Grantee: Seaweed Gardens

Duration: 11 months (May 2026 – April 2027)

 

Alongside existing surveying and restoration of a seagrass meadow in Oban, this project focusses on training local seagrass stewards and coordinating community outreach.

Background

In the UK, 95% of seagrass meadows have disappeared from coastal waters because of dredging, pollution and disease. Efforts to protect and restore seagrass meadows are underway in several places across Scotland, and community engagement is often critical to the long-term success of these initiatives.

From a practical perspective, volunteers are crucial for the labour intensive tasks such as seed harvesting and processing. More generally, the tangible and exciting nature of seagrass restoration offers a fantastic opportunity for adults and children alike to engage with, and be inspired by, local marine environments.

The Project

Seaweed Gardens (a community of creative active citizens) and Seawilding (a pioneering local marine restoration charity) are partnering on an exciting new community project to restore seagrass meadows at Ganavan, Oban.

A 2025 survey confirmed the presence of a healthy seagrass meadow (600m2), with suitable conditions for restoration across approximately 20,000 m² of the nearby seabed and no significant ecological or logistical constraints to restoration.

Somewhat uniquely, the patch is located very close to the busy town of Oban, creating an opportunity for extensive community engagement. Over summer 2026, Seaweed Gardens will coordinate a series of events, activities and opportunities for people to be involved with the seagrass restoration project.

Volunteers will be trained in seagrass restoration methodologies such as transplanting, snorkelling, and surveying.

Workshops with youth groups will encourage local young people to engage creatively with the seagrass project, with a summer celebration featuring artwork, music, and other interactive learning opportunities.

Through seagrass training, creative engagement, and science-led restoration, this project will build the long-term capacity of the Oban community to protect and restore local seagrass meadows.

Images courtesy of Katie Griffiths (left) and Beth Chalmers (right)