Bancyfelin WI

BANCYFELIN WI met on Monday, April 4 to listen to an inspirational talk about a local project pertaining to Seagrass.

The speaker was Elise Simone de Tourtoulon-adams, pictured. She spoke enthusiastically about how this local seagrass project is part of an environmental charity devoted to the conservation of seagrass ecosystems through research, community involvement and action.

Sea grasses are flowering plants that live in shallow sheltered areas along the coast. These incredible underwater gardens are under threat. Therefore protecting and increasing what is left is vital. The project is working to encourage the growth of seagrass meadows along the Welsh coast. There is national and international collaboration with others working in the same field such as Scotland and Australia.

The project supports biodiversity as seagrass meadows provide food for thousands of species such as shellfish and seahorses. Over 30 times more animals live within the seagrass as compared to the adjacent sandy habitats. It helps support fisheries as 20% of the biggest fisheries are supported by seagrass meadows as fish nurseries. They also assist in fighting climate change as they can effectively store carbon, 400kg of carbon dioxide per hectare per year.

Elise is based on the marshland near Ginst in Laugharne. Her role is all about underwater gardening to collect, separate and plant seeds to grow the underwater seagrass meadows. She has built poly tunnels and six raised ponds to encourage growth of seagrass.

Her work has ignited interest in the local community, WIS and in the future getting local schools involved.