The Deep will be hosting a week long Seagrass Festival from Saturday 27th August until Sunday 4th September 2022.
The objective of the festival is to engage and educate visitors on the amazing superpowers of Seagrass. Throughout the UK we have lost 92% of our seagrass meadows; however, over the last 2 years the Marine Team at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have been working hard to restore the meadow at Spurn Point Nature Reserve back to its former glory.
Seagrass plants and meadows have the potential to sequester and store huge amounts of carbon dissolved in our seas – this is known as ‘blue carbon’. Seagrass captures carbon at a rate 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, and accounts for 10% of the ocean’s total burial of carbon (despite covering less than 0.2% of the ocean floor). It is one of our most important natural solutions to the climate change crisis.
Katy Duke CEO, The Deep said “We are delighted to showcase the amazing superpowers of seagrass and to highlight its importance in ocean eco-systems. With the support of Ørsted and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust we have been able to raise awareness of the species and of restoration work taking place locally”.
As well as information about the work at Spurn and Super Seagrass, visitors will be able to create their own seagrass crown to take home and pose for a photo with a superhero ‘Super Seagrass’ cut out and have some fun at the seagrass selfie station!
On 31st August and 1st September (10am – 4pm) The Deep will be joined by local aerosol artists Spray Creative who will be working alongside visitors to create a seagrass meadow mural! (This activity will be outdoors & subject to change depending on the weather).
