Project Seagrass
| Founded | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Benjamin Jones, Richard Lilley, Richard Unsworth |
| Type | Charitable incorporated organisation |
| Registration no. | 1162824 (England & Wales) SC046788 (Scotland) |
| Focus | Environmental |
| Location | |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Leanne Cullen-Unsworth (CEO) Benjamin Jones (Founder) Richard Unsworth (Founder) Coldplay, Patrons |
Revenue | £1.5m |
| Website | www |
Project Seagrass is a marine conservation charity. The organisation works internationally to protect and restore seagrass ecosystems through research, community engagement, and direct action. Its stated vision is "a world where seagrass meadows are thriving, abundant and well managed for people and planet".[2] It was founded in 2013 by three scientists at Swansea University.[3]
History
The idea to create Project Seagrass evolved independently in the minds of its 3 founders; Benjamin Jones, Richard Lilley and Richard Unsworth. While pursuing masters degrees at Swansea University, Benjamin Jones and Richard ‘RJ’ Lilley each developed a passion for seagrass meadows and quickly realised that these ecosystems were under threat and were ignored in conservation agendas.[3] In May 2013, inspired by Project Tiger and "Project Purple"[4] (Apple's codename for the iPhone), Benjamin created Project Seagrass as platform to help deliver seagrass science to the public, using social media to help disseminate information.[5][6] At the same time, RJ and Richard Unsworth were looking to strengthen seagrass science in Wales and formed the Welsh Seagrass Network (now Seagrass Network Cymru). Realising that they were all on a similar page, in July 2013, Project Seagrass was founded as a formal association. Later, in 2015, Project Seagrass was recognised as a UK Charitable incorporated organisation.
In 2020, Project Seagrass were awarded the Green Heart Hero Award for Outdoor Innovation from The Climate Coalition, and in 2021, won the Climate Change category in the Blue Flag Best Practice Competition. In 2020, Project Seagrass was selected as one of charity partners for Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour.[7]In 2022, Benjamin Jones was elected as President of the World Seagrass Association. Richard Unsworth has also previously been President of the World Seagrass Association.
In 2024, Project Seagrass' CEO Leanne Cullen-Unsworth was identified as one of the BBC's 100 most influential women.[8]
Mission and strategy
The charity’s mission is to secure the long-term health of seagrass meadows through:
- conducting and sharing open scientific research,[2]
- developing a "centre of excellence" for seed processing, germination and experimentation,[2]
- supporting restoration efforts that address biodiversity loss and climate change,[2]
- and engaging communities in citizen science and stewardship programmes.[9]
Efforts
Project Seagrass runs projects across the UK and internationally in the Temperate Northern Atlantic, Western Indo-Pacific and other regions.[10] Key initiatives include:
- Conservation and restoration
The charity leads the Seagrass Ocean Rescue initiative in locations such as North Wales, the Solent, the Forth, and Essex.[10] In 2024, in partnership with Salix and the RSK Group, it opened the United Kingdom’s first large-scale seagrass nursery between Laugharne and Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire. The facility processed 1.5 million seeds and began returning tens of thousands of seedlings to the sea.[11]
- Research and data
Project Seagrass has published over 100 academic publications focused on seagrass meadows. A number of these articles have been published in notable journals like Science. In 2016, they hosted the 12th edition of the World Seagrass Associations' International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW) in Nant Gwrtheyrn, Wales. The organisation has contributed thousands of seagrass data points, and trialled new technologies such as underwater drones and robotics for planting.[12]
- Community engagement
Project Seagrass runs SeagrassSpotter, a global citizen science app for mapping seagrass meadows,[9] and delivers outreach programmes and educational resources in schools and local communities.[13]
Impact
Seagrass restoration is seen as vital because the United Kingdom has lost up to 92% of its historic meadows.[14] The Carmarthenshire nursery project has been described as a landmark in UK marine restoration, with early plantings already showing biodiversity recovery.[11] The charity’s projects have planted more than two million seagrass seeds, mobilised hundreds of volunteers, and created thousands of new ecological data points.[12]
Celebrity support
- Coldplay, Patron
- Miranda Krestovnikoff, Ambassador
References
- ↑ "Contact us". Project Seagrass. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Project Seagrass – Strategy. Accessed 26 August 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Homegrown seagrass NGO stems from research degrees". Swansea University. 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
- ↑ Merchant, Brian (June 13, 2017). "The Secret Origin Story of the IPHONE. An exclusive excerpt from the book "The One Device: The secret history of the iPhone"". The Verge (published 2017). Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Underwater meadows of hope – In discussion with Project Seagrass CEO, Leanne Cullen-Unsworth". Conservation Careers. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ "Project Seagrass celebrates its 10th birthday". Project Seagrass. 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ↑ "Music of the Spheres World Tour: Sustainability - Coldplay". Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ↑ "Scientist named on BBC 100 Women 2023 list | University of Essex". www.essex.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 SeagrassSpotter citizen science platform. Accessed 26 August 2025.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Project Seagrass – Programmes. Accessed 26 August 2025.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Guardian – "Seagrass nursery begins to restore Welsh marine meadows". 2 June 2024.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Heroes of the Sea – Project Seagrass. Accessed 26 August 2025.
- ↑ Animal Friends – Project Seagrass. Accessed 26 August 2025.
- ↑ The Times – "Restoring Britain’s seagrass meadows". 2022.
See also
External links
This article "Project Seagrass" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Project Seagrass. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
