The Forth has been impacted by pollution, overfishing and industrial activity. As a result, we chose to focus this project on restoring seagrass meadows and oyster reefs; which, as ‘ecosystem engineers’, filter water and create complex habitats.
The project has involved hundreds of local people, all volunteering to help make the Firth of Forth a more biodiverse environment. Based on our experiences, we have developed this toolkit to share our learning on data gathering, practical experiments and how to involve local communities with restoration work.
How the project was structured and governed
Restoration Forth is delivered by organisations with different skillsets which include restoration practices and research, fundraising, engagement, advocacy and local knowledge and networks. These organisations are Edinburgh Shoreline, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, Heart of Newhaven Community, Heriot-Watt University, Marine Conservation Society, Project Seagrass, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scottish Seabird Centre, The Ecology Centre and WWF.
How and why communities were involved
The importance of seagrass and oysters for the marine habitat is not widely known. We wanted to change that by working with local people and community groups from the Firth of Forth area to illustrate the ecological and cultural benefits of marine restoration.
Volunteers have been vital in helping us achieve our project aims by attending seagrass and oyster restoration events, ranging from processing seagrass seeds to cleaning oysters. They have also helped us raise awareness of the project in the wider community and build a sense of local stewardship.
Advocacy engagement
Advocacy engagement is about liaising with politicians to put in place new policies that bring about change. Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) have the ability to champion nature restoration projects at the national level, bringing them to the attention of other politicians and Government. Restoration Forth wants to maximise the effect of our nature restoration project and use it as a model for others to follow. We want to build support for key policy initiatives related to nature restoration, and we want to make similar restoration projects easier to undertake, so that nature restoration can be conducted at scale.
Citizen science
Data collected by citizen scientists is vital to the project. Citizen science is the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by members of the general public, typically as part of a collaborative project with professional scientists.
Restoration Forth has used citizen science in various ways, such as asking members of the public to report sightings of oyster shells and seagrass on local beaches. This data has been used by project partners to inform our work.
Engagement lessons learned
Involving local people has been integral to the Restoration Forth project. Here are some of the lessons we learned along the way:
- We could not have achieved our project goals without thousands of hours of volunteer support.
- There are many creative ways that you can get the public involved in a complex, scientific project. Think outside the box when planning your engagement.
- People like a structured and clear way to take part in your project. We created volunteer role descriptions, organised training sessions and activities so that people understood how they could contribute usefully to our project.
- Restoration work can often be exclusive in nature and we wanted to change this. Some examples could be providing transport or loaning out kit. Make an effort to allow a broad range of people to be involved.
Seagrass
Overview of the seagrass process
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 1
Potential seagrass sites are mapped, and donor meadows are found. Licenses obtained.
The first step is to use mapping techniques and citizen science data to find sites with suitable environmental conditions for seagrass restoration. We focussed on sites with existing seagrass present.
Donor meadows for collecting seagrass were selected based on their genetic similarity to populations in the Forth.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 2
Seagrass seeds are collected.
Seagrass seeds are sourced from healthy meadows and are hand picked by snorkellers. Seed harvesting is conducted in line with best practice guidelines set by Nature Scot to maintain the integrity of plants and habitat and prevent damage through over-picking.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 3
Seagrass seeds are processed.
Seed-bearing reproductive shoots are processed in seawater tanks for up to 2 months, enabling the natural separation of seeds from spathes to occur. Community sessions are organised to help further this process and to recover seeds. The separated seeds are then placed in over-winter storage in preparation for spring planting.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 4
Seagrass seeds are planted.
In the spring the seeds are planted by local volunteers. The planting method used is Dispenser Injection Seeding, which uses modified sealant guns to inject seeds into the seabed at each restoration site.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 5
Seagrass ‘core’ transplants are also collected and planted.
In addition to seed-based restoration efforts, trials exploring transplanting seagrass have been performed. Cores containing dwarf eelgrass have been taken from healthy donor meadows and transplanted in small trials to assess this method for future restoration.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 6
Growth and survival of seagrass seeds and cores is monitored.
Finally, the restoration plots are monitored with the help of local volunteers. Monitoring helps us to understand the germination and survival rates of the seagrass.
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Seagrass site selection
Scotland’s coastline provides extensive potential habitat for seagrass, due to its many sheltered sea lochs and Firths. Unfortunately, much of the UK’s seagrass meadows have been lost due to disease, pollution and coastal development. By mapping remaining areas of seagrass in the Firth of Forth, we can help conserve these meadows by monitoring their change over time and identify sites for restoration.
Sourcing seagrass for restoration
To grow seagrass, either seeds or small sections of live plants are needed. The Restoration Forth project decided to source seeds from healthy meadows in Orkney. We gained official permission and engaged local communities and landowners to encourage support.
