Meet the Marine Superhero: Seagrass Festival Returns to The Deep This October

This October The Deep in Hull is bringing back the Super Seagrass Festival, all about one of the quietest but most powerful marine heroes—seagrass. 12th-13th October 2024, come and get involved in real conservation and learn about this amazing underwater plant that helps fight climate change and protect marine life.

Working with Wilder Humber, a partnership between Ørsted and the Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Wildlife Trusts, this year’s festival is the fifth year of a five year project to restore the Humber estuary’s lost biodiversity. But what is seagrass and why should we celebrate it? Let’s dive into this hidden marine world and find out how you can get involved.

What is seagrass, and why is it so amazing?

You may not have heard of seagrass before but this underwater plant is a real superhero in the fight against climate change and marine biodiversity. Unlike seaweed, seagrass is the only flowering plant that grows in saltwater and it has some pretty cool powers that make it vital for our oceans.

Firstly seagrass captures carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, making it a big player in the fight against climate change. Although it covers less than 0.1% of the ocean floor, seagrass stores 10-18% of the ocean’s carbon. So a small patch of seagrass can have a huge impact on reducing carbon in the atmosphere. And seagrass meadows protect coastlines by slowing down the power of the waves which helps prevent erosion and reduce damage from storms.

But it’s not just about climate change. Seagrass is also vital for healthy marine ecosystems. It’s a nursery for young fish like bass and sand eels and even supports bird species like the Brent goose. So restoration of seagrass meadows like the one at Spurn Point is key to boosting biodiversity in our seas.

The Wilder Humber Project: Bringing back marine life

The Super Seagrass Festival is part of the Wilder Humber project which is restoring 40 hectares of lost marine habitats in the Humber estuary. This big project combines seagrass restoration with native oysters, saltmarshes and sand dunes to create a thriving coastal ecosystem.

Andy van der Schatte Olivier, Marine Programme Manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has seen some encouraging signs already.

“We’ve seen an increase in species using the restored seagrass meadows including the critically endangered European eel”

he said. But Andy wants to stress that this wouldn’t be possible without community involvement.

“By coming along to assemble seed bags we can all get involved in restoring this vital marine species”

he added.

So how can you get involved? This year’s festival gives you the chance to get hands on with seagrass restoration at Spurn Point by making hessian seed bags. Last year over 2,000 seed bags were made and this year we hope to beat that record. With these small but mighty seed bags you’ll be helping to sow the seeds of change for the future of the Humber’s underwater world.

What to expect at this year’s festival

The festival isn’t all hard work it’s also full of fun and interactive activities that will bring the magic of seagrass to life. Throughout the weekend you can join Super Seagrass workshops at 11am, 1pm and 3pm each day. Led by expert guides from The Deep these workshops will tell you all about the importance of seagrass in our oceans and how it stores carbon to help fight climate change.

If you’re bringing the kids along they’ll love getting hands on with the seed bag making where they can help put together the bags that will be used to plant new seagrass at Spurn Point. It’s a fun and creative way for them to learn about conservation and feel like they’re part of something big. And for anyone who wants to know more about the science of seagrass there’ll be plenty of chance to ask questions and chat with the experts from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

A history of Humber’s seagrass meadows

The Humber estuary hasn’t always been seagrass poor. In fact before industry arrived in the area vast meadows of dwarf seagrass stretched from Grimsby to Cleethorpes covering around 500 hectares near Spurn Point. Unfortunately from the 1930s to the 1980s these meadows were almost completely destroyed by industrial pollution, poor water quality and coastal development.

The Wilder Humber project is working to reverse that damage by restoring 30 hectares of seagrass at Spurn Point over the next few years. By recreating these lost habitats we hope to bring back the species that once lived there and boost the whole ecosystem of the Humber estuary.

How seagrass is helping to fight climate change

One of the most amazing things about seagrass is its ability to fight climate change by storing carbon. As it grows seagrass absorbs carbon dioxide from the water and atmosphere and locks it away in its roots and sediments. This process known as carbon sequestration reduces the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere making seagrass a vital tool in the global fight against climate change.

On top of that seagrass improves water quality by filtering out pollutants and absorbing excess nutrients from farming and industry. This benefits the marine life that depends on clean water but also prevents harmful algae blooms that can damage ecosystems and even human health.

Seagrass meadows are often called “ecosystem engineers” because they create the conditions for other plants and animals to live. By slowing down the waves they stabilise the seabed which allows other species like saltmarsh plants to colonise. This network of plants and animals works together to create a healthier more resilient coastal environment.

Get involved

If you care about the environment and want to help restore marine habitats then the Super Seagrass Festival is the perfect chance to get involved. Whether you’re making seed bags or attending one of the workshops your contribution will make a real difference to the Humber’s seagrass meadows.

As Katy Duke, CEO of The Deep said: “This is a chance to get involved in Wilder Humber’s conservation work. We look forward to inspiring our visitors to find out why seagrass is such an important marine habitat that needs our help.”

So put the dates in your diary for 12th and 13th October and come to The Deep for a day of fun, learning and real conservation action. Whether you live locally or are just visiting you’ll leave knowing you’ve helped restore a part of the Humber’s underwater world and maybe even learn a thing or two about seagrass!

Seagrass facts

• Seagrass stores carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests.
• Seagrass meadows hold 10-18% of total ocean carbon despite covering less than 0.1% of the seafloor.
• There are two species of seagrass in the UK: Zostera marina (eelgrass) and Zostera noltii (dwarf eelgrass).
• Seagrass prevents coastline erosion and storms by slowing down the waves.
• Seagrass meadows are home to many species of fish, birds and other marine life, nursery habitats for young animals.

By attending the Super Seagrass Festival you’ll be helping to restore the Humber’s seagrass meadows and the global fight against climate change. So get your gloves on and get digging and help sow the seeds for a healthier sea!