. Thankfully, conservation projects like this can make a difference, but much more is needed.
The Underwater Heroes animation serves as a call to action and a practical guide – to beachgoers, snorkellers, divers, recreational boaters, and to everyone else, who can help from home by reducing the potential for pollution to enter waterways.
Underwater Heroes was created by Owl’n’Wolf studio, and includes footage provided by the ReMEDIES team as well as archive material and illustrations from The British Library, the Biodiversity Heritage Library and the Prelinger Collection.
Visitors can enjoy the film onsite at Eden in the Core Film Room, and it will be available to watch online on Eden’s website and YouTube channel from today (May 11 2023).
To watch the film, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW9WJZaD9Ds
To find out more, go to: edenproject.com/seagrass, edenprojecttv, and follow the Eden Project on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
To contact the Hidden Seas team at Natural England email: hidden.seas@naturalengland.org.uk
