The Shifting Tides webinar series takes a dive into the ecological communities of the undersea world. It is open to anyone who wants to learn more about marine life by engaging with experts and providing inspiration for creativity and community action. You can catch up with the webinars here and make sure to register for future sessions.
The wonders of undersea meadows
(recorded live 12 Apr)
Seagrasses are flowering plants with root systems that dig into the seabed. They are critical habitats for marine life, whilst also protecting coastlines from storms and providing incredible carbon storage. During this webinar we looked at the threats facing these rich meadows, including coastal development, dredging and climate change, and ways they are being protected around our shores.
Marine ecologist and writer Alexander McMaster kicked off the session by speaking about his work in the Mediterranean, which uses scientific and artistic approaches to understand the damage being done by anchors to meadows that are thousands of years old. Environmental scientist and diver Tim Butter spoke about how his diving group in Cork have been gathering data on their local seagrass meadows and introduces ways that community groups can get involved in protecting their local marine habitats and accessing funding to do so.
Finally, we got an insight to mapping and its role in understanding seagrass meadows from citizen scientist Ed Sheldon, based in Kerry. Ed also pointed out the importance of networking with other groups and institutions both on the island of Ireland and further afield.
We invite you to watch the full recorded session below:
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