Deep change is achieved by going Forth and multiplying
By restoring stocks of oysters and natural seagrass in the Firth of Forth, an ambitious new collaboration between the Scottishpower Foundation and WWF is shoring up the potential of Scotland's waters in the battle against climate change
SEAGRASS meadows and oysters are being put on the path to recovery in the Firth of Forth with a major marine restoration project – supported by the Scottishpower Foundation – that will enhance the local environment and help tackle climate change.
Announced days before the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference gets underway in Glasgow, ‘Restoration Forth' will see up to £600,000 awarded over three years from the Scottishpower Foundation's Marine Biodiversity Fund, which was created to mark the year of COP.
The first award from the fund – and the biggest-ever grant provided by the Scottishpower Foundation – Restoration Forth will be managed by leading independent conservation organisation WWF in partnership with scientists, charities and local community groups. They will work together to design a blueprint to restore and sustainably manage seagrass and oyster habitats for a thriving Firth of Forth.
Often described as the ocean's unsung hero, seagrass provides important habitat for marine life and is an incredible tool in the fight against climate change. Oyster reefs – which once flourished in the Forth – remove pollutants and provide sanctuary for a vast array of marine life.
Working closely with local communities, the restoration of these two species will enhance the coastal and marine environment of the
Forth, support nature-based solutions to address climate change, and create opportunities for local people to reconnect with the sea. The Scottishpower Foundation's grant is the first funding contribution towards the £2.4 million total cost of the project, which aims to restore up to four hectares of seagrass and 10,000 oysters per year by the end of 2024.
Ricardo Zanre, WWF'S Ocean Restoration Programme Manager, said: “Coastal habitats like seagrass meadows and oyster reefs are vital to a thriving marine environment, but across the UK we've seen their steep decline over the last century. This is a concerning loss in so many ways – for the homes they provide for marine life, their value in absorbing carbon dioxide and improving water quality and their importance as heritage for coastal communities.
“The Forth is an amazing example of a place where local communities working to restore coastal habitats can not only help to bring back these benefits, but also to strengthen the connection between nature and community. We're hugely grateful to the Scottishpower Foundation for sharing this vision and their support in helping to achieve it”
Restoration Forth will put community at the heart of the Forth, with local people and communities consulted throughout the project and a focus on developing skills and knowledge of the marine environment among those in the surrounding areas.
In the first year of the project, stakeholder consultation will take place alongside baseline research to assess the suitability of potential habitats. In year two, one hectare of seagrass and 10,000 oysters will be re-distributed in the
Forth, while a community skills programme will be rolled out through local schools and community workshops.
By the end of the third year, it is hoped that four hectares of seagrass meadow – equivalent to over seven football pitches – will have been restored. This would mean that, by 2030, at least 42 hectares of critical coastal habitat will have been restored in the Firth of Forth and Restoration Forth will provide the blueprint for further marine restoration efforts across Scotland and around the UK.
Melanie Hill, Executive Officer and Trustee of the Scottishpower Foundation, said: “We're really excited that Restoration Forth is the first project supported by our Marine Biodiversity Fund. With COP26 about to get underway, the climate emergency is very much at the forefront of all our thoughts and there is no time to waste.
“This project – supported by the biggest-ever grant awarded by the Foundation – is a great example of how we can take action now to restore our coastal habitats. Thriving marine environments are crucial if we are to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises and Restoration Forth will allow us to make a positive impact in partnership with local people and communities, who are at the heart of the Foundation's work.
“A large part of our funding will go towards developing a skills development programme for local communities to protect their restored coastal environment. This incredible work in the Firth of Forth will provide a blueprint for restoring ecosystems through a collaborative community approach.
“It has the potential to be used as a model for marine biodiversity restoration projects across Scotland and around the world, ensuring the Foundation will help create a positive climate legacy for years to come. That's exactly what we wanted to achieve when we created our new fund and why we're so proud to work with so many esteemed partners to help turn this project from a vision into a reality.”
Partners supporting WWF to deliver Restoration Forth include Edinburgh Shoreline Project, Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Heriot Watt University, Marine Conservation Society, Project Seagrass, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scottish Seabird Centre, The Ecology Centre, The Heart of Newhaven Community and Wardie Bay Beachwatch. They are all committed to restoring the Firth of Forth to a thriving marine environment.
The Firth of Forth was once home to enormous oyster beds. The beds ran from Hound Point on the southern shore of the Forth in West Lothian to Gosford in East Lothian, and stretched north across to Aberdour and Burntisland in Fife. In total the Forth oyster beds covered an area of roughly 50 square miles with archaeologists estimating that people have been harvesting the Forth oysters since at least 3300BC.
In the 1790s it is thought that as many as 30 million oysters were harvested from the Forth in a single year. By the 1950s, the population was declared extinct due to centuries of over-harvesting. In 2009 there was a glimmer of hope when researchers discovered the ‘extinct' animal alive and well in very small numbers in the Forth.
Scotland has most of the UK'S seagrass due to water quality and high numbers of sheltered sites around its coast; however, overharvesting and a wasting disease outbreak in the 1930s decimated the populations of much of Scottish seagrass and the population is still recovering today.
The seagrass meadows of Scotland play a very important role in the biological diversity of Scottish coasts and even though it only covers 0.2% of the world's seafloor, it absorbs 10% of the ocean's carbon each year, making it an incredible tool in the fight against climate change – and an important part of Restoration Forth.
Restoration Forth will be broken down into two phases. Phase one will look at environmental monitoring and assessment of the current seagrass population, while trials will take place to gauge the suitability of potential habitats for the restoration process.
In phase one, community consultations will take place, making sure local people are very much part of the process. Decisions on the sites, method and timing of the restoration process will be taken during this phase. Historical mapping of the oyster population will also be carried out alongside diving surveys and growth and survival trials to ensure the optimum location for oyster regrowth is chosen.
Phase two will see seagrass seeds collected, processed and then planted to start the restoration process. The oyster reefs will be laid and community engagement will take place, including outreach to local schools to ensure the next generation understand the importance of the thriving marine ecosystem on their doorstep.
The Restoration Forth team will also mobilise a community hub working in partnership with key stakeholders. This includes ‘citizen science trainers', who will learn the details behind the project and be able to share more with fellow members of the community.
At the end of the three-year project, it's hoped Restoration Forth will offer an exemplar template of how an integrated restoration programme can look across other areas in the country. Through the community-led movement for restoration in the
Firth of Forth, a lasting legacy of a thriving marine environment which helps to tackle the biodiversity and climate crisis will be developed.
Working in partnership WWF and the Scottishpower Foundation will protect this fragile ecosystem for the benefit of local communities and marine life. Restoration Forth may be at its earliest stages, but it has potential to transform the ecosystems and biodiversity of the Firth of Forth for generations to come.
“Thriving marine environments are crucial if we are to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises and Restoration Forth helps us make a positive impact