Mapping and monitoring
Helping to safeguard habitats, these approaches complement each other by providing information on the size and health of beds. It is important to gather data over time to understand whether meadows in the Forth are declining or expanding, to influence Restoration Forth’s approach.
Seagrass Planting
Each spring, seeds collected from Orkney are planted in our restoration sites around the Firth of Forth. Across the duration of the project, hundreds of volunteers have joined us around the coast to plant these seeds of hope.
Seagrass lessons learned
The main lessons we learned are:
- Seagrass restoration is challenging so experimentation and being flexible is needed.
- Common issues that affect seagrass restoration are poor water quality because of pollution and low light conditions.
- Applying for a marine construction licence takes time and much supporting documentation. Directly injecting seeds into the sediment does not require a marine construction licence and is therefore easier.
- Mapping and monitoring seagrass extent prior to undertaking restoration is vital. Data and anecdotal evidence about where seagrass used to be found is important for assessing potential restoration sites.
- Plant eelgrass seeds in sheltered locations, such as in tidal pools to minimise exposure.
- Our experiments in transplanting parts of seagrass plants to other areas show transplants are more likely to survive when compared with seed-based restoration.
- Involving local people in seed harvesting, processing and planting is important both in terms of local buy-in and awareness raising.
Oysters
Overview of the Oyster process
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 1
Suitable sites are mapped and licenses obtained.
The first stage of the oyster restoration process requires identifying the most suitable sites for reintroducing oysters. This is done through underwater surveys, marine spatial planning, monitoring of environmental parameters, local historical knowledge and citizen science. This produces a good model of the most suitable locations for restoration.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 2
Oysters are collected from oyster farms.
Oysters are grown at commercial sites across Scotland. To ensure that we are not unintentionally moving any pests and diseases from the fisheries to the recipient sites, all the oysters have to go through a strict biosecurity process.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 3
The oysters are then cleaned in a ‘biosecurity process’.
Biosecurity is the process of removing diseases or other species from the oyster. Individual oysters first go through a surface clean before they are moved to tanks of filtered water. After five days there should be no sea water present within the oysters from the donor site.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 4
Oyster are deployed into the Firth of Forth.
Finally, the oysters are ready to be deployed. This is done by hand dropping oysters off the side of a boat at our restoration sites. Some oysters are also glued to strings. Most of these strings are fixed to the seabed but some are placed on intertidal sites.
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© Cami DobrinMore Step 5
Oysters are monitored regularly.
Monitoring oysters is important for understanding their overall health and the impacts of oysters on biodiversity. The oysters fixed to the seabed are monitored by divers whilst intertidal sites are monitored by volunteers. Intertidal monitoring is a great way to train people in monitoring techniques.
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Oyster site selection
We have carefully chosen the most suitable locations for oyster restoration in the Forth. Oysters are often found in sheltered and unpolluted water in shallow coastal areas and estuaries.
They need suitable substrate such as old oyster shells or gravel to settle on, grow and make it their new home. They also need areas without lots of predators like large crabs or starfish, and considerations should be made regarding pressure from local industries that could impact their chance for survival.
Oyster supply chains and biosecurity
This project has released oysters into the Firth of Forth, all of which have been sourced from different suppliers on the West Coast of Scotland. In line with official guidance, we must ensure that we do not introduce pests and diseases to the Forth along with the oysters. Therefore, we make sure all oysters are thoroughly cleaned with the support of volunteers.
The European Flat oyster takes longer to grow, when compared to other species such as the Pacific oyster. With so many exciting restoration projects focusing on oysters in the UK, supply chains are under pressure to keep up with demand.
Oyster deployment and monitoring
It is vital to monitor the oysters to see if they are surviving in new sites, as well as to track biodiversity and other ecological changes that occur due to their presence. Regular monitoring enables us to effectively manage the project and improve our restoration techniques as we learn what works best.
Oyster lessons learned
The main lessons we learned are:
- We have successfully deployed 30,000 oysters to the Firth of Forth, reintroducing the animals for the first time in over a hundred years. Thousands of volunteer hours were required to support this.
- Monitoring has shown that approximately 85% of the oysters survived for 6 months over summer. This is expected to reduce after their first winter season.
- Biodiversity surveys have established baseline data against which we can measure change over time.
- We are expecting to see growth in the oyster beds. Knowing whether new oysters can settle and survive in the Firth of Forth will enable us to plan our future restoration efforts.
Case study videos
Watch our 3 videos on fixed transect monitoring of seagrass, mapping seagrass and biodiversity monitoring of oysters.
Contact us
To find out more about the Restoration Forth project, please visit Restoration Forth | WWF or email restorationforth@wwf.org.uk.