WATCH: Eden Project seagrass video shows why plant is so precious
Last month, an acoustic study of St Austell Bay unearthed a thriving ecosystem and highly effective carbon sink on the seabed. One of the largest of its kind in the country, it spans 887 acres of Cornish coastline.
According to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the newly ‘found’ seagrass endow is highly encouraging, but also a cause for quick action to protect this vital asset. It’s believed 56 individual species call the habitat home, while the flora itself is considered to be one of the most powerful naturally occurring forms of carbon capture on the planet.
There’s a problem, though. While we are becoming increasingly aware of how important seagrass is, many people still see to be in the dark in terms of what seagrass is, and how it functions. Clearly picking up on this, the multi-award winning Eden Project has produced a new animated film to make things a little clearer.
It also casts the decline of this precious plant in sharp relief, with 40% of UK seagrass meadows believed to have been lost forever in the last 40 years. Narrated by Dr. Imogen Napper, a marine conservationist, and marine biologist and broadcaster Monty Halls, this beautiful educational piece is now on show at the Eden Project’s Core Building.
As not everyone can get to England’s far South West that easily, though, we’ve embedded the full video below to help spread the word. Produced in partnership with Natural England, the release is part of a wider initiative called ReMEDIES (Reducing and Mitigating Erosion and Disturbance Impacts affEcting the Seabed).
This involves £2.5m being spent on marine conservation of five years with the aim of restoring and expanding seagrass meadows in five areas of England’s south coast. The project is funded by EU LIFE and involves input from The Royal Yachting Association, Marine Conservation Society, Ocean Conservation Trust and Plymouth City Council/Tamar Estuaries Consultative Forum.
“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,” said Rhiannon White, Eden’s Content Curator. “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.”
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Image: Eden Project / Natural England