Clothing and accessories retailer Seasalt has launched a three-year project alongside Cornwall Wildlife Trust, called Seeding Change Together.
Seasalt will work with the charity to help restore seagrass to seas off the Cornish coast – the UK business aims to donate £50,000 a year for the next three years to support the team at Cornwall Wildlife Trust as they carry out planting trials.
The planting trials will take place on the site at the Fal Ruan nature reserve, and the target is to restore and expand the coverage of seagrass across Cornwall which helps with carbon capture.
Seagrass grows on sandy and muddy sea-beds in sheltered bays and creeks. As it grows, it helps with the battle against climate change by drawing carbon dioxide from the seawater, storing carbon in its roots and leaves before releasing oxygen.
According to Seasalt and its new charity partner, the UK has lost an estimated 92% of its seagrass over the past 100 years, and 18% of the world’s seagrass has been lost in the last two decades.
In Cornwall, the common seagrass (Zostera marina) likes to be submerged and grows in shallow water, while the dwarf seagrass (Zostera noltei) is happy to grow out of the water and can be found living on the shore, high up on muddy creeks.
Seasalt and Cornwall Wildlife Trust are working together after disease virtually wiped out dwarf seagrass in Cornwall in the 1930s. The new project will focus on expanding the coverage of this plant.
Commenting on the project, Seasalt said: “Depending on how successful they are, the aim will be to attempt to establish dwarf seagrass in other creeks where it has been lost.
“There’s lots of work to do, and the team at Cornwall Wildlife Trust are excited to get started.”
Green Retail World readers can find out more about the Seeding Change Together restoration project by visiting the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s website.
Seasalt’s chief customer & sustainability officer is Adam Cotgreave, and he has been working closely with Matt Slater at Cornwall Wildlife Trust in the early days of the new partnership.
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
