Seagrass Citizen Science Session

Seagrass Awareness Month is an annual global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of seagrass ecosystems and promoting their conservation. Celebrated during the month of March, this serves as a platform for communities, scientists, and environmental enthusiasts to come together and highlight the crucial role seagrasses play in maintaining the health of coastal ecosystems.

Plan:

Participants will meet with Lyle, the Ecology Centre's Seagrass Officer on the Burntisland promenade just off of the Beacon Leisure Centre's beach side car park, in Burntisland. We will be meeting on March 31st at 10:50am. The event will kick off with an introduction to seagrass ecosystems, where attendees can learn about the importance of seagrass ecosystems and their role in the coastal marine environment. Afterwards a short seagrass identification workshop will take place to enable attendees to accurately identify the two species of seagrass we have in the UK. Finally, we will commence our data collection session, this element of the session has been developed to capture spatial data pertaining to the seagrass found on Burntisland Sands. 

This event is not suitable for children under the age of 16. Children over the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Attendees are encouraged to download Project Seagrass's Seagrass Spotter app on their smart phone in advance.

What to bring:

Please ensure that you bring warm, waterproof clothing appropriate for the weather outside, a drink, and any medication you may need. As we will be conducting this event at low tide, there may be tidal pools, so please come with wellies to avoid wet feet.

Accessibility:

We anticipate the activity to last approximately 2.5 hours. There will be no cover when on the beach, no available seating and no toilets. Toilet facilities can be found at Burntisland park from 08:30am onwards and from 11am at Burntisland Leisure Centre.

We will be on the move during this task, and the route includes some gentle slopes, uneven sand, rocky ground, and slippery surfaces. Burntisland beach can be accessed via a slip way for those with mobility issues.

The Ecology Centre has 1 beach wheelchair which can be requested by persons with mobility issues.

Age restriction:

This is a scientific session which is been developed to collect spatial data from the seagrass meadow in Burntisland

Keeping everyone safe:

Our group leader is a trained first aider and will be carrying a first aid kit and mobile phone.

Ticket information:

Attendees will be expected to register for this event and provide ticket evidence on the day.

To ensure everyone in the community gets a chance to participate, we ask that participants refrain from booking large numbers of tickets. We are a small team and can accommodate only a limited number of volunteers, therefore we are not able to take any large groups at this point.

This session is open to all, but children 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

What if my event is cancelled:

If this event is cancelled due to poor weather, we will get in touch with you the day before to make you aware of any changes. On rare occasions, we may be in touch on the day of the task (if there is a change in the forecast). Please keep an eye on your emails prior to the event.

Likewise, if you can no longer attend this event, please let us know as soon as possible to allow for other people to attend.

Who we are:

Restoration Forth is a major marine restoration programme working with communities to restore seagrass habitats and European flat oyster populations in the Firth of Forth. Our goal is to inspire and give agency to community members from around the Forth to participate in and lead on restoration activities in the marine environment. Restoration Forth is managed by WWF Scotland but is a partnership of scientific institutions, environmental charities, and community hubs. Restoration Forth is funded by: Aviva, the ScottishPower Foundation, the Moondance Foundation and supported by the Scottish Governments Nature Restoration Fund.