Behind the scenes of #SeagrassRestoration 🌱 We’re growing and trialling nursery-based #seagrass seedlings to see how different sediment types and light shape how seedlings establish, grow, and survive before outplanting in the field. #RestoreTheMeadows #MarineRestoration #CawthronInstitute

Something I’ve always liked about seagrass is where it sits right at the edge of land and sea. Also wild that it’s the only marine flowering plant — found all over the world, but just one species here in Aotearoa. It’s only one piece of the puzzle, but it’s a pretty cool one. #Restorethemeadows

Thinking ki uta ki tai 🌱🌊 Seagrass meadows sit where freshwater meets the sea, trapping sediments and nutrients before they move offshore. These habitats connect catchments to the ocean, helping coastal ecosystems function and stay resilient. Protecting seagrass protects the whole system.

Trailer out now for an inspiring new film on seagrass 🌊🎬 www.youtube.com/watch?v=quyQ... Seagrass meadows support biodiversity, store carbon & stabilise sediments. This is why Restore the Meadows is working to bring them back 💚

Seagrass meadows around Whakatū / Nelson are quietly teeming with life 🌱🌊 Among the blades of karepō live worms, amphipods, shellfish, and crabs—powering coastal food webs from the sediment up. Layered, connected, and dynamic—seagrass is far more than a plant. #RestoreTheMeadows #CawthronInstitute

#RestoreTheMeadow’s first iwi-led seagrass project in Te Tau Ihu, #Aotearoa is underway! Last week, I had the privilege to work in Whatamango Bay with Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Māui Trust to map and survey the #seagrass meadow; the first time this site has been surveyed since 2018. Cont'd below(1/5)

Happy #WorldSeagrassDay! 🌱 Small plants. Big impact. Today we recognise the vital role #seagrass meadows play in #Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal ecosystems. Support restoration. Reduce pollution. Spread awareness. Protect our seagrass meadows. 💙 #RestoreTheMeadows #SeagrassRestoration

Awesome day at a Climate Change Solutions workshop with summer scholar Halle Unsworth — digging in the sand, talking seagrass, and plotting data with the kiddos. Recovery takes time. That’s why teaching the next group of coastal guardians matters. #CawthronInstitute #RestoreTheMeadows

Want to help protect seagrass meadows? 🌱 Here are a few friendly tips! #RestoreTheMeadows #Seagrass #MarineRestoration

Best way to end the first week back? Hands and knees in the morning light hunting for the last flowers of the season. 🌸 Big thanks to @PortNelson for the support—we're chasing those chunky stage 3 seeds to top up the tally. Over 20k flowers collected this year! 🤯

#RestoreTheMeadows spent Fri–Sat at Waimea Inlet with amazing volunteers from the Boathouse Society collecting seagrass flowers 🌿 Seeds from these will support nursery experiments. It takes many seeds, so we’re grateful for the help!

Flower collections are in full force! Thank you to every volunteer and community member supporting our #SeagrassRestoration work. From collection efforts to educational events, you're building a healthier future for our #oceans. Together you’ve contributed 525 outreach hours!🌱 #RestoreTheMeadows

Haere mai, welcome, Yuki Hughes to the #RestoretheMeadows research team! Yuki is joining us as a Cawthron Institute Summer Scholar and will be helping collect and process seagrass flowers, as well as running a district experiment to understand pollination of seagrass flowers in a lab setting.

🌱Spring is blooming in the meadows! 🌱 Our #RestoreTheMeadows team has been busy finding #seagrass flowers and gearing up for the season. With summer approaching, we’re excited to continue restoring these vital underwater meadows 🌏🌊 #SeagrassRestoration #MarineRestoration #CawthronInstitute

Exciting news for seagrass lovers! As part of Cawthron's Restore the Meadows seagrass restoration programme, we’ve launched the Aotearoa Seagrass Flower Survey database – a national hub for recording seagrass flowering data. seagrassflowerdatabase.cawthron.org.nz www.cawthron.org.nz/research/our...

Big news for #RestoreTheMeadows! 💙🌿 We’re partnering with the Clare Foundation for Phase 2, with renewed support from Port Nelson, OneFortyOne & Friends of Nelson Haven and Tasman Bay. This 3-year funding will help us refine techniques for growing & planting #seagrass. 🌱🌊 #MarineRestoration

📣 Call for Papers! 📣 The #NZ Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research invites submissions for a Special Issue: "Hua te wai ora | Insights from aquatic ecosystem restoration." Details here: www.royalsociety.org.nz/news/nzjmfr-... #CallForPapers #AquaticRestoration #MarineScience #FreshwaterScience

Behind the scenes of marine science! Before we can do the cool science, we have to do the safe science. 🚤 To get our mussel restoration experiment in the water, we first need to make sure no one runs into it or hooks it with fishing gear! #ShARPlatform #Restoration #Fieldwork #Aotearoa #Mussels

How do you build a home for a baby mussel? 🐚 (cont) This gives them a safe surface to attach to and a place to live while they grow. The units then stay at the restoration sites, acting as a nursery until the mussels are all grown up! #ShARPlatform #GoodNews #Ocean #Restoration #Aotearoa

How do you build a home for a baby mussel? 🐚 We're working on a cool new project to find out! We're investigating a new way to restore mussel beds by seeding baby mussels onto small artificial reef units. #ShARPlatform #BES #MarineScience #Mussels #GoodNews #Ocean #Restoration #Aotearoa