This article is originally by Dr Richard Lilley of The Seagrass Consortium

In May this year we started a seagrass restoration experiment in the Étang de Berre, which will be replicated in the Bassin d’Arcachon and then also at sites in The Netherlands, England, Wales, Spain. This is a collaborative effort across The Seagrass Consortium which has been designed to unpick some of the drivers of restoration success and failure across a latitudinal gradient (North Wales to Mallorca).

In the Étang de Berre this work is being spearheaded by scientists from GIPREB, IMEDEA (UIB-CSIC), IHCantabria and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Prof. Dr Fiona Tomas Nash and Dr Beatriz Marin Diaz are exploring the role that the sediment microbiome might have in seagrass restoration success, and Dr Inés Mazarrasa Elósegui from IHCantabria has been collecting the data required to provide a Blue Carbon ‘baseline’ at our restoration site. We can then compare this data (2025) with the carbon we expect the restored seagrass to sequester over the coming years e.g. if we return in 2030, 2040 or 2050 we can then measure how much more carbon has been stored over the 5, 15 or 25 years since the seagrass was returned to the site.

However, the scale of ambition we have simply wouldn’t be possible without additional people in the field with us. This week Patagonia (Europe) provided the additional personnel required to undertake the necessary transplants through their in-house volunteer programme. It’s no exaggeration to say that this week's restoration activities simply wouldn’t have been possible without their contribution, and to me it shows the real value of incorporating volunteering opportunities into ecosystem restoration programmes - many hands make light work!

It’s also an opportunity for non-scientists to see and in this case participate in the scientific process. From a distance, the rows of jars and vials may look intimidating, but the real value comes from the Patagonia team being there and supporting the scientists in the field. We could all talk through the what, where, why and how of what we were doing, demystifying the whole process.

I think that feels like an important reflection to end on. In the ecosystem restoration space much has been written on the economic or ‘natural capital’ opportunities associated with restoring habitats (in this case France's largest Mediterranean lagoon), but the actual delivery of such an ambition can seem abstract, and both the personal and societal benefits of participating in ‘the restoration journey’ are often not recorded or articulated.

In my experience supporting public participation in seagrass restoration programmes helps to 'make it real', and fosters a connection to the marine environment (and the restoration site specifically) in a way that simply cannot be achieved otherwise. The other day I was listening to Peter Cairns on Ben Goldsmith’s ‘Rewilding the World’ podcast and I think this quote captures this idea brilliantly:

"There absolutely is no substitute for just seeing it, but also smelling it, feeling it, hearing it, you know you can read all the books and watch all the films you like, and listen to people like me banging on about rewilding, but there is absolutely no substitute for seeing it in the flesh" 

So I'll end by saying a massive thank you to the 'Seagrass Six' for all your hard work! We’ll keep you updated as the site progresses, and we can be thankful that together we're growing #GenerationRestoration one person at a time.