Participate in Stronsay Events (Calendar)Mapping seagrass meadows on Stronsay
| Event date: | July 19 - August 1 |
| Organiser: | Warning: Undefined variable $organizer in /home/visitstronsay/public_html/wp-content/themes/stronsay/tribe-events/single-event.php on line 61 Calum Hoad |
| Venue: | Mill Bay |
Description:
Seagrass is an underwater marine flowering plant important for diversity, nursery habitat, shoreline storm protection, and carbon storage. The Orkney Islands contain some of the most pristine seagrass meadows in the UK.
Project Seagrass is a UK-based charity that is working with communities to map, conserve and restore seagrass meadows.
From the 19th of July to the 1st of August, Project Seagrass will be working in partnership with Heriot Watt University to monitor and map seagrass meadows across the Mainland, Wyre, Westray and Stronsay. Our work in Orkney aims to improve our understanding of the health and services provided by Orkney’s seagrass. Additionally, the work will inform techniques for mapping seagrass across the rest of Orkney, Scotland and the UK.
One of the seagrass meadows we will be measuring is located in Mill Bay on Stronsay. There are two types of work you might see happening:
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Snorkelling. We will be in the water snorkelling, taking measurements of the seagrass meadow’s characteristics – such as the number and length of shoots, amount of seed produced, and soil type. These metrics paint a picture of the seagrass meadow’s health. Any questions relating to the snorkelling work can be directed to @Elizabeth Lacey, our Scotland Science Lead, or Jo Porter at Heriot-Watt University.
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Small drone surveys. We will be flying a small drone over the seagrass meadow, taking birds-eye pictures of the meadow’s extent. We can create a map of the meadow by stitching thousands of these pictures together, giving us a broader perspective than our snorkel-based measurements. The approximate locations we’ll be flying the drone from are marked in the attached map. Any questions relating to the drone work can be directed to @Calum Hoad, our drone and satellite mapping scientist.
Whenever we are working, we’ll have signs up on the beach. If you see us, please feel free to stop by and say hello!
There are a few other opportunities to meet the team in person, to learn more about seagrass, and even to see some seagrass in person:
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Renewables Revolution Open Day, 2-5pm on 23rd July at the Orkney Research and Innovation Centre,
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A guided snorkel over a seagrass meadow near Kirkwall on Sunday 27th July (sign-up necessary),
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The Orkney International Science Festival Family Day, 10-12:30 and 1-3pm on 6th September.
Please circulate this email to anyone in your community who may be interested, or who may have questions.
We’re looking forward to working on Stronsay.
Kind regards,
Calum
Calum Hoad (he/him)
Senior Science Officer – Seagrass habitat mapping
calum@projectseagrass.org
calum@projectseagrass.org
