Seeding the solution
FIFTY BSAC DIVERS TOOK PART IN A large scale seagrass seed collection , as part of an ambitious seagrass restoration initiative on the North Wales coast .
During a two-week period over the summer , more than 200 volunteers , including snorkellers and waders as well as BSAC divers , joined forces with the Project Seagrass team to collect an estimated 1.5 million seagrass seeds from the waters of Porthdinllaen .
The mass seed collection event was part of the Seagrass Ocean Rescue : North Wales project , which aims to plant seagrass
SCUBAHUB over an area of ten hectares across North Wales between 2022 and 2026 . The first of its scale in the UK , the project is managed by WWF , in partnership with Project Seagrass , the North Wales Wildlife Trust , Pen Llŷn a ' r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation ( SAC ) and Swansea University . The project is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund , Garfield Weston Foundation , and the Moondance Foundation .
With a 90 % reduction in the UK ’ s seagrass meadows over the past 100 years , there are many negative consequences for the health and resilience of our coastal systems . However , projects such as Seagrass Ocean Rescue aim to halt the damage by restoring and protecting this vital habitat .
Pioneers in seagrass restoration methodologies , Project Seagrass will now take the seeds gathered from Porthdinllaen ’ s healthy seagrass meadows to be processed . The seeds will then be stored in a special seagrass nursery , ready to be planted out early next spring as part of Project Seagrass ’ planned restoration work in North Wales during 2025 .
Honouring the crew of HMS Exmouth
THE CIVILIAN DIVING TEAM BEHIND A recent survey on the Second World War wreck HMS Exmouth have launched a fundraiser to honour the 190 crew who lost their lives .
HMS Exmouth was torpedoed on 20 January 1940 by a German U-boat while on escort duty in the Moray Firth . The destroyer sank in minutes , with the loss of all 190 crew .
The online fundraiser aims to raise funds to enable all the names of the Exmouth ’ s lost crew members to be added to the RNLI ’ s new Shannon-class lifeboat in Exmouth , Devon .
Lying upside down in 56m of water , the wreck of HMS Exmouth was designated a protected military wreck in 2002 . In August of this year , a team of volunteers , including GUE and BSAC divers , conducted a survey of the Exmouth wreck site under licence from the Ministry of Defence . As well as photo and survey data , the team also collected evidence which they hope will help to establish exactly what happened when the Exmouth sank with all hands .
HMS Exmouth Project team member and BSAC Advanced Diver , Martin Maple said the fundraiser was part of a wider project to raise awareness of the Exmouth .
““ A key aim of the project was to preserve the heritage of this naval war grave and ensure that the memory of those lost is not forgotten ,” Martin explained . “ We will be raising money through the RNLI ’ s Launch a
Memory campaign , as this enables donors to nominate names to be added to the decal to Exmouth ’ s new lifeboat .”
With a total fundraising target of £ 9,500 , each multiple of £ 50 donated will enable one of the Exmouth ’ s crew names to be added to the new lifeboat .
For more information and to donate , go to www . justgiving . com / page / hms-exmouth
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