Scottish Seabird Centre

Restoration Forth is a marine restoration project working with communities to restore seagrass and the European flat oyster around the Firth of Forth.

Historically, both seagrass and oyster habitats thrived around the Forth, but they have suffered significant declines in the last century.

Restoration Forth is a partnership of scientists, charities and communities around the Firth of Forth which are undertaking restorative actions to enhance the coastal environment of the Forth. This project aims to work closely with local communities through volunteering and citizen science to inspire communities to protect their local marine environments.

Why are seagrass meadows and oyster reefs important?

Seagrasses are the world’s only marine flowering plants which are found in sheltered coastal areas. Seagrass is found in small remnant patches around the Firth of Forth, including at our local restoration site, Belhaven Bay.

Their incredible adaptations have allowed them to successfully colonise all continents except for Antarctica. Seagrasses have been labelled as “ecosystem engineers” as they create lush habitats for a huge variety of fish species, small invertebrates, burrowing anemones, urchins and bivalve molluscs. Aside from creating biodiversity hotspots, seagrasses have extensive root systems which can stabilise sediment and act as coastal protection from erosion.

The Firth of Forth was once home to one of the largest oyster reefs in the North East Atlantic, which yielded up to 30 million oysters a year in the 1800s. However, by the beginning of the 1900s, this oyster reef had been fished to extinction. The European flat oyster is also an ecosystem engineer, forming reef structures which provide habitat for a wide diversity of species. Oysters are also efficient water filters, and their ability to remove algae, excess nutrients and organic material from the water column can significantly improve the surrounding water quality.

Globally, there has been a steep decline of seagrass meadows and oyster reefs, and it is incredibly important to protect and restore these ecosystems from both climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Patch of seagrass at Belhaven Bay. — Seagrass at Belhaven Bay.

How to get involved

Fancy getting your hands dirty? You might want to consider volunteering with us. This may involve giving us a hand with monitoring surveys (become a Seagrass Spotter), seed collection, seed processing and planting efforts.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming events which will be advertised on our What's On page.

All upcoming activites for seagrass and oyster restoration will be listed here on the WWF website.

The partners

The Scottish Seabird Centre is a proud partner of this WWF-UK led project that brings together expertise from a range of partner organisations including Project Seagrass, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, the Marine Conservation Society, the Ecology Centre, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, Edinburgh Shoreline and Heart of Newhaven Community.

This three year programme has been made possible by funding from Aviva, the ScottishPower Foundation, the Moondance Foundation, the estate of the late Ella MacGregor, and supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, through Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) facilitated grants.