Hope in the Rising Tide
Hope in the Rising Tide Podcast
E1: Meadows of the Sea
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E1: Meadows of the Sea

Restoring intertidal seagrass beds at Spurn Point nature reserve

Hi folks,

Back in April I recorded my first interview for Hope in the Rising Tide and it’s taken a little more time than expected to turn it into a podcast, but we have finally arrived. I hope you like my blend of field diary, interview, and prose poetry to take you on a drizzly journey to the the Yorkshire coast.

For this episode, I joined as a volunteer to help with seagrass seed planting at Spurn Point nature reserve on the north side of the Humber Estuary (East Riding of Yorkshire, UK). Seagrass is a vital species for carbon storage, biodiversity, and protection from coastal erosion.

A row of tanks in a utility room; containers of seed balls; expanse of tidal mudflat; seed pillows piled up on beach; selfie with waterproofs and layers; two people with pottiputkis.A row of tanks in a utility room; containers of seed balls; expanse of tidal mudflat; seed pillows piled up on beach; selfie with waterproofs and layers; two people with pottiputkis.A row of tanks in a utility room; containers of seed balls; expanse of tidal mudflat; seed pillows piled up on beach; selfie with waterproofs and layers; two people with pottiputkis.
A row of tanks in a utility room; containers of seed balls; expanse of tidal mudflat; seed pillows piled up on beach; selfie with waterproofs and layers; two people with pottiputkis.A row of tanks in a utility room; containers of seed balls; expanse of tidal mudflat; seed pillows piled up on beach; selfie with waterproofs and layers; two people with pottiputkis.A row of tanks in a utility room; containers of seed balls; expanse of tidal mudflat; seed pillows piled up on beach; selfie with waterproofs and layers; two people with pottiputkis.
Photo diary pt 1
green leaf worm egg; half buried seed pillow; Andy leaning over to stake a seed pillow; person crouched in the mud; footprints through the mud sand; seagrass edges.green leaf worm egg; half buried seed pillow; Andy leaning over to stake a seed pillow; person crouched in the mud; footprints through the mud sand; seagrass edges.green leaf worm egg; half buried seed pillow; Andy leaning over to stake a seed pillow; person crouched in the mud; footprints through the mud sand; seagrass edges.
green leaf worm egg; half buried seed pillow; Andy leaning over to stake a seed pillow; person crouched in the mud; footprints through the mud sand; seagrass edges.green leaf worm egg; half buried seed pillow; Andy leaning over to stake a seed pillow; person crouched in the mud; footprints through the mud sand; seagrass edges.green leaf worm egg; half buried seed pillow; Andy leaning over to stake a seed pillow; person crouched in the mud; footprints through the mud sand; seagrass edges.
Photo diary pt 2

First we transferred the seedballs and seed pillows from their tanks into containers for transportation. Then we drove out to the estuary mud flat, marked out a grid, and began planting. We used two methods, a pottiputki for the seed balls (these are contraptions sometimes used for tree planting), and for the seed pillows we made shallow scrapes and pinned them with stakes against tidal movement.

Helpfully, I love splodging about in mud, so I really enjoyed myself. Listen to the recording for more details.

Huge thanks to Andy and the team for a for a fab day.

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Links for further information and related content:

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT)

More about seagrass from YWT

A webinar about Habitat Restoration in the Humber Estuary with Andy Jayes (bonus nerding on seagrass and oyster restoration!)

Blue Meadows (a major seagrass protection and restoration project in the Southwest of England)

Recommended nature podcasts

Trees a Crowd hosted by actor and nature advocate, David Oakes.

Coffee with Conservationists hosted by wildlife photographer, George Steedman Jones.

Imagining Tomorrow with sci fi writer, Emma Newman, and Friends of the Earth.

Marine Conservation Happy Hour hosted by academics, Dr Scarlett Smash and Dr Craken MacCraic.

Discussion about this podcast

Hope in the Rising Tide
Hope in the Rising Tide Podcast
A podcast exploring positive action in the face of climate change and biodiversity-loss in the British Isles.
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Kirsty Fox